SOUND ART
Risonanze Urbane (Sound) – Sound Artwork
Urban Resonances (Sound) is the international open call promoted by The Others Art Fair in collaboration with the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma and coordinated by Lorenzo Bruni and Cecilia Casorati (ABA Rome), for the creation of a site-specific sound artwork dedicated to the relationship between urban space, sound perception, and digital connections in the age of smart cities.
Given the large number and high quality of the proposals received — as well as the variety and conceptual depth of the works submitted by artists from different international contexts — four projects were selected, each offering a distinct perspective on the relationship between sound and urban space.
Karin Sander – Stone Splash
The artist introduces the natural sound of a river into the urban context, creating a perceptual and poetic shift. The work unsettles habitual listening, transforming the architectural environment into a mental landscape and refocusing attention on the fluid element as a principle of life and transformation.
Karin Sander (Bensberg, Germany, 1957) lives in Berlin and is a conceptual artist known for her minimal interventions that redefine the perception of space and objects, as seen in her work for Skulptur Projekte Münster. She represented Switzerland at the 2022 Venice Biennale and teaches at ETH Zurich.
Davide Bertocchi – Strato-dust (Once and For All)
A deconstructed electric guitar sound alternates with moments of silence, evoking the city’s vital rhythm and paying homage to artists who explored noise as language — from Metzger to Russolo. The piece functions as an exercise in critical listening: an invitation to recognize the hidden energy beneath the sonic saturation of the urban world.
Davide Bertocchi (Modena, 1969) lives and works in Paris. His practice combines sound, video, and installation, investigating the dynamics of image diffusion and musical culture. He has exhibited in venues such as Palais de Tokyo (Paris), MAMbo (Bologna), and Kunsthalle Bratislava.
Marco Bagnoli & Giuseppe Scali – Soglia Urbana. Risonanza delle Rane
A “sonic gate” where the gong and the croaking of frogs become symbolic instruments of orientation and transition. The work invites a rethinking of urban space as a sensitive organism, suggesting a reflection on the lost harmony between nature and the city in the hyperconnected age.
Marco Bagnoli (Empoli, 1949) is among the leading Italian conceptual artists. His research explores the relationships between space, light, and perception in symbolic and spiritual terms. He has exhibited in institutions such as the Centre Pompidou, the Venice Biennale, and Castello di Rivoli.
Giuseppe Scali (Empoli, 1958) is a composer, record producer, and founder of EMA Vinci, a production company active in classical, contemporary, and sound art music. Author of stage works, sound installations, and multimedia projects, he explores the relationship between sound, space, and perception, with particular attention to the spiritual and technological dimensions of sound.
Marcello Spada – Car Ghosting
Marcello Spada presents a composition based on experimental sounds developed to compensate for the absence of noise in electric vehicles (AVAS – Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System). The work reflects on new sound ecologies and the acoustic identity of contemporary cities, where the silent mobility of electric transport reshapes how human presence is perceived in public space.
Marcello Spada (Bologna, 1984) is an artist working site-specifically with new technologies. His works explore acoustic ecologies and the relationship between perception, environment, and contemporary mobility.
During the 14th edition of the fair (October 30 – November 2, 2025), each day will feature a different sound artwork, transforming the entrance stairwell of the International Training Centre of the ILO (Viale Maestri del Lavoro, Turin) into an acoustic threshold in constant metamorphosis. This daily rotation will allow the public to experience four original interpretations of the open call’s theme and to understand how sound research can manifest in multiple forms of listening, perception, and imagination of urban space.
SOUND CHRONICLES
Completing the initiatives dedicated to the theme of sound, the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma will also host, on Saturday, November 1 at 3:31 PM, a round table on the topic of the archiving and enhancement of immaterial works:
Sound Art and Urban Resonances: The City as a Political Space.
Within the framework of The Others Art Fair, a tribute will be presented to MPDS (Mario Pieroni and Dora Stiefelmeier) Audio Archive, a continuously expanding sound archive comprising over 2,600 audio files by more than 200 artists from the 1960s to the present day.
In collaboration with Zerynthia – Associazione per l’Arte Contemporanea OdV and the Academy of Fine Arts of Rome, a selection from the volume Sound Chronicles – MPDS Sound Archive, curated by Matteo Binci (published by Quodlibet), will be exhibited. The project is supported by PAC2024 – Piano per l’Arte Contemporanea of the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Italian Ministry of Culture.