The Metropolitan City of Venice can function as a magnifying glass on phenomena now widespread in many cities around the world, such as depopulation, mass tourism, and the privatization of space. For this reason, it represents the ideal context to promote a survey of the desires and aspirations of the local community, creating an open, non-partisan platform for expression.
You are therefore invited to contribute by writing a letter starting now.
Panorama and Versatile will organize spaces for writing new letters open to all citizens, together with one or more exhibition moments to present the project during the weeks leading up to the elections. For this, we also recommend signing the release form created for the occasion. Upon the mayor's appointment, the letters will be sealed in envelopes and delivered to the City Council.
The first collective writing session will take place on February 6, 7, and 8, from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Panorama; subsequent appointments will be announced later.
The project does not adhere to any political position but aims to create a concrete opportunity to stimulate the local community to engage with themes affecting the city, encouraging a form of participation that goes beyond a simple voting preference and includes those who, despite not being residents, actively live in the Venetian context. The objective of the project is to build a direct channel between citizens, inhabitants, and administrators to share needs and desires regarding the future of the city.
All contributions will be included, provided they respect these few project guidelines:
The letter, whether anonymous or signed, may be addressed to the city of Venice or to a person who is still unidentified and who will be responsible for administering it.
The form of the letter is entirely free: it can consist of a text, a drawing, a poem, and much more…
The letter should express desires and thoughts for the future of the city, rather than solely referencing current political situations.
The letter must maintain respectful language, avoiding insults or discrimination.
The letter should be written on A4 paper using the attached editable file (available in .docx and .pages) or by hand by printing the attached .pdf file.
Anyone reading this communication is invited to involve and provide a copy of the file to any person close to them who might be interested in contributing to the project, without limits of age or origin. Letters can be delivered to Panorama or Versatile via e-mail, or in anonymous form by leaving them under the door of Panorama at Campiello S. Zulian, 602A, 30124 Venice.
Letters will be collected until March 15.
The project is freely inspired by Letters to the Mayor, curated by Eva Franch i Gilabert and promoted by Storefront for Art and Architecture in 2014 in New York. The initiative was developed through a series of exhibitions in various international contexts that collected and presented numerous letters written by professional architects from different cities to their mayors, becoming a critical device to bring professional reflections and urban visions to the attention of political decision-makers and the citizenship.
Download the template here