Believing in the Creative Potential of Each Individual and in the Collective Transformative Power. Interview with Multidisciplinary Artist Marinella Senatore
Founder of the "School of Narrative Dance", the Italian artist rejects fixed categories in her production, focusing on the activation of participation and not only
Tell us what you do and your beginnings.
I am a multidisciplinary artist, and my practice combines performance, installation, social engagement, and collage. I studied Fine Arts, classical music, and cinema. The orchestra and the movie set taught me about coral structures of creativity, and I’ve since viewed every artistic medium as a tool for connection.
In 2012, I founded the School of Narrative Dance, a nomadic free of free-of-charge project that explores collective storytelling and emancipation through the body. My approach refuses fixed categories, focusing instead on activating participation and fostering empowering experiences.
What does your work aim to say?
At its core, my practice challenges traditional hierarchies - between artist and audience, teacher and student - fostering horizontal, shared creative experiences, exploring new ideas of community building and collective rituals, gathering thousands of people every time.
I believe in the creative potential of every individual and in the transformative power of collective agency.
Where do you find inspiration for your art?
I draw inspiration from various sources – cinema, classical music, contemporary philosophy, neuroscience, literature, activism, and most importantly, people. Community engagement is at the heart of my work, so much of my creative process comes from listening to different voices and experiences.
Dance, somatic, and mindful movements are also integral to my practice, not only as a performative language but also as a metaphor for resilience and emancipation. Additionally, I often reference popular traditions, rituals, and historical narratives of the many communities around the globe I have the chance to work with. Since 2006, I have worked with more than 8 million people.
Participation is both a theoretical concept and a methodology in my practice. Light and vernacular traditions are deeply rooted in Southern Italian rituals: i.e., “luminarie” -lighting structures which historically transformed public spaces into sites of communal celebration- are among my favourite installations focused on the ideas of “bodies in alliance” and assembly.
Could you give us some insight into your creative process?
Each project begins with listening to people and mapping the territory of the site I am called to work - understanding the needs, histories, and aspirations of the different communities I would work with.
Whether I’m invited by a museum or working in a public space, I develop relationships with local groups, often through grassroots methods like flyers or community press, and radio. Having worked in more than 24 countries so far, this participatory approach has always served as my starting point.
Even my most intimate works, like drawings or collages, are shaped by these encounters.
What are your future projects?
I’m currently preparing solo exhibitions at Tang Contemporary Art (Beijing), Magazzino Italian Art (Cold Spring, NY), and in Rome, where I will be the first artist to have an exhibition in new institution dedicated to women in art, hosted inside a historically significant Palazzo closely tied to the feminist movement and women's occupations of the 1960s.
Beyond these, over twenty additional exhibitions are scheduled this year across France, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, and Italy. These new chapters will continue to explore participation, empowerment, and social engagement through various media, including textile works drawing both from banners used in religious processions and labour movements.
Interview by Fabio Pariante, X • Instagram • Website
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Marinella Senatore: Website