Last Monday, Cittadellarte hosted the Biella leg of Art for Change, Hangar Piemonte's research and development program dedicated to exploring models of collaboration between the cultural and artistic worlds, businesses, and public administrations. It proved to be an intense day, which, as reported in a previous article, featured work hubs (art bonus, corporate welfare, sustainable development, and public-private partnerships), in-depth discussions, a think tank, and a final presentation that brought together representatives of institutions, cultural organizations, businesses, foundations, universities, and professionals. The event, sponsored by Biella UNESCO Creative City, not only offered a moment of collective reflection on the role of art and culture as levers of social and economic innovation, in dialogue with businesses and institutions, but also revolved around a thorny and urgent topic: public interest. The Art for Change day at Cittadellarte demonstrated the complexity—but also the concreteness—of public interest when it emerges from the dialogue between diverse stakeholders. From business development to cooperation networks and innovative partnerships, the direction seems to be shared: building new, responsible, and sustainable alliances capable of generating real impact in local communities.

Institutional Greetings

After the afternoon of roundtable discussions, the plenary session opened with an introduction by Mara Loro, director of Hangar Piemonte, who recalled the project's evolution: "Hangar was founded in 2014 and in 2022 became an agency for cultural transformation. Imagining and building strategic actions of general interest is our task. Twenty-five years ago, right here, I attended the meetings between Pistoletto, Nino Cerruti, and the Biella industrial world: there I understood that artists and entrepreneurs share the ability to live in the present without judgment. From this awareness, Art for Change was also born." Sara Gentile, deputy mayor of Biella, followed, emphasizing the role of Biella as a UNESCO Creative City, emphasizing that sustainability must be "environmental, of course, but also economic and social." The Councilor for Culture also emphasized the value of the general interest enshrined in the Constitution and the role of the territory: "Biella is among the Piedmont provinces with the highest number of third sector organizations. Tools like the Art Bonus allow us to undertake projects—like the one at the Teatro Sociale Villani—that we could not sustain alone." His remarks were followed by those of Giuliana Carusi Setari, president of Cittadellarte, who called Art for Change "a courageous and necessary project" capable of guiding the actions of foundations and cultural organizations toward sustainable local and global development. A reference to Lorenzetti's Buongoverno frescoes—reproduced in Cittadellarte's Palazzo del Buongoverno—proposed a parallel: "They depict an ideal city born of justice and solidarity. In the original work, a bearded old man embodies the Municipality of Siena... well, for Biella, that figure is Pistoletto." Irene Bongiovanni, national president of Confcooperative Cultura Turismo e Sport and president of Confcooperative Piemonte Nord, closed the institutional greetings. For Bongiovanni, the challenge is to build authentic convergences: "We all believe in the generative value of culture. Now we must ask ourselves what actions to implement." She outlines four directions: corporate well-being through culture, caring for communities and territories, strengthening networks, and new projects and policies to support culture as a strategic asset.

The General Interest: Daniela Ciaffi's Sociological Framework

Professor Daniela Ciaffi (researcher and associate professor of Urban Sociology at the Polytechnic University of Turin and vice president of Labsus – Laboratory for Subsidiarity) introduced the key theme of the plenary session: the general interest. Recalling sociologist Luciano Gallino's definitions—from the satisfaction of needs to uncertainty, from the desire for appropriation to the redistribution of resources—Ciaffi demonstrated how complex and vibrant the concept is. She invoked Article 118 of the Constitution on the principle of subsidiarity, calling it a coming-true prophecy: "Our country is an extraordinary training ground, with 350 local administrators who interpret the general interest every day. In collaboration agreements, I see unprecedented alliances, which include even the most invisible stakeholders. Today, if this meeting generates new, selfless alliances, we will have taken a step forward."

