The art of transforming

Mirco Durante e Andrea Tinazzo

Videomapping and digital art as an opportunity for the regeneration of cities

An extract and rereading of ‘Video mapping and the regeneration of public space through an itinerant approach’ degree thesis by Mirco Durante and Andrea Tinazzo. With this text we will talk about how technology connected to the visual can become a powerful tool in the hands of municipal administrations - and not only - of urban regeneration for a reappropriation of the "cultural milieu" of the city. With interesting repercussions in the social and economic sphere

In this way, over the years, large urban gaps have been created which have activated new ideas of urban governance in local administrations, and in some cases the results have been decidedly positive, so much so that interesting opportunities for social regeneration have been created.

From large cities to small towns, we have observed a growing development of activities related to multimedia art in favour of cultural and social renewal: the image of the contemporary city has changed and the hand of the scale moves in favour of technology and transformation.

Urban art, art of public interest

The presence of art in cities is of growing interest for researchers of new urban strategies: in fact, we observe a strong desire to rediscover a city climate based on democratic exchange and active participation. On the other hand, art is also changing, and is moving towards a democratic and participatory reading, which pushes artists to leave private galleries to reach squares, gardens, public places and abandoned factories. In this way, the artist no longer only creates art as an end in itself, but joins the architectural designer as a "social facilitator". Therefore, we start talking about social art, or better still about art of public interest, based on the needs of those who live in the city, a city that rediscovers the importance of rebuilding the relationships lost within the neighbourhoods through specific and symbolic actions, and to return opportunities, where social relations do not exist, through art and artistic performances. An excellent example of social art is the Stargate of Vilnius in Lithuania, which has managed to connect and create a fabric of social relations, not only between the neighbourhoods of the same city, but even between two cities in two different states of Eastern Europe: Vilnius precisely and Lublin in Polona. The idea, simple but brilliant, was the creation of a virtual bridge between the people of the two cities through two screens equipped with cameras, which broadcast live images of the respective cities, geographically located 600 km away. Furthermore, the digital bridge, endowed with a deep symbolic meaning, helped to overcome prejudices and disagreements that belonged to the local history and culture between the two places. The activation of services and attractions of this importance are able to trigger

socio-economic and cultural exchanges capable of positively motivating the local population.

The spark of cultural research

It therefore happens that art becomes an active symbolic action, used to stimulate the territorial fabric. Municipal administrations, increasingly aware of this resource, have begun to respond with projects of this type to the needs of citizens: a concrete example is the "Bilbao effect" which, thanks to important architectural investments and artistic attractions, such as the famous Guggenheim museum, has been able to increase its attractiveness and has become a popular tourist destination, contributing to the economic development of an entire region. This is possible only through a good design of the artistic performance studied ad hoc and site-specific. Art should be perceived as mobile, flexible, stimulating, while the new generations often understand it as something "old", boring, distant, and incomprehensible: video mapping or digital interaction can be actively used to renew the relationship between some segments of the population and the enormous cultural heritage of our country. Art should therefore be used as a "cultural spark", able to act as a positive trigger with social and cultural development, but also economic, on a local as well as national scale. For this reason, art must not end with a simple exhibition, but should also take the opportunity to involve a production mechanism. A new generation of urban art has emerged in recent years, with more inclusive types of performances: video mapping or large urban LED screens are deliberately placed in the pedestrian areas of urban centres, rather than in traffic paths, sports stands or in shopping centres, and offer a series of interactive interfaces to improve social relationships and more. These areas dedicated to visual artistic communication should not be seen only as surfaces that capture attention through visual and narrative content (Digital Signage), but also as places for the production of new forms of social relations. From this point of view, “Urban Screens” can play an important role in the generation of a new public sphere halfway between physical and electronic space.

Travelling video mapping

On the basis of this cognitive approach, the experimental idea of two architects, Mirco Durante and Andrea Tinazzo, was born in 2017 in Turin, to 'create a system' between the video mapping art installations arranged in different points across the town. The idea is to position the projectors in strategic places by activating a tourist route through the city, in order to set in motion a rediscovery of the territory and economically reactivate portions of the deteriorated urban fabric. Unlike other artistic performances, this project becomes interactive thanks to a particular software that is based on a simple reading of the QR code: using the app downloadable on all mobile phones, the user of the service can read the code placed on the console of the installation, consequently the projection system connected to the application reproduces the predefined content on the portion of the building. The app also allows other advantages: listening to the audio tracks via earphone, so as not to constantly disturb the residents of the area, or the management of tickets, or the purchase of a password that allows you to activate the video mapping immediately after reading the QR code. If smartphones and personal devices tend to forms of individual consumption, the 'liquid screens' of video mapping are oriented towards forms of collective use. Hence the idea of itinerant video mapping becomes an urban "social glue" of great interest, because it is potentially able to recreate a hinge to mend urban spaces through non-traditional processes. From this point of view, the video projection or the screen, therefore, become a new contemporary square, which affects the behaviour of people in a collective experience. With this in mind, thanks to the help of Professor Massimiliano Lo Turco of the Polytechnic of Turin, we have proposed a small-scale prototype within the medieval village of Turin as a museum itinerary. The goal is to test a small-scale itinerary by digitising the museum works of interest, evaluating the involvement of people in order to subsequently try to take the project towards a wider urban dimension. A new creative method like this can become a fundamental moment for the reactivation of urban. Places must reinvent themselves with new spaces for relations and participation with the public, becoming a real process of "making the city". Public art must not be an end in itself but must be oriented towards a cognitive and cultural path in the area that can trigger those mechanisms of renewal of the local heritage. 

Mirco Durante (1989) architetto, ha seguito gli studi accademici presso il Politecnico di Torino per poi proseguire la sua esperienza lavorativa prima negli atelier di architettura francesi di Parigi come architetto progettista, poi nella nota Rai Pubblicità come grafico pubblicitario. Dopo tre anni ad Amsterdam come architetto progettista, nel 2021 é rientrato in Italia ed ha aperto il suo studio Ambrante Architetti con sede a Torino.

Mirco Durante (1989) architect followed his academic studies at the Polytechnic of Turin and then continued his work experience first in the French architecture ateliers in Paris as a designer architect, then in the well-known Rai Advertising as an advertising graphic. After three years in Amsterdam as a designer architect, in 2021 he returned to Italy and opened his own studio Ambrante Architetti based in Turin. https://studioambrante.com

Andrea Tinazzo (1991), è architetto e artista digitale. Andrea Tinazzo (1991), is an architect and digital artist. www.instagram.com/andrea_tinazzo