Many people feel the lack of expressive spaces, not only understood as opportunities to express themselves, but also as physical spaces where they can do so in a free, inclusive and welcoming manner.
This theme often comes up when talking to young people in Bozen/Bolzano, especially those active in creative fields or related to the world of culture and art.
- But what is an expressive space, and what is its value?
- What characteristics make it such?
- Where can we find it, and how can we create it if we cannot find it?
First of all, it is worth bearing in mind that different people have different ideas of what an expressive space could or should be, but we can find commonalities even within different points of view.
In general, an expressive space is a place, physical, digital or mixed, where people can express themselves through dialogue, art or any other practice that can give them a way to communicate, thoughts, feelings and emotions, conscious and subconscious.
The expression of what one has inside does not have to take place in a group, one can also express oneself alone, but usually an expressive space is much richer and livelier if several people can use it. It is therefore a place where exchange and encounter can play a fundamental role in making it vivid and active.
Expressive spaces, especially if they are public places, or in any case places accessible to all, are of incalculable value to a community, because they can be the scene of encounters, opportunities for exchange, hotbeds of ideas and forges of political participation. Places where people can forge bonds and act together to shape their living spaces.
To function best, however, these spaces should be easily accessible, inclusive, respectful and welcoming, and should foster humble and (self)critical forms of expression. In spite of motivation, however, there is one factor that is crucial in enabling the emergence of an expressive space: the actual presence of a place that can be used.
In Bolzano, the question of space is particularly sensitive, as there are many outdoor public places that are easily accessible for most of the year, but the same cannot be said of covered places. For most people it is in fact extremely difficult to access covered spaces to be made into expressive spaces, and this depends on numerous factors including the exclusive costs of renting, the scarce availability of places dedicated to creative-cultural activities from below, and political/economic support almost exclusively oriented towards associations or cooperatives to the detriment of freer or informal forms of aggregation.
- So what can we do to make the spaces we have more accessible and inclusive?
- What places in our city can we make expressive spaces?