Creation factories, the performatic capacity of visual culture: image, imagination and innovation in the global city

The premise of this project is the consideration of the emergent model of artistic institution as a key component in local, regional and global systems of innovation, and as linked to the strategic development of creative economy. The emergence of systems of innovation - and the very existence of "imperatives for innovating"-have enormous effects on institutions and artistic and cultural practices. In full crisis of the Nation-State, the city, turned into global city (Sassen, 1991), is the place of the new institution. The introduction of "visual culture" as an underlying principle of society plays a determinant role in the contemporary process of institutionalization. It supposes a redefinition of "public space" by way of collapsing the societal belief that The Museum and The Cultural Classic Institution are essential representations of public space and shared identity. The new model would promote new practices characterized by interdisciplinary crossings, collective associations, shared authorship and the construction of knowledge, infrastructures and experimentations in the service of societal interest and needs. These practices would develop and promote explorations of the contemporary world, producing new forms of representation and new possibilities for action. The new institution must preserve its role as an instrument of critical thought for societal change and redefinition of public space, so as to inscribe in its essence the possibility of fundamental transformation.