Sensori. Qualcosa si muove

A day of meetings dedicated to exploring the contaminated landscape where poetry, biology, and philosophy blend together. An exploration guided by guests from every corner of knowledge, in search of an uncharted path. "Sensori. Qualcosa si muove" aims to expand our perception of the unknown, weaving an ode to all the intelligences that inhabit what we call Nature, without even understanding what it is. Perhaps an open space where the minds of humans and other animals, plants, and minerals come together: a space waiting for words capable of describing it.

• 11– 12am | THE WORLD AS A LANDSCAPE. How does a lagoon think? What language does the forest speak?

with: Alberto Barausse, Paolo Pecere, Giancarlo Cinini

For many years now, philosopher Paolo Pecere's research has focused on the relationship between humans and the natural world. This includes differences between our minds and those of other animals, as well as crucial issues such as the birth of landscapes and the possibilities of ecology. These are questions where, between mythologies and technologies, every era provides its answers. Today, this research area is more vital than ever, especially thanks to multidisciplinary voices addressing the topic. That's why the inaugural meeting of "Sensori" will see Pecere in dialogue with Alberto Barausse, associate professor at the University of Padua, specializing in the analysis of human impact on ecosystems, and how ecological changes resulting from it, in turn, influence society. Moderating the meeting will be Giancarlo Cinini, a journalist and author for Il Tascabile, La balena bianca, Scienza in rete, Deckard, and other online magazines.

• 3:30–4:30pm | THE LITERATURE OF THE RISING TIDE. All the Stories Hidden by the Water

with: Laura Pugno, Francesco Falcieri, Barbara Casavecchia

Tides rewrite the landscape every day, as well as the lives of those who inhabit it, whether they’re humans, animals, or creatures halfway between the two worlds, like Laura Pugno's sirens. Author of essays, novels, and poems that exist on the border between reality and imagination, between the high and low tides of our relationship with the natural world. In this journey into the underwater world, Laura Pugno will be accompanied by Francesco Falcieri, a researcher at the Institute of Marine Sciences in Venice (CNR-ISMAR), where he conducts research in oceanographic, physical, and biological fields using direct measurements and numerical models. Moderating the discussion will be Barbara Casavecchia, an independent curator and critic, and a lecturer at the Brera Academy and NABA in Milan. In 2023, she curated the exhibition "Thus waves come in pairs" [Simone Fattal, Petrit Halilaj & Alvaro Urbano] at Ocean Space, Venice, representing the final chapter of the three-year research project "The Current III: Mediterraneans" by TBA21–Academy.

• 5–6pm | THE HIVE MIND THEORY. Matter as the Brain, the City as an Ecosystem

with: Chiara Spadaro, Laura Tripaldi, Nicolò Porcelluzzi

Amid exchanges of favors and goods, immersed in our daily affairs, we rely on a network of material and hormonal relationships: so are we really so different from bees? And what is the difference between a building and a beehive? We will discuss this together with Laura Tripaldi, a writer and researcher in the field of nanomaterials, author of the essay Menti parallele (Effequ 2020), an antidote to the asphyxiation of reductionism and blind specialization, a book that thrives on lateral ideas and alternative visions, hybridizing disciplines, living beings, objects, and technologies. Joining her will be Chiara Spadaro, an environmental journalist and anthropologist, a long-standing contributor to Altreconomia and author of L'arcipelago delle api (The Archipelago of Bees). As Spadaro writes, in the end, "Venice - just like a beehive or a community of insects - effectively represents the symbolic space of interdependence with the environment and different species, a microcosm that helps us understand the world." Moderating the meeting will be Nicolò Porcelluzzi, author of Fare i versi " (Making Verses) (Quanti, Einaudi 2022), and along with Matteo De Giuli, MEDUSA. Storie dalla fine del mondo (per come lo conosciamo), (NERO 2021).

• 6–8:30pm | "Desservir". Culinary intervention by The Tidal Garden with Gin dei Sospiri and the chocolaterie Vizio e Virtù

Alberto Barausse is associate professor at the Biology department of the University of Padua. His research (ranging from ecological modelling to theoretical and applied ecology, environmental impact assessment, ecosystem services, socio-ecological systems as well as nature conservation, particularly in water bodies) studies the human impact on ecosystems and how the resulting climate changes affect society, with the aim of developing sustainable management strategies (see www.lifevimine.eu).

