Identità, l'io plurale

Between January and February, during ART CITY Bologna 2026, a rich programme of exhibitions and events will be held in prestigious public and private venues throughout the city – Archiginnasio di Bologna, Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna, Opificio Golinelli, Arena del Sole, PwC Italia, Arte Fiera, Palazzo Pepoli - Museo della Storia di Bologna – will involve numerous contemporary artists in a grand choral narrative.

The 2026 edition of do ut do, an initiative founded by Alessandra D'Innocenzo in 2012 to support the activities of the Fondazione Hospice MT. Chiantore Seràgnoli in Bologna, focuses on the theme of Identity, not understood as an individual affirmation but as a plural self, a condition that exists only in relation to and through the other. With this project, conceived by Alessandra D'Innocenzo, one therefore assumes not an identity to be declared, but to be inhabited. The theme was explicitly discussed with Dario Fo in the edition they created together, as a concrete practice: identity not as a stable form, but as a process that takes on meaning in the passage between voices, bodies and languages. The choice of Palazzo Pepoli for the collective exhibition responds to this vision: as a place of historical stratification capable of supporting practices based on responsibility and not on representation. Alessandro Mendini observed that do ut do maintains a Dadaist approach in its selection of artists: non-hierarchical, non-competitive, non-illustrative. At Palazzo Pepoli, do ut do will construct a field of plural identities, in which differences remain intact and, precisely for this reason, produce common sense.

The exhibition presents the work of six artists who explore the theme of identity in different ways and from different perspectives. Victor Fotso Nyie works with sculpture, often creating figurative portraits in which the classical iconography of African statuary blends with images evoking science fiction characters. Geraldina Khatchikian creates paintings in which she usually explores the theme of returning to the past and memory. In the works of Fiorenza Pancino, identity is never something fixed or defined: it is a process of transformation, made up of memories, emotions, fragility and discoveries. The works of Stefano W. Pasquini constitute a collection of pictorial and photographic suggestions, writings and drawings that include reflections, political activism, advertising graphics and actions. Lorenzo Puglisi draws on the compositional patterns of the collective pictorial imagination, deconstructing them to render them with a new and original interpretation. His images are not static but forms in the making, requiring perceptual and mental completion by the visitor. Giorgia Severi is a multimedia artist who deals mainly with ecology and environmental issues, reflecting on the consequences of anthropisation. She works with sculpture, installations, frottage, drawing and painting, video and sound field recordings.

Curated by: do ut do

Group exhibition: Victor Fotso Nyie, Geraldina Khatchikian, Fiorenza Pancino, Stefano W. Pasquini, Lorenzo Puglisi, Giorgia Severi

In collaboration with: Fondazione Bologna Welcome, P420, Galleria BoA Spazio Arte

Cover image: V.Fotso Nyie, Armonia, 2022, glazed ceramic and gold, 50x50x30 cm (FONY0031)