KINETIK is a video art series aimed especially at children and young people, conceived to open a space for dialogue between art, science, and new generations on landscape transformations and the environmental challenges of our time.
The series takes place at the CineLab “Giuseppe Bertolucci” in Lecce (Via Vecchia Frigole 36) and begins on Thursday, March 19. The program unfolds across three events, each dedicated to the screening of an international video art work. Each screening is followed by a conversation with scientists or science communicators, with the aim of intertwining the artistic perspective with scientific insights accessible to younger audiences as well.
Curated by studioconcreto, the series presents works that employ languages accessible to children or place childhood perspectives at their center, inviting audiences to observe and reflect on changes in ecosystems and the ways we inhabit the planet.
The program includes three works by internationally renowned artists regularly featured in Biennials and major art events, whose works are part of prestigious public and private collections. The Anthropocene Comedy (2022) by Ezra Wube is a painterly animation that reinterprets Dante Alighieri’s Inferno through a powerful contemporary narrative: extinct fauna and flora, devastated landscapes, fires, floods, and desertification emerge and disappear in a continuous painterly flow, where the artistic gesture becomes a metaphor for the planet’s vulnerability. Forest Futures (2025) by Uriel Orlow explores the forest as a place of deep time, ecological transformation, and interspecies learning. Combining scientific inquiry and imaginative storytelling, the work intertwines paleobotany, climate science, and childhood education to rethink the forest as both teacher and protagonist. Listening in the Dark (2018) by Maeve Brennan investigates the extent of anthropogenic incursions into nature. Focusing on the nocturnal habits of bats, Brennan opens a space for reflection on nature’s deep time, animal evolution, and the consequences of human actions on the planet.
The first event will feature contributions by Samuele Vincenti, Institute of Nanotechnology – CNR, and Ludovico Lezzi, PhD candidate in Ecology at the University of Salento, whose research focuses on biodiversity and climate change, with particular attention to the responses of organisms and ecosystems to environmental pressures.
KINETIK is conceived as an experiential and educational journey that invites audiences to look, listen, and reflect on changing landscapes, fostering awareness of the responsibilities of those who inhabit the world while imagining possible scenarios of sustainability and care for the planet.
The series is part of the broader program of activities promoted by the Lecce Gateway of the National Biodiversity Future Center in preparation for the opening of the Biodiversity Demo Center, a hub dedicated to science communication and innovation on biodiversity issues, designed to foster dialogue between research, emerging technologies, and public participation, currently under development at the former Convitto Palmieri. The initiative is carried out within the framework of the National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), the first Italian research center dedicated to biodiversity, funded by the PNRR – Next Generation EU, coordinated by the National Research Council, and aimed at studying, monitoring, and preserving terrestrial, marine, and urban ecosystems. The project is promoted by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, NBFC – National Biodiversity Future Center, and the National Research Council.