On 15 and 16 October 2026, Terzo Paradiso Seoul 2026 brought together artists, activists, cultural practitioners and institutional representatives to discuss the role of art in society and explore new forms of participation. Promoted by the Italian Cultural Institute in Seoul, the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture and Fondazione Pistoletto Cittadellarte, the project combined discussions with collective activities, connecting theoretical research with concrete issues affecting contemporary Korean society.

The first day, hosted at the Seoul Arts Education Center-Yongsan, opened with contributions from Davide Scalmani, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Seoul, and Paolo Naldini, Director of Cittadellarte. The morning continued with participants splitting into two working groups to explore the themes of the Third Paradise, Preventive Peace and Demopraxy, laying the groundwork for the afternoon’s workshop activities.

Participants subsequently organised themselves into pairs and small groups to develop proposals in response to issues shaping contemporary society. This process led to the creation of fourteen projects, addressing a range of themes and adopting different approaches: peace on the Korean Peninsula and the role of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the stories of migrants, the recognition of trees’ rights, the protection of bees in urban environments, and the visibility of the LGBTQ+ community in a context where these issues remain relatively underrepresented.

Throughout the workshop, artists and activists worked together to develop ideas and proposals based on the issues raised during the discussions. The projects will continue to evolve until the end of 2026 and will be presented in a group exhibition scheduled for January 2027 at the Art Center Nabi in Seoul. This will be the first public presentation of the Cantiere Demopratico, offering an opportunity to share the ideas developed throughout the process.

From a society of automatons to a society of authors

On 16 October, the focus shifted to the relationship between art, education and cultural policies. The seminar, opened by Hyeongjong Song, President of the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, and Davide Scalmani, explored how Cittadellarte’s vision could contribute to rethinking the role of cultural institutions.

In his presentation, From Automated to Authors: Art at the Center of Humanity, Paolo Naldini introduced the idea of moving “from a society of automatons to a society of authors”. At the heart of his contribution was de-automation as a condition for exercising individual and collective freedom and responsibility, alongside the possibility of building communities of practice and governance capable of actively participating in public life. From this perspective, artbecomes a means of engaging people in the life of their communities and in shaping the decisions that affect them.

Giacomo Bassmaji, coordinator of the Opera Demopratiche, presented Making Together: Pistoletto’s Art as a Tool for Social Transformation, exploring the thought of Michelangelo Pistoletto, the Third Paradise, and the experience of Cittadellarte and the Opera Demopratiche. Soik Jung, curator of Terzo Paradiso Seoul 2026, addressed the theme of cultural recontextualisation and the ability of artistic practices to respond to the specific characteristics of the places in which they develop.

The seminar concluded with the roundtable discussion What values of being human should Seoul Arts & Culture Education 3.0, dedicated to the human values that should underpin a new vision for arts and cultural education in Seoul. Participants included Paolo Naldini, Giacomo Bassmaji, Soik Jung, Davide Scalmani and Orlando Jeungpill Choi, manager of the Seoul Arts & Culture Education Center-Yongsan. The discussion, moderated by Hae-Bo Kim, Director of the SFAC’s Arts & Cultural Engagement Division, also involved the audience.

When research informs cultural policy

The dialogue with the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture (SFAC) gives Terzo Paradiso Seoul 2026 significance beyond the two days of meetings. Established by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the foundation manages five centres across five metropolitan districts and nearly twenty venues dedicated to cultural activities. Its representatives expressed their intention to use Demopraxy, the Third Paradise, Pistoletto’s vision of Art at the Centre, and the reflection on the transition from a society of automatons to a society of authors as reference points for reforming the cultural policies within its remit.

In his notes on the experience in South Korea, shared with Cittadellarte’s staff, Naldini conveyed above all the personal significance of this achievement:

“It was moving not only to take part, on the other side of the world, among people so different from us [...], in a profound and sustained process of civic participation explicitly and formally grounded in a theory invented—literally invented—by us, Demopraxy, and formally supported by the Italian Cultural Institute [...], but also to be invited to present our other new ideas at a high-profile seminar dedicated to the reform of the policies of an institution so important to the city of Seoul.”

This passage highlights two key aspects of the project: on the one hand, the application of Demopraxy in a civic participation process developed by local cultural professionals and practitioners; on the other, Cittadellarte’s invitation to contribute to the debate on the policies of one of the city’s leading cultural institutions.

The next step: the Cantiere Demopratico exhibition

The work initiated in Seoul will continue over the coming months, with further meetings involving artist-activist pairs and working groups as they develop the fourteen projects conceived before and during the Forum. The outcomes of this process will be presented in a group exhibition in January 2027 at the Art Center Nabi in Seoul.

The exhibition will provide an initial opportunity to discover the proposals that emerged from the participants’ exchange of ideas. In the meantime, Cittadellarte and its Korean partners will continue to explore potential avenues for collaboration, from the Opera Demopratiche to residency and training programmes, as well as dialogue with the city’s cultural institutions. These two strands of work—one already underway and the other still to be defined—will allow the experience in Seoul to continue beyond the Forum itself.