Book Talk
Book Talk is Arte Fiera’s cycle of talks dedicated exclusively to art books: catalogs, monographs, theoretical texts, and artist books. A full calendar of events presents some of the most interesting titles recently (or soon to be) published. Now in its fifth edition, this year’s his year's program devotes ample space to independent publishing, providing an overview of the contemporary publishing scene.
FRIDAY 6 FEBRUARY
12 noon
John Giorno. The Performative Word (Mousse, 2026)
Participants: Lorenzo Balbi (Director of MAMbo - Museo d'Arte Moderna di Bologna), Anthony Huberman (Artistic Director of GPS Giorno Poetry Systems) and Nicola Ricciardi (Curator and art critic)
1 PM
Paolo Berti, Estetiche della geolocalizzazione. Pratiche artistiche e media locativi (Sapienza Università Editrice, 2025) and AA.VV, AI & Conflicts vol. 2 (Krisis Publishing, 2025)
Participants: the author, Daniela Cotimbo (Curator with Francesco D’Abbraccio and Andrea Facchetti of AI & Conflicts vol. 2, Independent curator and founder of Re:humanism, Professor of Theory and Method of Mass Media, RUFA - Rome University of Fine Arts) and Stefania De Vincentis (Associate Professor of History of Contemporary Art, Ca' Foscari University, Venice and author of Museo digitale. Esperienze e progetti).
In collaboration with La Galleria BPER
2 PM
Silvia Camporesi, Una foto è una foto è una foto (Einaudi, 2025)
Participants: the author and Walter Guadagnini (Photography historian)
3 PM
Michael E. Smith, CC (CURA, 2026)
Participants: Luca Lo Pinto (curator), Simone Menegoi (Critic and curator) and Tommaso Pasquali (Art historian)
5 PM
Matteo Binci (curated by), Sound Chronicles. MPDS Audio Archive (Quodlibet, 2025) and Gabriele Tosi (curated by), AA.VV, Sound Chapters. Voices of Sound Experimentation in Italy (Viaindustriae, 2025)
Participants: the curators, Alice Mazzarella (Viaindustriae) and Fabio Sisti (Sound designer, Editorial Coordinator Sound Chronicles)
SATURDAY 7 FEBRUARY
12 noon
Giorgia Bertolino (curated by), NEWS FROM THE NEAR FUTURE. 30 years of the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation (Allemandi, 2025)
Participants: the curator, Lorenzo Balbi (Director of MAMbo - Museo d'Arte Moderna di Bologna) and Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo (President of Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo)
1 PM
Il Giardino delle Risonanze (Hopefulmonster, 2025)
Participants: Costantino D'Orazio (Acting Director, National Museums of Bologna), Luana Toniolo (Director of National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia and Managing Director of Archeological Park of Appia antica) and Andrea Viliani (Director, MUCIV-Museum of Civilizations, Rome)
2 PM
Chiara Calgaro, Changing Room (Altana, 2025) and Eleonora Agostini, A Study On Waitressing (Witty Books, 2024)
Participants: the authors. Moderated by Saul Marcadent (Researcher at Iuav University, Venice, and curator)
3 PM
Raffaella Perna (curated by), Riga 49: Gruppo 70 (Quodlibet, 2026)
Participants: the curator, Marco Belpoliti (Essayist and writer, Professor at Università Vita e Salute, Milan), Elio Grazioli (Contemporary art critic, retired Professor of History of Contemporary Art at University of Bergamo) and Nicolas Martino (critic, Professor of Esthetics at Academy of Fine Arts, Sassari, and at NABA)
4 PM
Ilaria Gianni (curated by), Alessandra Spranzi. Fotografie e altre cose (viaindustriae, 2026)
Participants: the artist, the curator, Cecilia Canziani (Curator of the Italian Pavillion at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennnale di Venezia, co-founder of IUNO, and author), Simone Menegoi (Critic and curator) and Filippo Nostri (Graphic designer)
The book was published with the support of the Italian Council (2024).
5 PM
Sudario #1: Ouroboros
Participants: Rä di Martino (Artist), Irene Fenara (Artist) and Stefano Tripodi (Founder of Sudario)
SUNDAY 8 FEBRUARY
12 noon
Alterazioni Video, INCOMPIUTO. La nascita di uno stile (Humboldt Books, 2025) and AA.VV, Sicilia (Istituto Sicilia, 2025)
Participants: Chiara Baldovini (Istituto Sicilia), Martina Motta (Researcher) and Giacomo Porfiri - Alterazioni Video (Artist and author)
1 PM
Flavio de Marco, Screen Life and PIN. Pittura italiana del Novecento (Quodlibet, 2026)
Participants: the author, Lorenzo Balbi (Director of MAMbo - Museo d'Arte Moderna di Bologna), Luca Bertolo (Artist and professor) and Federico Ferrari (Philosopher and professor)
3 PM
Fabio Cafagna and Elena Volpato (curated by), Notti | Cinque secoli di stelle, sogni, pleniluni (Corraini, 2025)
Participants: the curators
4 PM
Marco Scotini (curated by), Ugo La Pietra. La mia territorialità (Manfredi Maretti, 2026)
Participants: the artist, the curator and Manuel Orazi (Author and Professor of the History of Architecture and the City)
5 PM
Clarissa Ricci, Mercanti a Venezia. La Biennale e il suo Ufficio Vendite (Armando Editore, 2026)
Participants: the author, Francesco Angelini (Data Analyst and trustee of TIAMSA), and Roberto Grandi (Professor at Bologna Business School – University of Bologna)