The 75^th ARTCaffè hosted Valentina Buzzi in-person in Seoul, with an audience of attendees representing 18 different Countries. People also connected online from the USA, China, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam.

An independent writer, curator, and researcher, Valentina offered us a wide overview on her practice in the art industry, with a focus on her recent experience as artistic director of the Italian Pavilion at the Gwanju Biennale produced by the Italian Cultural Institute in Seoul.

Valentina took the fulfilling and successful experience with the pavilion as a chance to share what is behind the scene of such complex projects.

First, she highlighted the basic concept of her approach: "I believe that art, science, and technology have the possibility of really creating beautiful and meaningful conversations. That is something I tried to explore in the Italian Pavilion."

Then, she guided us through the journey of this project within the frame of the Biennale, starting from the poetic title Cosa sogna l'acqua quando dorme ? (What does water dream, when it sleeps?): "It is so difficult to find a title that incorporates the curatorial and artistic statement that you would like to offer. In this case, we wanted to shift the perspective from a human to a more comprehensive vision of the natural world."

Valentina introduced one by one the works of the five invited artists: Camilla Alberti, Fabio Roncato, Marco Barotti, Yuval Vital, and Agnes Questionmark.

The three leading themes of the pavilion (sustainability, change, and transformation) declined its leitmotiv, that each artist has been invited to explore: the idea that change and transformation are very much part of ourselves, as well as part of any living beings.

In Valentina's words: "The idea that we exist in constant transformation."

She closed her talk by sharing how the team envisioned the pavilion in terms of design, how they found a way to accompany the audience through the exhibition, while also making all the artworks relate to each other in harmony.

"Art has always been for the elite. What is very important for art, today, is to become something that is participatory. The idea comes from "The Participatory Museum," a book by the scholar Nina Simon. We made various paths in the pavilion that follow this kind of methodology."