Lorenzo Balbi on Care, Culture, and Museums at MAMbo

Lorenzo Balbi, director of MAMbo in Bologna, draws on The Care Collective's 'Manifesto della Cura' to argue for museums as platforms for social transformation. He critiques neoliberal capitalism's welfare failures, exposed during the pandemic, and advocates for a 'state of care' oriented toward collective needs. Balbi emphasizes that top-down state action is insufficient; a grassroots practice of mutual care among strangers—'promiscuous care'—is essential. At MAMbo, this vision materializes in the Nuovo Forno del Pane, a permanent production space initially created by converting the Sala delle Ciminiere from exhibition hall to shared workspace. Now housed in its own venue, it anchors a new museum department dedicated to research and education. Balbi also cites the 'Dear you' project, launched during the pandemic, which invited six artists to create mail-art works delivered to subscribers' homes, hidden among bills and condominium notices, to foster surprise and individual attention. The article was published in Grandi Mostre #24.