To discover the most iconic images on the culture of industry, the memory of work, and the architectural, technological and landscape heritage of industrial archaeology, a trip to Ivrea, in Piedmont, is a must: the works in the AIPAI Photo Contest 23/24, promoted by the Associazione Italiana per il patrimonio archeologico industriale (Italian Association for Industrial Archaeological Heritage) are on show at the headquarters of the Associazione Archivio Storico Olivetti.
Ivrea is an ideal place to contextualise these photographs, because it is itself an iconic site, preserving such a high level of industrial heritage (and remarkable photogenicity, we might add) that it has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as ‘Ivrea, industrial city of the 20th century’.
It is worth remembering that it was here that the extraordinary adventure of Adriano Olivetti took place, whose humanist concept revolutionised production methods and made it a centre of experimentation with social and architectural ideas on industrial processes, with a particular focus on the welfare of local communities. The shape of the city and the industrial and urban buildings of Ivrea were designed by the most famous Italian architects and town planners of the period.
On display are the photographs from the second edition of the AIPAI Photo Contest which promotes the culture of industry, the memory of work, and the architectural, technological and landscape heritage of industrial archaeology.
The photographers’ gaze has focused on historical machines and production cycles, industrial areas and cities, landscapes of production and technological innovation, but also on the memory of industry, the history and culture of work, conservation, recovery and reuse, touching on the facets of industrial tourism.
The exhibition opens with the winning image, Soft Machine by Nicola Bertellotti. Soft Machine, as in those constructions that, according to architect Peter Davey’s definition, are based on advanced technology, but at the same time have cultural and aesthetic expressive qualities. The project by Claudia Mencarelli (winner of the Premio Mecenati di Giovani Talenti under 35 award) is dedicated to the Ex Alc.Este distillery in Ferrara and aims to suggest a possible protection of this heritage, placing this reality in a visual jewel case of memory and the unnoticed. The photographic projects deserving special mention are (Re)FineArt by Carlo D’Orta, which carries out research with an almost metaphysical representation, and Il futuro non fa breccia in questo muro. Cinta, cancelli, ruderi, visioni by Luigi d’Aponte, which presents as a floating space what remains of the legacy of the former ILVA-Italsider in Bagnoli remains concealed by high walls.
The industrial life of the Canal de Castilla and its surrounding countryside is portrayed by Nicola Cavallera, while Andrea Martino has chosen to focus on L’ex Tabacchificio Salvati: un monumento al lavoro (in Eboli). The exhibition also includes images by Chiara Cevales, Roberto Ciocchetti, Paolo Felletti Spadazzi, Fabrizio Fiscaletti, Milvia Morocutti, Giovanni Peressotti, Francesca Pompei, Alvise Raimondo, Roberta Vassallo and Claudio Zanirato.
Along with the AIPAI Photo Contest exhibition, there is also the opportunity to visit the permanent Olivetti #StoriaDiInnovazione exhibition. By the way, the Associazione Archivio Storico Olivetti, which preserves Olivetti’s documentary material, is a treasure trove of the best Italian and international photography.
The AIPAI Photo Contest is organised by AIPAI – Associazione Italiana per il Patrimonio Archeologico Industriale in collaboration with: Associazione Archivio storico Olivetti (Ivrea), DICEA – Università Sapienza di Roma, Do.co.mo.mo Italia, Fondazione AEM (Milano), Fondazione ISEC (Sesto San Giovanni), Fondazione Maire Tecnimont (Roma), Fondazione musil (Brescia), RoMe Museum Exhibition, Rete Fotografia and TICCIH, Comitato Internazionale per la Conservazione del Patrimonio Industriale. The exhibition will later be shown at musil in Brescia and at Fondazione AEM in Milan.
AIPAI Photo Contest 2023 Exhibition
From January 9 to February 16, 2024
Associazione Archivio Storico Olivetti
Villetta Casana
Via Miniere 31
10015 Ivrea – TO
Italy
https://www.archiviostoricolivetti.it/
