Forum dell'Arte Contemporanea goes online amid pandemic

The Forum dell'Arte Contemporanea, which first took place in Prato in 2015 and later in Genoa, Turin, and Bologna, has launched an online event to address the crisis in the Italian art system caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally scheduled for early October in Rome with support from Azienda Speciale Palaexpo, following the Quadriennale opening, the physical gathering has been postponed. The Forum involves over 400 professionals—artists, curators, museum directors, and academics—tasked with identifying solutions to systemic weaknesses. A statement from Palaexpo confirms that while the physical event cannot proceed, the institution will host and support the Forum's activities online. The 2020 edition's themes are directly tied to the pandemic's impact on the cultural sector. The Forum has issued an alarm, warning that without rapid support for artists, curators, museums, galleries, and all cultural workers, an entire sphere of knowledge and creativity will be lost. It is monitoring proposals from groups like Federculture, the Galleries Association, and intermittent workers' committees, and is ready to collaborate on economic support measures. The online appointment, starting in the coming weeks, will serve as a 'call to the arts' to anticipate and develop themes for the eventual physical session, aiming for a transversal dialogue to unite the art system in a foundational project.