The MiBACT (Ministry for Cultural and Environmental Heritage) for photography: new strategies and new visions for Italy with Federica Chiocchetti, University of Westminster, as the respondant

The turn of this century witnessed an explosion of photographic practices. Having long been used as a strategic instrument of artistic, political and social investigation and documentation, the pervasive and broadly celebrated and analyzed photograph, and more in general the image, are now considered to represent a new creative space. Due to the advent of digitalization, new media and social networks, the production and distribution times of images have been revolutionized. The ensuing crisis of visual information, and the infinite potential for manipulation, have brought the expression to a state of upheaval. The confines between fiction and reality have been effectively eliminated, bringing into question how the world is represented today and reaching an ever-vaster public. Against this historical and cultural backdrop, in Italy too there is the necessity to study, valorize and disseminate photography as both cultural heritage and a contemporary language. Moreover, public intervention must be adapted to the technical and economic changes of the sector.