ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Pompeii Commitment: A Digital Research Platform for Contemporary Art at Pompeii

digital · 2026-04-27

The Archaeological Park of Pompeii launches pompeiicommitment.org, a digital research platform for contemporary art conceived in 2017 by former director Massimo Osanna and Andrea Viliani, now head of the Castello di Rivoli Research Institute. The platform, curated by Viliani with Stella Bottai and Laura Mariano, invites over 50 international artists, intellectuals, writers, and activists to contribute essays, podcasts, and free-form content—not digital artworks—exploring Pompeii as an epistemic site. The project reframes Pompeii as a living ecosystem, a diffuse museum, and a network of sites including Oplontis, Boscoreale, Scafati, and Castellammare di Stabia. Inspired by Mierle Laderman Ukeles's 1969 Maintenance Art manifesto, the curators adopt the role of 'manutentori' (maintainers), emphasizing care and daily reflection. The inaugural contribution features a drawing by Giulio Paolini. The project aims to generate a contemporary art collection for the park, treating art as a research tool to understand past destruction and future regeneration.

Key facts

  • Pompeii Commitment is the first contemporary art program commissioned by the Archaeological Park of Pompeii.
  • The digital platform pompeiicommitment.org was conceived in 2017 by Massimo Osanna and Andrea Viliani.
  • Andrea Viliani serves as curator and 'manutentore' alongside Stella Bottai and Laura Mariano.
  • Over 50 international contributors will provide essays, podcasts, and free-form content.
  • Giulio Paolini created the inaugural work, 'Senza titolo (Pompei)', 2020.
  • The project is inspired by Mierle Laderman Ukeles's 1969 Maintenance Art manifesto.
  • Pompeii is presented as an ecosystem, diffuse museum, and network of sites including Oplontis, Boscoreale, Scafati, and Castellammare di Stabia.
  • The program aims to establish a contemporary art collection for the Archaeological Park of Pompeii.

Entities

Artists

  • Giulio Paolini
  • Mierle Laderman Ukeles

Institutions

  • Parco Archeologico di Pompei
  • Castello di Rivoli Research Institute
  • Madre di Napoli
  • Fondazione Giulio e Anna Paolini
  • Wadsworth Atheneum
  • Ronald Feldman Gallery
  • Artribune
  • Archaeological Park of Pompeii
  • CRRI-Centro di Ricerca del Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea
  • Castello di Rivoli
  • Madre museum
  • MiBACT

Locations

  • Pompeii
  • Italy
  • Naples
  • Oplontis
  • Boscoreale
  • Scafati
  • Castellammare di Stabia
  • Turin
  • Hartford
  • Connecticut
  • New York
  • Rivoli

Sources