Event Overview
In this talk, Professor Andrea Prencipe (LUISS) will discuss his research on the transformative potential of cultural artefacts as drivers of social innovation and community development. Drawing on a case study of the Italian theatre company Bottega degli Apocrifi, the talk explores how artistic practices can cultivate imagination, reframe collective identities, and foster civic capacity in marginalized or peripheral contexts.
Through an in-depth analysis of two initiatives—a community production collaboratively developed with non-professional actors to address issues of collective concern, and Una storia personale, a monologue written and performed by Mamadou Diakite, a seasonal farmworker turned actor—the study reveals how Bottega degli Apocrifi built local civic capacity through iterative experimentation, collective learning, and a sequence of “small wins.”
The study offers three key insights. First, it highlights art as a catalyst for social change: community productions integrate professional artists and local participants in processes of embodied learning that prioritize participation and transformation over representation. Second, it situates artists as mavericks in Becker’s sense—trained within established art worlds yet rejecting conventional trajectories by relocating from Bologna to Manfredonia, thereby constructing a new, place-based “art world” from the periphery. Third, it conceptualizes artists as anthropologists, who immerse themselves in the cultural fabric of the communities they engage with, co-creating meaning and fostering genuine, locally grounded connections.
By positioning artistic practice as a vehicle for social innovation, the talk contributes to broader debates on the cultural dimensions of local development, the organization of creative work, and the role of imagination in shaping inclusive futures.
About the Speaker
Andrea Prencipe is Professor of Organisation and Innovation and Rector of Luiss University, Rome. A leading scholar in innovation studies, he has held academic positions across Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the UK, the US, and Vietnam. His research spans the organization of innovation, learning and routines in project-based and extreme contexts, and the cultural dimensions of innovation and education. His work has been published in leading journals including Administrative Science Quarterly, Organization Science, Research Policy, and Industrial and Corporate Change. As Rector of Luiss University, Professor Prencipe has spearheaded initiatives that have advanced interdisciplinary, international, and innovative education, positioning Luiss among the world’s top-ranked universities.