Following the exploration of ‘memories’ or ‘Homo Deus’, ‘passages and landscapes’, and ‘time’ in previous editions, this year’s central theme focuses on ‘light’ both as a physical phenomenon and as a cognitive tool and semantic device that spans a variety of languages: from historical photography to the frontiers of artificial intelligence. As Cottura Creativa, we cannot help but be interested in these working methods and intentions, which we report on directly ‘from the field’.

The winning formula remains cross-pollination: a dynamic dialogue between established masters and emerging talents (under 35), capable of bringing over 50 locations across the urban landscape to life through the “Circuito Off”, involving unconventional spaces, bars and historic sites that are often closed to the public.

The focal point of the exhibition itinerary, and the starting point of our tour, is the site-specific installation within the “Torrione Visconteo”, a 14th-century fortification that has reopened to the public to host the multimedia project Del Sublime. Here, the artist Nicola Evangelisti, together with Silvia Serenari (the ES duo), has created an installation that unfolds along the vertical axis of the tower. The creative process is based on the concept of technological “Sublime”, where light interacts with sound, science and philosophy to generate an immersive environment.

The works, which range from references to nature — lightning and fractal geometries — manage to bring together the ancestral nature of ceramics with the innovation of digital printing, creating a bridge between the material and the immaterial. There are evocative references to the retina of the eye, treated like a church rose window, elements that gather light, reactivating it and giving it a central role. A synergy and synaesthesia between contemporary arts and languages, between tradition and technology, which also captures our interest as new media attentive to the pressing concerns of contemporary art.

We continue to the Galleria San Ludovico, with the exhibition Morphology Light, curated by Chiara Canali, a “journey into the form of light” that offers an immersive exploration of the work of Antonio Barrese, a central figure in the Italian artistic experimental scene, spanning art, design, visual perception and scientific culture. The project highlights (both literally and conceptually) one of the core elements of his work: the exploration of light as a malleable material, as a physical phenomenon and as a perceptual structure capable of generating form. In a very pleasant chat with the master—an excerpt of which you can also see in our reels on the festival’s social media channels and those of Cottura Creativa—he tells me about his research and the path that unfolded during a highly fertile period for Italian art and culture, with Milan as its epicentre, where he met Bruno Munari. Both have been active on the Milanese scene since the 1960s, he recalls with a twinkle in his eye and a touch of nostalgia, at a time when “everything seemed within reach”. Barrese regarded Munari, alongside other masters such as Enzo Mari, as a cultural and personal point of reference, united by friendship and research into programmed and kinetic art and visual perception, and by a creative approach that explores the relationship between art, technology and design, with Munari as a pioneer (Macchine Inutili, Polariscop) and Barrese as a member of the MID Group (Movimento Immagine Dimensione) in the 1960s and 1970s.

The festival demonstrates a particular interest in generative research with the exhibition SYNTHETIC HORIZONS: New Geographies of Artificial Intelligence, a field very dear to Chiara Canali, who, back in 2004, co-curated the first group exhibition in Italy dedicated to AI at the IULM in Milan.

Here we find six artists under 35 who explore the boundary between human and computational authorship. Among them stands out Andrea Crespi, fresh from his success in Milan which we had already reviewed, presenting a highly impactful generative portrait, alongside the work of the young Ravenna-based artist Svccy, demonstrating a curatorial approach that is not afraid to engage with algorithms. These young researchers demonstrate a strong desire to explore a powerful tool, which, however, still suffers from being in the early stages of a technological innovation journey currently in its experimental phase, but which will undoubtedly evolve and hold many more surprises in store for us.

The programme continues in the city with Michael Kenna’s solo exhibition, The River Po: Writings of Light, curated by Sandro Parmiggiani and hosted at Palazzo Pigorini. The exhibition features 70 of the 100 photographs that make up the book The River Po (published by Corsiero), which brings together one of the most significant projects the great English photographer has dedicated to Italy.

Black-and-white photographs, rigorous, ethereal or perceived as visions, bathed in a magical and special light. Taken over a period of twelve years, from 2007 to 2019, the images trace the course of Italy’s longest river, thanks to the photographer’s long-standing familiarity with the area and a relationship forged with the river itself and its landscapes. A creative process of meaning and rigour, which takes place ‘in situ’ and succeeds in conveying a clear qualitative difference compared to ‘one-shot’ projects.

Rounding off the programme is the exhibition QUADRIFLOUX and ‘Ink Became Light’, on display at Palazzo Pigorini and curated by Piergiuseppe Molinar, which stems from a simple yet radical idea: ink need not merely absorb light, but can generate it. In particular, fluorescent ink, which under Wood’s light illuminates and expands the works.

And the exhibition UNA NUOVA LUCE, featuring illustrations by Jean Mallard, Clément Thoby, Florian Pigé and Draw The Light, brings together for the first time in Italy three of the most interesting talents in French illustration.

A variety of routes and venues, confirming that this festival is not merely an exhibition, but a project of urban regeneration and exploration spanning a decade of vision. A well-executed example of ‘place-based marketing’, where art and culture play a central and leading role.

Parma 360 has filled a gap in the local area, raising public awareness of issues such as identity, memory and the future, reopening forgotten sites and showcasing historic architecture through the language of the present. Canali and Mineo have demonstrated that the contemporary is not a superficial addition, but a vital necessity for reinterpreting the very history of Parma.

Cover image: Portrait of Antonio Barrese, photo by Stefania Gaudiosi