Urban New Deal
Reimagining the Civic: The Urban New Deal
In the historic halls of the Palazzo dei Priori, Viterbo (Italay), where centuries of civic discourse have shaped the identity of the city, a new vision for the future was unveiled. Urban New Deal arrived as a high-profile intervention designed to challenge our understanding of "living." By transforming the halls of local government into a contemporary gallery, Fortunato Productions partnered with EcoArt Project to integrate a provocative artistic narrative directly into the framework of the national conference.
Staged as the official cultural component of the "Ecoincentriamoci" National Conference, our role was to bridge the gap between high-level policy and the public by bringing world-class art into the heart of the summit. This curated experience reimagined historic city centers not as static monuments, but as vibrant, breathing hubs of social exchange and innovative sustainability.
A Global Dialogue
Curated by Davide Sarchioni, the art exhibition Urban New Deal aimed at identifying "the home" and "the street" as the twin pillars of a sustainable future. The exhibition presented a diverse "mosaic" of international voices, each offering a unique lens on how we might improve, utilize, and inhabit our domestic and public spaces.
The featured artists—ranging from the industrial precision of Germany to the minimalist philosophy of Japan—included:
Franz Ferdinand Wörle, Francesco Varesano, Mutsuo Hirano, Rainer Bonk, Dario Tironi & Koji Yoshida, Riccardo Monachesi, Antonius Höckelmann, Frank Dornseif (with Elke Wagner), Dacia Manto, Jasmine Pignatelli, and Silvia Serenari.
By bringing these artistic reflections into the conference environment, Fortunato Productions stimulated a creative "New Deal" in urban planning—one where art and design are the primary tools for reclaiming the human connections at the heart of our cities.
Anatomy of the Project
Artistic Integration: Our primary role was bringing a curated contemporary art exhibition into the institutional setting of a national conference on sustainable architecture.
Institutional Influence: A strategic residency within the Palazzo dei Priori, utilizing the historic halls of the Viterbo Municipality to influence local civic discourse.
Strategic Synergy: Curated to serve as the official cultural event for the "Ecoincentriamoci" summit, merging technical urban redevelopment with the communicative power of art.
Thematic Investigation: A deep dive into sustainable living, domesticity, and the revitalization of historic centers as the foundation of a resilient lifestyle.
Press
The impact of the show has been documented across specialized platforms, including:
