Claudia Casali from Faenza (OUT)

How your way of working has changed?
From March to today, everyday life has changed, we had to downsize our priorities and, I must admit, has slowly improved. At the beginning, as I imagine everyone, I was a bit bewildered then I realized that a compromise had to be found, activating a workstation at home than before, by choice, I did not have. So good wifi, a pc connected to the museum server, with directly downloadable working materials. But everything is and has been very gradual and faced with serenity, planning the days, without having the sense of emptiness that this situation has created for many. Without the anguish of having to do but of collaborating. The priority was to protect the museum, work and colleagues: so every week we thought about work plans smartworking that, I have to say, they were much appreciated. But the real change was in the slowdown which does not mean canceling but watching and appreciating what you do with greater attention, respecting time and silence. Living alone and having no one to share everyday life with, in recent months I have greatly re-evaluated relationships but also reflected on myself, granting myself those spaces that I could not find before. So a good book but also a good fashion magazine to read, a study left halfway to complete, a good sleep when necessary but also trivially the mid-afternoon herbal tea, yoga or gymnastics sessions and even a beauty mask in the evening. Thus demonstrating that everything can be done with different and sometimes more productive times because I believe that in recent years we have all run a little too much, to the detriment of our "mental health", of our person, of our self. Now, with the restart we have to treasure what we have learned in recent months but I am afraid that the memory of useful things, healthy, supportive soon vanishes.

What you're missing? Your personal experience of "absence" and "lack".
I have missed the affections, friends, colleagues and travel. I'm not a very social soul, so contact with physical and real people is very important to me. Obviously the new technologies have helped to face the long days and fill any gaps, but above all to "stay close" to the people I love, especially my parents, living in 300 km to me, in that Lombardy tormented by Covid, with all the tensions, insomnia and related anxieties. I tried to experience solitude and this absence, as I said, with serenity, choosing the things to do during the day but above all trying to be proactive without being mentally destroyed by the anxiety of the serious situation. The emergencies were canceled or rather reduced. The few cases of contingent problems have been dealt with without tension. We have been homebound for our health, not for decision-making habits. We must always keep this in mind before issuing judgments on political work. Being able to frequent the spaces of the closed museum has greatly attenuated the sense of loneliness that could arise in some situations. The works have always been close to me as solidarity presences, and many ideas for the future have already arisen from these solitary walks.

Museums and galleries have reacted to the moment with digitalization and virtuality. What are your "strategies" for establishing new relationships?
Finding a virtual alternative was a must in this emergency. I must admit that I did not expect such an important reaction from the cultural sector. The museums reacted promptly, creativity, enthusiasm for the inevitable closure, proposing alternative fruition programs. As MIC we have told our collections through daily posts of symbolic works of the Collection; we gave space to the artists with a greeting / wish in this difficult moment; we have used interviews that have not been seen in the past; we posted pottery lessons for the little ones and also organized a webinar on pottery creativity. The feedback was important, involving audiences who first looked at us but didn't stop to read us and now interact. It is certainly an opportunity that we have seized and that we will probably continue in other ways.
I would say that there has been a quick revolution in both the use of smartworking and digital platforms for webinars, interviews and business meetings. A revolution that would have taken years of activation if this emergency had not occurred. We now know that we can work and collaborate remotely, without expensive travel, safeguarding the planet. From now on we will have to carefully evaluate these opportunities as real operational possibilities, In respect, anyway, of the encounter which is always an important element of exchange.
Museums in general with their histories and heritage have played an important role in this crisis to reconnect and strengthen the social fabric of communities. The museum represents a community, the reopening has an important symbolic meaning. Now we must aim to bring the public back to museums, to admire live the beauty they have enjoyed via the web. It will not be easy for us as we will have so many difficulties to face (in terms of openings, safety, balance sheets, etc.) but we must always think, as we said, to the meaning and role of the museum in the community. Right, this emergency came at a time of great museum activity with the very important results of the last three years (increase in visitors, tourist tow, unprecedented visibility, new operational and management functionality). We think that around 150 thousand people work in the cultural sector in our region, the 6% of the regional economy is the result of the creative industry (We are talking about 8 billion euros!). My thoughts go out to these people, not all will benefit from this closure and the rethinking of cultural activities. We have to team up because, as has been said, "Nobody saves himself alone". Culture is the driving force of our nation, we must be proud of it and, mostly, capable of defending it.

Claudia Casali (1971). Lombard by birth, graduated in Conservation of Cultural Heritage at the University of Udine, where he also obtained a research doctorate in the history of contemporary art, art and aesthetic criticism. He has collaborated with various Italian museum institutions, curating numerous initiatives dedicated to young artists. For ten years, from November 2000 to December 2010, she was curator and assistant director at the MAR of Ravenna. From February 1st 2011 she is Director of the MIC of Faenza, where he also holds the role of curator of the contemporary art collections, director of the magazine "Faenza", responsible for the historic Faenza Prize. He collaborates with international institutions for the enhancement of contemporary ceramic sculpture. Among the curated exhibitions, those of S. Camporesi, C. Lick, S. Galegati, A. Mondino, M. Paladin, Cinnamon Laces, A. Violetta, the reviews on the déco, the art of the Second World War, the ceramic art of the 21st century. The latest curatorial project concerns the exhibition Picasso. The challenge of ceramics, at the MIC of Faenza until 2 June 2020. He lives and works happily in Faenza.
www.micfaenza.org