The Circular Economy is defined by the European Union as “a production and consumption model that involves sharing, lending, reusing, repairing, reconditioning and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible”. Fifty years after its theorisation, Circularity is now one of the most promising and ambitious strategies for creating an environmentally, productively and industrially sustainable future. Words like recirculation, reuse and recycling have started to increasingly populate assessments and analyses of long-term policies and our potential for wealth, identifying over time the key points of the problem, such as how to manage the exhaustion of primary resources, the illusion of exponential growth or the management of waste.

The Circle is a photographic project narrating the revolution of possible solutions. Following a very long research project, Luca Locatelli has documented the good practices, experiments, ambitions and paths of this new utopia. His ten-year commitment to the subject is condensed in the stories commissioned by Gallerie d'Italia of Intesa Sanpaolo, presented for the first time in a unitary context in this exhibition.

Visitors are taken on a European journey of experimentation and sustainable industrial advancement, touching on themes such as geothermal energy, the recycling of textiles, the repurposing of abandoned industrial areas, and food. The stories portray real experiences of Nature Based Solutions, actions undertaken to protect, sustain and restore natural ecosystems, which, when applied to industrial and production models, have the potential to trigger the Cultural Transformation needed to change the course of things. Accompanied by a substantial set of infographics and explanatory texts, the images tell of experiences and realities in which the finest engineering, craftsmanship and ancestral wisdom go hand in hand to create a space where Nature can be a central issue again, and where man’s knowledge and wisdom can be at the service of environmental forces in order to benefit from their power, without attempting to tame and imprison them: those Nature-Based Solutions which, more than any other, offer us the greatest chance of success. They show us how the most futuristic technology and the intuition of self-production can both contribute to the same goal - the closing of the circle, the possibility of a perpetual system.
The possibility of success.

The exhibition, curated by Elisa Medde, with the specialist support of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation - the biggest foundation in the world to promote the Circular Economy, in which Intesa Sanpaolo has been the only financial institution with the role of Strategic Partner since 2015 - and the collaboration of Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo and Fondazione Cariplo, will open to the public at Gallerie d'Italia - Turin from 21 September 2023 and will be accompanied by a catalogue published by Gallerie d'Italia / Skira.

A rich series of appointments will be presented during the exhibition, for the traditional Wednesday #INSIDE public programme, with talks and meetings related to the topic of the Circular Economy

SPECIAL PROJECTS

Thanks to the Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo project, the exhibition “Luca Locatelli. The Circle” leaves the museum spaces of the Gallerie d'Italia - Turin and enters the city, with a series of images from the exhibition displayed on trams, posters and cultural postcards in Turin's public spaces. This initiative has the dual aim of bringing the public closer to the project's key message, which sees circularity as a long-term economic-environmental solution, as well as offering digital accessibility to some of the exhibition contents (by scanning QR codes using your smartphone).

The operation contributes to the sharing of iconic images ranging from aeronautical recycling - with the PAMELA project for the dismantling and recycling of decommissioned planes - to mussel farming in Galicia as an example of integrated food production, and, last but not least, the redevelopment of a former coal mine in Germany, which has now been transformed into an open-air museum.

Furthermore, with the aim of encouraging young people to respect the environment, sustainability and sharing, the Foundation will be offering secondary school teachers free online training dedicated to the themes of the exhibition, in order to facilitate their commitment and the students’ involvement.

The exhibition is also part of the programme of La cultura dietro l'angolo (Culture around the corner), which proposes activities and events throughout the districts of the city with the aim of bringing culture closer to home, creating new opportunities for relationships, sharing, aggregation and participation.

AWorld

Furthermore, as part of the Protect the Environment Mission of Obiettivo Pianeta, Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo will be activating a digital citizen engagement challenge with AWorld, the official platform of the United Nations ActNow campaign against climate change and in support of all 17 SDGs of the 2030 Agenda.

The “circular economy” theme, the focus of the photo exhibition, will also be the fulcrum of the educational and engagement activity proposed by the Aworld App, which will publish five new paths between September 2023 and February 2024, with related episodes, that investigate and address the theme of the circular economy and how it can be applied in daily life to safeguard the well-being of the Planet. 

The challenge launched on the App aims to engage, educate and stimulate positive competition in order to generate measurable initiatives and track the activities undertaken by users who will join the initiative, taking the exhibition beyond the borders of the museum.

Find all the details about the App here

Download the Aworld App in Support of ActNow, become a member of “The Circle Team”: take part in the challenge by reading contents and recording actions.

Under the Patronage of