Barbara Casavecchia is the curator of the exhibition Thus waves come in pairs (Simone Fattal, Petrit Halilaj & Álvaro Urbano) at Ocean Space, emerging site-specifically from TBA21’s fellowship The Current III - Mediterraneans, a three-year cycle of transdisciplinary research aimed at supporting situated projects, pedagogies and voices along the Mediterranean basin, developed in the generative format of walks, performances, podcasts, conversations, field trips, and platforms for collaborative thinking.

Giancarlo Cinini, journalist and activist, has worked on linguistics and has written for La Balena Bianca, Scienza in rete, Deckard and other online magazines. He collaborates with Galileo, Journal of science and global problems, Il Tascabile, Wired. He is interested in the social production of knowledge and the relationships between science, knowledge and politics.

Matteo De Giuli is an editor and writer who has collaborated with Treccani, Rai3, and Radio3. He has written "Buoni a nulla. Fondamenti di una teoria dell'ozio" (Good for Nothing: Foundations of a Theory of Idleness) (Quanti, Einaudi, 2022) and, along with Nicolò Porcelluzzi, "MEDUSA. Storie dalla fine del mondo (per come lo conosciamo)" (MEDUSA: Stories from the End of the World as We Know It) (Not, NERO editions 2021).

Francesco M. Falcieri, researcher at CNR - Institute of Marine Sciences (ISMAR), studies physical oceanography and in particular the transport and diffusion of pollutants (such as microplastics) in the sea. He was among the organizers of the exhibition “Anthropocene: the earth of iron and fire” (Venice, 2023), promoted by ARsMAR, an initiative born from the collaboration between ISMAR, the Venetian Research and Innovation District (DVRI) and the Academy of Fine Arts of Venice, with the aim of disseminating issues related to marine sciences through the interaction between scientists and artists.

Paolo Pecere is a historian of philosophy and writer of fiction and literary non-fiction. He has published volumes and articles on the relationships between philosophy, natural sciences and psychology in the modern and contemporary age. He is associate professor at the University of Roma Tre. Among his latest books: The God Who Dances. Travel, trance, transformations (Nottetempo, (2021), Soul, Mind and Brain from Descartes to Cognitive Science (Springer, 2020), Risorgere (Chiarelettere, 2019), La vita diretta (LiberAria, 2018)

Nicolò Porcelluzzi is an editor at "Il Tascabile" (Treccani) and a podcast author. He has written "Fare i versi" (Making Verses) (Quanti, Einaudi 2022) and, along with Matteo De Giuli, "MEDUSA. Storie dalla fine del mondo (per come lo conosciamo)" (MEDUSA: Stories from the End of the World as We Know It) (Not, NERO editions 2021).

Laura Pugno writes novels, poetry, essays and plays. Among her several works, six novels: La metà di bosco (Marsilio, 2017), La ragazza selvaggia (Marsilio, 2016), La caccia (Ponte alle Grazie, 2012), Antartide (Minimum Fax, 2011), Quando verrai (Minimum Fax, 2009), Sirene (Einaudi, 2007); nine poetry collections: I nomi (La nave di Teseo, 2023), Noi (Amos/A27, 2020), L'alea (Perrone, 2019), I legni (Pordenonelegge/Lietocolle, 2018), Bianco (Nottetempo, 2016), Nácar (Huerga & Fierro, 2016), La mente paesaggio (Perrone, 2010), Il colore oro (Le Lettere, 2007), Tennis (Nuova Editrice Magenta, 2002) and the essay: In territorio selvaggio. Corpo, romanzo, comunità (Nottetempo, 2018).

Chiara Spadaro, doctorate in Geographical Studies at the University of Padua with a thesis on food policies in lagoon environments, has been writing for over ten years for the magazine Altreconomia and dealing with communication for the third sector and local authorities. She is the author of numerous essays, articles and books, including: L'archipelago delle api (Wetlands, 2022), Plastica addio. Fare a meno della plastica: istruzioni per un mondo e una vita zero waste (Altraeconomia, 2019, with Elisa Nicoli) e Canapa revolution. Tutto quello che c’è da sapere sulla cannabis (Altraeconomia, 2018).

Laura Tripaldi (1993) is a scientist and writer. She holds a PhD in Material Sciences and Nanotechnology. She has published "Menti parallele. Scoprire l’intelligenza dei materiali" (Parallel Minds: Discovering Material Intelligence) (effequ 2020, translated into English in 2022) and "Corpi ambigui. Sguardi, genere, tecnologia" (Ambiguous Bodies: Gazes, Gender, Technology) (Einaudi 2021). She is the author of "Gender tech. Come la tecnologia controlla il corpo delle donne" (Gender Tech: How Technology Controls Women's Bodies) for Laterza.