Il futuro della cultura sarà tutto digitale?

In an article for Artribune, Cristiana Colli examines how the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly influenced the cultural sector, arguing that it has hastened an irreversible digital transformation. The pre-COVID landscape of geography and globalization has been disrupted, with public spaces now existing in the digital realm. Cultural institutions are deploying robust digital infrastructures—such as ArtLab, new digital residencies, live talks, virtual openings, and online viewing rooms—to maintain community connections. Examples include Hauser & Wirth's Dispatches, MAXXI's programming, Triennale Decameron, Fondazione Trussardi's Viaggi da Camera, David Zwirner's Platform NY, Palazzo Grassi at yours, Art Basel's activism, and Fondazione Prada's Perfect Failures exhibition. Despite this shift, the physical experience and rituals remain irreplaceable. Colli emphasizes a new relationship between online and offline realms, with the digital agora reshaping projects and interactions. This transformation is viewed as a promise, aiming to foster cultural welfare and citizenship while creating value for all stakeholders. Citing Walter Benjamin, she notes that life unfolds within history, positioning cultural heritage as a dynamic intersection of past and contemporary productions for sustainable development. She concludes with a metaphor of threads and hands connecting, alluding to Marguerite Yourcenar's 33 names of God.