About the seminar
In this seminar, Sara Del Bene will explore the role of contemporary artists in community-building. In the contemporary vision of art, there is a desire to see the audience not (merely) as spectators, but (also) as actors; new active art forms focus on relationships and creating a community. Del Bene will illustrate the definitions and the main characteristics of relational art, social art, and interactive and participatory art. She will also explore its aesthetic limits, authorship, and social impact.
About the speaker
Sara Del Bene is an artist and organizational well-being consultant based in Brussels. She is the founder of Well-Being ArT Work (WBAW), an initiative that promotes social cohesion projects with local and international institutions using creativity as a tool. She studied at the Liceo Artistico Leon Battista Alberti in Florence and graduated in International Relations and in Economics. Del Bene has worked for international organizations in Europe and in the United States. She also holds a Masters in Management at the VUB in Brussels. Her artistic practice has been enriched by her experience as a trainer and facilitator of groups.
Sara Del Bene’s artistic practice inspired her to investigate the connection between creativity and well-being. Her growing interest in the creative process - more than the product - is a key element of her research. Del Bene’s experience as a facilitator of groups with WBAW has strongly influenced her artistic practice which shifted from sculpture to interactive installations, strongly involving the audience. “Art is therapeutic, and creativity can be a real tool for social cohesion.” Her artistic production has been directed towards interactive and participatory works to dialogue with the public on current issues.
In 2019, Del Bene was invited to participate in “Creative Backslash”, a European conference in Belgrade on creativity that wanted to strengthen intercultural dialogue by bringing creative hubs and communities together. Del Bene also collaborated with VisitBrussels, Stistema Fondazione Toscana, and the FlorenceBiennale.
In 2023, Del Bene presented the solo exhibition “Creative Energy-Energia Creativa” in Prato, Italy. The exhibition was set-up under the patronage of the Municipality of Prato in the Tuscany Region, in partnership with the Education Department of the "Luigi Pecci" Center for Contemporary Art and the Educational Department of the Textile Museum.
“Creative Energy” was the fruit of Del Bene’s artistic research. The exhibition was presented as a space where the artist is an animator, inviting visitors to listen to their own individuality and creativity. Her aim was to create an “ever-changing space of art, play and conviviality”. Visitors were invited to interact, touch, move in space, feel free, creative and, above all, have fun playing, assembling, wrapping, and disassembling.
Del Bene’s presented artworks were endless creative exercises, examples of interactive installations for a collective performance coming to life with the active, tactile and physical participation of visitors of all ages, becoming the protagonists of her installation. The exhibition was also an opportunity for Del Bene to experiment and collect suggestions for her research.
In 2023, Del Bene also presented Cocoon, a site-specific installation for a surface of 600 square meters at the Tepidarium, a liberty greenshouse built in 1880, in the horticultural garden of Florence.
For more info, see www.saradelbene.it
Practical
The CLEA seminars are taking place simultaneously at the VUB campus and online (via Zoom) and are open to everyone interested!
When. Friday February 9, 2023 from 15:00 until 17:00 h
Where. VUB campus Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Elsene. Building I, room I.1.01
Online. You can follow the seminar online via Zoom. You may need a Meeting ID and passcode to enter.
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82757798426?pwd=em9sQlJDVjJYTEFRNk01dEJLWGxGU…
Meeting ID: 827 5779 8426
Passcode: 122127
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