The Think Tank

The event continued with a think tank, moderated by Cesare Biasini Selvaggi, featuring Michelangelo Pistoletto, Marina Chiarelli, Councilor for Culture, Equal Opportunities, and Youth Policies of the Piedmont Region, Alessandro Boggio Merlo, President of the Tourism and Culture Section of the Biella Industrial Union, and Daniela Ciaffi. The keynote address that opened the discussion was Michelangelo Pistoletto, who was asked by the moderator to answer a question: "What is the general interest for you?"

Pistoletto began with a "tiny" point: the self. He recalled the 1950s, when artists were free to express a unique and self-referential style. His father, a painter, had taught him that art was a service to society; with modern art, however, the connection between artist and community was severed for him. "If I had stuck to the absolute, I would have been alone. I chose the mirror because in front of the mirror there is myself, and at the same time there is the world. I painted my self-portrait on a mirror that reflected everything that lives before it. The mirrored painting opened the doors from solitude to the world." On the relationship between contemporary art and local areas, Pistoletto clarified: "I don't know what contemporary art is, I know what we do. Ours is a non-profit work that transcends the economic system of art and is intertwined with a systemic interest. Business creates jobs, art creates awareness. But that's not enough: we need shared responsibility."

For Alessandro Boggio Merlo, business is not a distant or separate element from the general interest: "Thinking that business does something for the common good means separating the plans. I believe that business is already in the general interest." Not philanthropy, then, but strategy. Business, according to Boggio Merlo, "understands the needs of local communities" and can apply the word "care" as a "gesture of attention and love" toward people and the environment, with a multiplicative effect.

Marina Chiarelli, on the other hand, offered a vision based on the concept of attraction: "Interest is what attracts. Collective interest therefore has an individual root that must not hinder the well-being of others." On the topic of care, raised by the moderator, she was clear: "In Italy, there is a lot of individual initiative and little planning. Hangar is a virtuous example: when culture becomes a business, it becomes reliable and sustainable." Chiarelli finally reiterated the generational theme: "We must allow young people to work in culture. The Region must accompany local communities towards what they aspire to become."

Daniela Ciaffi finally emphasized the value of new alliances and the role of common goods: "In common goods, it's not ownership that matters, but use. In Italy, I can partner with a group to care for a space: elsewhere, like abroad, it's surprising."

Hub Feedback

The day concluded with four presentations by national experts and representatives from the public and private sectors: Irene Sanesi (CCW), Carolina Botti and Lucia Steri (Ales – Arte Lavoro e Servizi), Marella Caramazza (ISTUD – Cottino Social Impact Campus), and Vincenzo Santoro (ANCI Nazionale). They offered perspectives on the main tools for collaboration between culture, business, and institutions, drawing on the findings of the discussion hub they participated in. Steri emphasized how the Art Bonus allows individuals and businesses to support culture with significant tax incentives. The importance of local facilitators and the potential role of Hangar emerged at the discussion. Recurring themes included: difficulty in bringing together patrons and beneficiaries; lack of resources within government; and the need for a new language on sustainability, also oriented toward ESG parameters. Caramazza then highlighted the diversity of perspectives at the discussion: public administration, business, finance, and the third sector. Among the key words that emerged, it highlighted common language, enabling the transition from risk mitigation to impact generation; alliances and networks, considered essential; and innovation, without which "there is no sustainability." The discussion also recognized tensions in resource allocation, which require new spaces for dialogue.

Santoro emphasized the importance of collaborative tools in cultural valorization, citing the experience of the PNRR (National Network for Regional Development) villages call. But he also highlighted a widespread weakness: people are not always ready to use these tools effectively and systematically, as qualified professionals—and the resources to support them—capable of guiding the processes are needed. Finally, for Sanesi, welfare is "a space for alliances between art, culture, and business," but also territorial welfare, which engages communities. The discussion focused on three levers: willingness to change; new ways of exercising leadership; and mutual listening. At the heart of everything, in this sense, "is mutual learning," he concluded, "and nurturing relationships, even with nonhumans."