The present encourages spectacular rhetorics of the end, yet cyclically, to make possible and legitimize fields of action, we remove such catastrophic horizons and engage with the problem. We raise the curtain, retouch the sets, and recalibrate the staging. To govern or subvert. To expose oneself or disappear behind the scenes.  In clenched-toothed smiles, one's psychophysical balance tests the individual's irremediable contradictions, weaving illusions necessary to emerge from disenchantment.

The workshop is addressed to researchers and students from various humanistic and social disciplines, interested in exercising critical thinking on such contradictions in which, willingly or unwillingly, we are involved. Moving between theoretical and practical approaches, the program will explore the strategy of playing dumb: a device of resistance, a mechanism of adaptation, an illusion chosen with clear determination. What postures do we adopt to navigate the present without being crushed by its gears? What mechanisms of removal do we adopt to justify our actions?

The first phase of the workshop will take place during Carnival, addressing the dynamics of a spectacular crisis and individual resistance strategies in an era where we are, unfortunately, part of a rumbling mechanism. Inside and outside of us, the time of celebration will challenge us to reflect on what it means to prepare, what to wear, and how to nourish ourselves when the catastrophe itself becomes the beginning of a journey through the deepest contradictions that govern our lives.

Emblematic places such as the Piccola Scuola delle Zattere, the streets of the city of Venice, and the Fondaco dei Tedeschi will become the starting point for a reflection on the spectacularization of collapse and individual survival strategies. They will serve as mirrors of our inner dissonances, transforming into a living theater where we will explore—face to face—the relationships between inside and outside, ethics and morals, skin and image, material and symbolic consumption.

The three-day workshop will be held at the following times:
25/02: 3 pm - 6.30 pm
26-27/02: 11 am - 6.30 pm

To apply, please submit this form by 20 February.
For further information: [email protected]