Transforming the Self and the Social: An Interview with Grant Kester

Authors

• Emanuele Rinaldo Meschini University of Bologna

  Researcher (Fixed-term Research Fellow) in the Sociology of Cultural and Communicative Processes at the University of Bologna. His work focuses on social movements, urban studies, and participation, with a particular interest in the intersections between these areas and artistic practices. In 2016, he founded Autopalo, an artistic collective that explores forms of participation through the relationship between artistic practices, football, and supporter culture. Autopalo’s projects have been exhibited in national and international venues, including the Palais de Tokyo (Paris) and the Museo di Fotografia Contemporanea (Milan). He is currently conducting research on the role of Cultural Departments within Argentine multisport clubs, with a specific focus on the city of Buenos Aires. His academic work has appeared in journals such as Comunicazioni Sociali, Piano B, Tracce Urbane, Connessioni Remote, and FIELD: A Journal of Socially Engaged Art Criticism.In 2021, he published Comunità, spazio, monumento (Mimesis), a study on Italian artistic practices in urban space and the early history of socially engaged art in the United States. He has taught as adjunct faculty at the Università Iuav di Venezia, where he also conducted research on culture-led urban regeneration. His most recent publication is Come leggere il monumento o la sua rimozione (Postmedia, 2023), an essay exploring the relationship between memory, history, identity formation, and visual art.