On Thursday, November 14, 2024 on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Comitato Fondazioni of which Fondazione ICA Milano is part, the institution presents Shame is a Revolutionary Feeling, a program dedicated to performative practices in which the researches of five young artists recently graduated from the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan engage in an intense dialogue together. The program is part of a series of projects promoted by Comitato Fondazioni Arte Contemporanea. The initiative aims to bridge arts education with the art industry, represented by the participating members of the committee.

The works presented by Raffaele Greco, Federica Mariani, Aronne Pleuteri, Martina Rota and Sabrina Zanolini explore the relational aspect of art to highlight its generative potential in a broader social and collective context. Through interventions designed for the corridors, stairs, halls and courtyard of the former industrial building of Fondazione ICA Milano, the artists use the body as a means of expression, amplifying the poetic potential of performance.

The project, curated by Chiara Nuzzi and Gabriella Rebello Kolandra, takes its title from the homonym volume by philosopher Frédéric Gròs, who conceives the feeling of shame as a possible way out of social paralysis and an opportunity for collective transformation. Accepting this provocation, Raffaele Greco (1994) proposes a collective exploration of the dynamics representative of phenomena related to specific places and communities. Federica Mariani (2000) together with Emma Dotti, referring to certain “abortive gestures” historically prescribed under medical advice, reclaims the self-determination of one's body in a collective performance. Aronne Pleuteri (2001) proposes a look at the concept of “dromology”-the science of speed-inspired by the radical theories on the concept of accident devised by philosopher Paul Virilio. Martina Rota (1995) focuses on the female orgasm as an instrument of political and personal claim and Sabrina Zanolini (2000) engages in a study on the subversive potential of certain roles, starting on this occasion from the figure of the guard within institutional contexts.

Shame is a Revolutionary Feeling invites the public to reflect on the power of shame as a means of expressing transformative rage, proposing a careful look directed towards the contemporary performance researches of younger generations as a catalyst for collective and personal transformation. The invited artists take over the Foundation's spaces for a day, placing themselves in dialogue with the works in the exhibitions Gumbo by Tomoo Gokita and Picture Window Frame by Stefano Graziani and OFFICE, running through November 30, 2024.