Arte in Transito - FASE 1

Arte in Transito is a public art project that aims to be an urban regeneration intervention through art, to tackle urban decay along Via Sacchi in Turin, with the aim of arousing interest and awareness in residents and users of public space, stimulating reflections on the cultural and social themes of the city and the territory.

Arte in Transito is the creation of 22 wall panels in two phases, between 2024 and 2025. The intervention involves the stretch of the street starting from number 39 almost to the intersection with Corso Sommelier.

The design contents of the panels are based on the cultural themes that emerged from the «Community Maps», developed by the students of the two-year Public Art course of the School of Decoration of the Accademia Albertina, in collaboration with the teachers of the Academy and the Department of Architecture and Design of the Polytechnic of Turin (DAD). In the preparatory phase, the «Community Maps» of Borgo San Secondo gave shape to the involvement of residents, traders and city users by reworking questionnaires filled out via the web and on the neighborhood websites, to rediscover convivial and symbolic places, and to define the themes of the art projects on the blind boundary walls. This method allowed to integrate participatory practices and strategies of active community involvement.

Each panel is composed of a conceptual description and a digital sketch, the result of a progressive elaboration of the initial idea, which is then transposed onto the surface.

The works tell stories, memories, elements of local culture and visions of the future, with the aim of promoting a dialogue between different generations and cultures, offering ideas for understanding contemporary reality through the reinterpretation of the past.
Artistic quality and freedom of expression are recognized as fundamental criteria in all phases of the project, from the preliminary selection to the final approval by the competent bodies.

To meet the conservation needs, Arte in Transito has adopted an alternative approach, based on indirect interventions: all the works are made on polycarbonate panels, entirely painted in the laboratory, protected before their installation in the public space, at a certain distance from the wall. The creation of the panels took place at the Accademia Albertina, involving the School of Decoration and other schools in the Visual Arts area.
The creative laboratory of the Albertina Academy, coordinated by the School of Decoration, has adopted an interdisciplinary and experimental approach, using unconventional techniques and emerging languages of mural art. In this perspective, the work emancipates itself from its traditional form, opening up the possibility of inhabiting public spaces also through communication methods typical of urban advertising and contemporary visual communication.

Arte in Transito concerns the service buildings of the Porta Nuova railway station, the blind walls on the eastern front of the street.
The fences that delimit the railway complex are divided into a sequence of pillars and brick wall panels – partly plastered, partly left exposed – and some are protected by the Superintendency. Over the decades, these surfaces have been subjected to the action of atmospheric agents, the loss of plaster, structural damage and acts of vandalism.

Video

MASTERPLAN ARTE IN TRANSITO (1.95 MB)

ARTE IN TRANSITO FASE 1 - PANELS (6.19 MB)

ESITI QUESTIONARIO - AIT FASE 1 (1.96 MB)