The Artwork as a Tool for Struggle: Inside and Outside Isola Art Center

This study examines the experience of Isola Art Center, which originated in Milan in 2001 with Isola Art Project, as a paradigmatic case of socially engaged and participatory art. Departing from traditional models of exhibition and artistic reception, the project positions itself as an active tool o...

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Main Author: Davide Da Pieve
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Bologna 2025-06-01
Series:piano b
Subjects:
Online Access:https://pianob.unibo.it/article/view/20079
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author Davide Da Pieve
author_facet Davide Da Pieve
author_sort Davide Da Pieve
collection DOAJ
description This study examines the experience of Isola Art Center, which originated in Milan in 2001 with Isola Art Project, as a paradigmatic case of socially engaged and participatory art. Departing from traditional models of exhibition and artistic reception, the project positions itself as an active tool of political and social resistance against urban gentrification. Through a dense network of relationships among artists, residents, urban planners, and institutions, Isola Art Center generated innovative practices and concepts—such as the dirty cube and fight-specific art—that call for a rethinking of conventional aesthetic and methodological frameworks within art historical analysis. In this context, the artwork becomes part of a broader cultural ecosystem, where relational dynamics, territorial conflicts, and forms of participation redefine both the role of the artist and the meaning of artistic creation. The study adopts a multidisciplinary and site-specific approach to explore the intersections between art and society, challenging the boundaries between the inside and outside of the art world and offering a reading that integrates aesthetics, politics, and practice.
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spelling doaj-art-ee9b0dee1bef48e0ae822b93782fd5dd2025-08-20T03:29:06ZengUniversity of Bolognapiano b2531-98762025-06-019114216110.6092/issn.2531-9876/2007918447The Artwork as a Tool for Struggle: Inside and Outside Isola Art CenterDavide Da Pieve0Université Paris 8This study examines the experience of Isola Art Center, which originated in Milan in 2001 with Isola Art Project, as a paradigmatic case of socially engaged and participatory art. Departing from traditional models of exhibition and artistic reception, the project positions itself as an active tool of political and social resistance against urban gentrification. Through a dense network of relationships among artists, residents, urban planners, and institutions, Isola Art Center generated innovative practices and concepts—such as the dirty cube and fight-specific art—that call for a rethinking of conventional aesthetic and methodological frameworks within art historical analysis. In this context, the artwork becomes part of a broader cultural ecosystem, where relational dynamics, territorial conflicts, and forms of participation redefine both the role of the artist and the meaning of artistic creation. The study adopts a multidisciplinary and site-specific approach to explore the intersections between art and society, challenging the boundaries between the inside and outside of the art world and offering a reading that integrates aesthetics, politics, and practice.https://pianob.unibo.it/article/view/20079participatory artsocial engagementgentrificationfight-specific artcultural ecosystem
spellingShingle Davide Da Pieve
The Artwork as a Tool for Struggle: Inside and Outside Isola Art Center
piano b
participatory art
social engagement
gentrification
fight-specific art
cultural ecosystem
title The Artwork as a Tool for Struggle: Inside and Outside Isola Art Center
title_full The Artwork as a Tool for Struggle: Inside and Outside Isola Art Center
title_fullStr The Artwork as a Tool for Struggle: Inside and Outside Isola Art Center
title_full_unstemmed The Artwork as a Tool for Struggle: Inside and Outside Isola Art Center
title_short The Artwork as a Tool for Struggle: Inside and Outside Isola Art Center
title_sort artwork as a tool for struggle inside and outside isola art center
topic participatory art
social engagement
gentrification
fight-specific art
cultural ecosystem
url https://pianob.unibo.it/article/view/20079
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