Join us at Printed Matter Chelsea for an event with Francesco Spampinato, co-editor of Skank Bloc Bologna: Alternative Art Spaces since 1977, a new publication chronicling the history of nonprofit exhibition spaces in Bologna over the past five decades. Whether individual initiatives, cooperative enterprises, or social centers, the spaces featured in this volume devised the real “Bologna model”: one-of-a-kind, compared both to the situation in other Italian cities and to the international scene. Published by Mousse Publishing.

The book’s title references a 1978 song by the English post-punk band Scritti Politti, emblematic of the international perception of Bologna as the epicenter of political agitation and cultural innovation. Historic spaces covered include Traumfabrik, Cassero, neon, Link Project, and Il Campo delle Fragole.

Skank Bloc Bologna: Alternative Art Spaces since 1977 is edited by Roberto Pinto and Francesco Spampinato, with texts by Roberto Pinto, Francesco Spampinato, Andrea Lissoni, Lara De Lena and Davide Da Pieve.

Francesco Spampinato is an associate professor of Contemporary Art History at the Department of the Arts, University of Bologna. His research concerns contemporary art practices and visual studies, with a concentration on the relationship between contemporary art, media, and technology. He has authored the books Come Together: The Rise of Cooperative Art and Design (Princeton Architectural Press, 2015), Can You Hear Me? Music Labels by Visual Artists (Onomatopee, 2015), Art Record Covers (TASCHEN, 2017), and Art vs. TV: A Brief History of Contemporary Artists’ Responses to Television (2022), and edited various volumes including GMM – Giovanotti Mondani Meccanici. Computer Comics 1984–1987 (NERO, 2021), The Pandemic Visual Regime: Visuality and Performativity in the Covid-19 Crisis (Punctum Books, 2023), and Skank Bloc Bologna: Alternative Art Spaces since 1977 (Mousse, 2024).