About
Listen to the Road is a network of expression in public space. Defining places in which artists are invited to present themselves, we have created the proper framework for interaction in a common place.
The city is full of abstract information which affects on our behaviour and our actions causing changes in urban space. The main purpose of Listen to the Road is to enhance and organize the abstract expressions of public space highlighting artistic works in such way to create a common space of opinion, behaviour and culture exchange. In particular, it concerns every kind of pop-up performances (music, dance, puppetry, circus, visual arts, stand-up comedy, performing arts, storytelling etc.) giving artists a step of expression. At the same time, it has been created a digital platform where the artists are registered in order to be discovered and followed to their future events by the public.
Listen to the Road aspires to institute the artistic expression in public space so as to meet with the walker, take him out of his house and discover in the city whatever he was probably searching for on the internet (YouTube etc.). In this way, it takes place a pluralistic spectacle to both residents and visitors of our city, reversing the rules of a traditional performance. Through Listen to the Road, the spectacle itself looking for its potential audience, instead of the opposite which usually happens. The walker will become a viewer by chance and not by choice. In this way, the audience is getting bigger and its qualitative composition changes, as amongst the spectators will be found people who usually don’t have the opportunity to watch something similar.
On the other hand, it is given to young artists a great opportunity to present their work in such a wide audience, activating the critical thinking of the public as well as offering new chances of communication with the audience. Thus, a performance taking place in public space has an even bigger dynamic, spreading by word of mouth and audiovisual material which is shared in social networks and the digital platform of Listen to the Road.
At the same time, Listen to the Road organizes the digital community of all participants. presenting the artists who performed in public through a personal profile of each one in order to be followed by everyone who is interested in them.
Listen to the Road changes the experience of walking in the city, involving actively the human factor. It revives the public spaces giving them back the sense of social intercourse and interaction through the presentation of various cultural expressions.
Procedure
The participants take part after their response to the open call, which runs throughout the duration of the programme. For each participant, a personal profile in the programme’s platform is automatically created with the submission of his application, which features information about his work, like his C.V., YouTube links etc., and contact information for work assignment. To each participant a certain space in the city is allocated, for a certain period of time in a chosen date. The artists wear a special badge during their performance, offered by the organization.
The spots used for the performances are specified and demarcated on the ground in the form of an artistic intervention. The participant can shape the space assigned to him according to his performance.