IDENTITY  is an educational art programme curated by Mara Palena and Twenty14 aimed to the youth living in suburban and problematic areas of Milano. The project is developed in collaboration with Milano sei l’altro and Spazio Aperto Servizi WeMi is funded by Comune di Milano. Sponsored by Lomography, Officinaotto and Fontegrafica.

 

Art needs to be a tangible matter that leads to a message of possibility. It embodies human rights, social links and inclusion, becoming a creative vehicle for emancipation. In this way, it becomes a tool for social inclusion. IDENTITY wants to give to the youngsters living in the suburbs of Milan a chance to express their feelings and emotions through analogue photography, tearing down the existing barriers, both mental and physical, of the digital age.

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IDENTITY aims to tear down the barriers that divide the well-known art circuits from the surrounding areas of the city, creating a link between different realities. We chose analogue photography as we consider it to be a powerful communication tool. We believe that every so-called “mistake” in photographic production can lead to the maximum artistic expression, uniqueness and authorship. Born from an idea of photographer Mara Palena and curated by Twenty14, the first IDENTITY workshop took place in spring 2018 in the Barona neighbourhood and later has expanded to the areas of Casoretto and Giambellino. 

 

During the workshop participants portrayed their neighborhood using Lomography analogue cameras and worked together learning how to edit their pictures. At the end of every workshop, the results has been presented to the local community as an exhibition and collected in limited edition fanzine printed with the support of Fontegrafica. Special thanks to Officinaotto that contributed actively to the printing process of all the images.