Event description
Piazza of Beauty.
CSAC Creative Labs turns the University of Parma's CSAC heritage into a living cultural infrastructure, where the archive becomes a space for research, experimentation and creative production. Through two Academies for students, PhD candidates and young professionals, participants explore the training and career development of major figures in photography, art, design, fashion and communication, following their trajectories from early work to professional maturity. The aim is not simply to revisit the past, but to understand how an author emerges, how a creative identity is built and how a professional path takes shape over time. In dialogue with curators, artists and professionals, participants compare these experiences with their own trajectories in an intergenerational exchange combining memory, innovation and co-design. The results are ultimately shared with the city through a public event, turning cultural heritage into an opportunity for participation, creativity and collective growth.
CSAC Creative Labs is organised in two five-day modules: a Spring School in May 2027 and a Summer School in September 2027. Each module begins with a selection of CSAC collections and introduces methods for archival research and interpretation, followed by thematic workshops with academics, curators and professionals. Participants work in groups to reconstruct formative and creative trajectories and develop their own projects through tutoring sessions, critical reviews and meetings with experts. The programme may also include visits to local cultural institutions and discussions with stakeholders. Outputs can take different forms - installations, concepts, visual narratives or other presentation formats - and are progressively selected and brought together within a curatorial framework. The results of both schools converge in a single public exhibition in Parma city centre, opening in November 2027 and accompanied by meetings, communication activities and digital documentation.