If all of Rome were listening to you, what word would you shout?

This was the key question we put to a small but very diverse group of Rome residents. After sharing the answers and discussing them with the residents, we chose three concepts, which we have worked with and which represent the voice of the street within the museum: “Cultura, sveglia e popolo” (Culture, wake up, people) This was our proposal to introduce the street into the exhibition context within the framework of “La Strada: dove si crea il mondo”, a collective exhibition at the MAXXI National Museum in Rome, which revolves around public space from various artistic and conceptual perspectives.

CONTEXT

The intervention is carried out on one of the ramps that connects two of the main rooms of the MAXXI, a building designed by Zaha Hadid. We play with the volumetry generated by the walls, floor and central concrete wall to create abstract colour fields corresponding to the typography distorted by the anamorphosis technique.

The work is seen from three points of view, between which a path is established that crosses the work, leaving the spectator immersed in superimpositions of color.

MAXXI Museum before the intervention

Participación

The proposed words are the result of a dynamic carried out by Boa Mistura and residents of very different backgrounds and socio-economic strata in Rome. In the proposed workshop, surveys and key questions are carried out to determine which words could compose a portrait of the public space in Rome and the identity of its occupants.

The question that sparked the debate was: “If the entire city of Rome were listening, what word would you shout?” The choice of word is especially relevant. «SVEGLIA» by the only two people of Italian origin. In their opinion, Roman society must wake up and look to the future with a desire for change. The city seems to live in a state of lethargy that prevents people from leaving their pre-established comfort zone.

On the other hand, the word "CULTURA" This was repeated on numerous occasions. Several of the attendees mentioned the importance that the historical monumental identity gives to Rome. This has been a key element in the future of the city, as we know it today.

The beauty and rotundity of its streets has generated a feeling of pride in the hearts of its inhabitants, but it has also been an important factor in the passive and conservative attitude of today's society, which seems to live anchored to eternal beauty.

Both words would be meaningless without a third one on which to base the development of a city: «POPOLO». It is in people, in individuals, where the essence of change, of that awakening, resides. The public space must be the transversal communication channel that invites us to reflect and connects us.

Debate with the residents of Rome

DESIGN

We play with the volume generated by the walls, floor and central concrete wall to create abstract colour fields corresponding to the typography distorted by the anamorphosis technique. The work is designed to be observed from three different points of view, one for each of the concepts proposed, and we superimpose the perspectives generated by the three points of view.