Participatory Art Action

In one way or another, we are all victims of small and large acts of incivility every day.

People who do not respect a queue. People who do not give up a seat on a bus. People who ignore pedestrian crossings. People who feel entitled to insult others. People who block a bike lane, park in spaces reserved for disabled people, obstruct wheelchair ramps, or treat a driveway as their private parking spot. People who treat others with contempt or indifference in so many ways that it would be impossible to list them all.

We choose to respond to the aggression of the city with acts of kindness.

We want to remind ourselves that kindness, slowness, listening, attentiveness, and even a smile are a right, even though we have become accustomed to thinking otherwise.

We, artists, curators, and ordinary citizens, offer a kind gesture in exchange for a smile.

From 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM on Saturday, October 24, a group of artists working across different disciplines, together with cultural associations and citizens' groups, will gather in Piazza Carlo Alberto Scotti, in the Monteverde district of Rome, to offer passersby small acts of kindness for one hour.

Some participants will recite a poem for a stranger. Others will read a passage from a book to someone sitting on a bench. Some will give away a handwritten phrase, play a musical instrument, dance a few steps, offer a tiny artwork, a drawing, a haiku, a flower, or a photographic print.

During the event, passersby will be invited to place notes containing their wishes for kindness into a special collection box. Wishes are precious: they deserve to be heard and safeguarded.

There will also be a public reading of the Manifesto for the Right to Kindness

A project curated by Penelope Filacchione and Roberta Melasecca, coordinated by Art Sharing Roma and Blow Art Contemporary Space, bringing together many small actions in an effort to transform, through art in all its forms, the perception of the city. The aim is to remind its inhabitants that we have become accustomed to too many things, yet change is still possible. Because the city is us, and it is up to us to make it work differently.

PARTICIPANTS (in progress)

Associazioni: The Ways to The Indies | Monteverde Attiva | Associazione TrequArti

Gallery: Spaziofelice

A participatory art action that responds to everyday acts of incivility with kindness, aiming to reshape our perception of the city. Artists, curators, and citizens come together in a public square for one hour, because change depends on all of us.

Organisers

Artists

Structures

Curators