Fine Arts 2012-13 - The British School at Rome

Yasmin Fedda
Siamo Tornati 2013
HD video, 8 minutes
Siamo Tornati (We are back) is a short documentary I made during my residency at the BSR in 2013 at S.Cu.P. (Sport e
Cultura Popolare), an occupied abandoned building being used as a gym, community centre and school in San Giovanni.
During my time in Rome I became aware of the popular resistance to the cuts in social services and privatisation of public
space taking place across the country. In Rome this was particularly visible in the many social occupations happening
across the city, which ranged from old theatres to hospitals, sports centres to housing. These occupations seemed to me to
be an experiment in a new form of democratic organisation at a grassroots level, and were characterised by horizontal
organisation, community outreach and a strong ‘DIY’ ethos. When I visited S.Cu.P. I was inspired by their work and desire
to make changes in their lives in what are becoming more difficult economic and political circumstances. The popular
gym, where Gianni the boxing teacher taught, brought these issues together for me and showed a ‘proactive’ resistance on
a community level to common issues of unemployment, property speculation and corruption through providing a space for
accessible sports, education and cultural activities.
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Fine Arts 2012-2013