The COVID-19 Visual Project

The COVID-19 Visual Project. A Time of Distance will be online from Monday 11 May. This platform aims at providing a permanent and constantly updated archive on the coronavirus pandemic and - through the use of visual narrative languages (photos, videos, texts, sounds) - it will document its consequences on the lives of millions of people around the world. It will continue to be updated until a vaccine for Covid-19 is found.
The contents of the platform, organized in themed chapters, are developed through author projects commissioned by Cortona On The Move to world-renowned photographers and videomakers, in Italy and around the world; there is an open call for visual artists; a rotating temporary exhibition of independent photographic and video projects; a section dedicated to social communication; a section dedicated to journalistic reports published in the international press.
The main narrative line consists of the stories that international photographers and videomakers will tell about this period of crisis, focusing on issues such as the health emergency, the economic repercussions and the social and individual consequences. Such projects have been commissioned by the international visual narrative festival Cortona On The Move which, as a cultural operator, feels the need and at the same time the responsibility to tell this historical period that will leave an indelible mark on contemporary and future societies.
A need shared by Intesa Sanpaolo, in the awareness that the task of a banking company of national importance is to contribute not only to economic growth, but also to the cultural and civil growth of the country.

Simon Norfolk, from the series Lost Capital. © Simon Norfolk.

The platform consists of seven chapters that cover the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic: from the health emergency to the urban void, from lockdown to the economy, from the wounds inflicted on society to the revenge of nature and the new normality. The aim is to create a permanent archive that brings together images, documents, facts and emotions from this dramatic and unique historical period.
The vision starts from Italy and extends to the world. From May 11st, online on the platform: Covid on Scene by Alex Majoli, a story telling Italy from north to south during the lockdown; Simon Norfolk and Edoardo Delille who, with Lost Capital and Silenzio, investigate beauty in deserted London and Florence; the first part of an extensive work by Gideon Mendel who, also from London, narrates the changes in the lives of people outside and inside the house; the video project Afuera, through which the visual artist Luis Cobelo casts from a terrace a 180-degree glance at the lockdown in Barcelona and Still air, in which Harsha Vadlamani renders the phase of personal distancing in India; Gabriele Galimberti who, with Support Local Business, starts a reflection on the economic consequences of Covid-19 through the stories of rediscovery of local shops; Next stop, in which Daniele Ratti takes pictures of empty Italian highways and the Italian motorway service stations, and again in Italy Mattia Balsamini and Raffaele Panizza tell us about the realities of our Made in Italy converted into health and medical products to meet the needs of the health emergency.

Harsha Vadlamani, from the series dalla serie Still Air. © Harsha Vadlamani.

Among the artists who will contribute to the platform in the coming weeks and months: Carolina Arantes (France), Nanna Heitmann (Russia) Jerome Sessini (France), Hahn&Hartung (Germany), Gaia Squarci (USA), Paolo Woods (Italy), Daniel Etter (Germany), Alba Zari (Italy), Mattia Crocetti (Italy), Mashid Mohadjerin (Belgium), Silvia Bigi (Italy), Michele Spatari (South Africa).
The open call for visual artists will be launched on May 18th and carried out in partnership with LensCulture, one of the largest online communities of contemporary photography, in order to reach many places around the world.
The COVID-19 Visual Project. A Time of Distance will select and host independent visual narrative projects on a rotating basis, to be complemented with different points of view.
The archive will not only consist of author's images. The Covid-19 pandemic is the center of attention of millions of citizens and thousands of newspapers around the world. The platform dedicates space to this narrative universe through two distinct sections: social networks with iconic images taken from Instagram and media with relevant reports published in international newspapers. For both sections the contents will be selected and constantly updated.

Edoardo Delille, from the series Silenzio. © Edoardo Delille.

The ongoing reflection in Italy - the first Western country to be affected by the pandemic - on its social and economic impact is entrusted to the sociologist Francesco Morace (President of Future Concept Lab) and the economist Massimo Daveri (Professor of Practice in Macroeconomics, Director of the Full-Time MBA at SDA Bocconi School of Management).
The COVID-19 Visual Project. A Time of Distance, under the patronage of the Region of Tuscany, has been promoted by the Municipality of Cortona and the Municipality of Reggio Emilia and is part of the Sinergie project, realized thanks to the support of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers / Department of Youth and Anci. The COVID-19 Visual Project. A Time of Distance has been conceived and produced by Cortona On The Move in partnership with Intesa Sanpaolo and is supported by Fondazione Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze and Council of Europe - European Commission.

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[ INTERNAL RESOURCES ]
◉ [ FPtag ] COTM
◉ [ FPtag ] COTM 2015
◉ [ FPtag ] COTM 2016
◉ [ FPtag ] COTM 2017
◉ [ FPtag ] COTM 2018

[ EXTERNAL RESOURCES ]
◎ The COVID-19 Visual Project. A Time of Distance
◎ Cortona On The Move
◎ Carolina Arantes
◎ Mattia Balsamini
◎ Silvia Bigi
◎ Luis Cobelo
◎ Mattia Crocetti
◎ Edoardo Delille
◎ Daniel Etter
◎ Gabriele Galimberti
◎ Hahn&Hartung
◎ Nanna Heitmann
◎ Gideon Mendel
◎ Mashid Mohadjerin
◎ Raffaele Panizza
◎ Simon Norfolk
◎ Daniele Ratti
◎ Jérôme Sessini
◎ Michele Spatari
◎ Gaia Squarci
◎ Harsha Vadlamani
◎ Paolo Woods
◎ Alba Zari

categories

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