Italian Conversations. Art in the Age of Berlusconi

This new FGA is not about Berlusconi. It is about art and the lives of those who make it and those who deal with it. In Italy, Mr B. stepped down from his throne but he did not disappear completely. His media empire is vastly powerful and omnipresent and will continue to affect the daily life of Italians and destroy critical culture, forcing scientists, artists and curators to flee the country in search of better education, international opportunities, a job and recognition.
'Italy is going through a very delicate political moment in which cultural production is considered as a secondary issue to the government. The inadequacy of the system, and of the State, is in Italy often the element that triggers alternative and inventive solutions. Italy is also a very fragmented country, lacking in debate and systematic collaboration between institutions and initiatives.'
With this statement, the Nomas Foundation in Rome invited FuckingGoodArt to investigate Italy's complex territory, its spaces, people, models for culture vis-a-vis the current political and economic crisis. Throughout Europe there are dramatic cutbacks in public spending on culture. Is the Italian situation soon to be the future of all Europeans? To find out, Rob Hamelijnck and Nienke Terpsma traveled through Italy.
FGA#29 is their travelogue. It starts in Rome, passes through Florence, Bologna, Lugo, Milan, Viganella, Turin, Rivoli, Lecce, Matera, Bari, Santa Maria di Leuca, Naples and Gibellina, and ends in Palermo. Each chapter opens with edited entries of combined travel journals, containing descriptions of experiences, comments and thoughts, quotes, facts and fiction, followed by conversations and an evaluation with the Italian partners and texts and visual contributions by Italian artists.