Art and volunteerism meet in Rome: exhibition at CSV Lazio

In Rome,contemporary art comes out of traditional circuits and meets the world of social work with The Fifth Season. Art at the Center of Volunteering, an exhibition that will be inaugurated on May 14, 2026 at 6 p.m. at the regional headquarters of CSV Lazio, inside Palazzo Cassetta on Via Liberiana 17. The exhibition, which can be visited by appointment until Dec. 17, 2026, is the result of a collaboration between theassociation Blocco 13 and CSV Lazio, proposing a space for dialogue between contemporary artistic languages and the daily reality of volunteering. The project, curated by Carlo Alberto Bucci, develops around a symbolic idea of time “other” than the natural rhythm of the seasons. The “fifth season” evoked by the title is in fact art, understood as an autonomous dimension capable of offering a further, often destabilizing, glance with respect to the consumerist logic of the market. In this context, art is presented for free to a heterogeneous public, composed of operators, volunteers and citizens who daily pass through the Center’s spaces.

The initiative transforms CSV Lazio into a meeting place between two worlds that share a position outside market dynamics: that of contemporary art and that of social commitment. The exhibited works dialogue with the human variety that animates the corridors of the Center and the activities on the territory, creating a direct relationship between artistic production and the reality of volunteering.

The project takes the form of a visual and conceptual intervention that involves both artists and visitors, drawing a connection between the aesthetic dimension and the values of commitment to others. In this sense, the exhibition introduces a reflection on the role of art in society, also recalling the thought of the theorist Edgar Wind, according to whom art, precisely because of its ability to question and destabilize, cannot be reduced to a decorative element or devoid of implications.

The authors involved, thirteen in total and brought together under the Block 13 experience, offer an articulate panorama of contemporary languages. Their practices range between abstraction and figuration, between research on sign and word, between autonomy of art and confrontation with social issues. The media used include painting, photography, graphics, sculpture, installations and relational art forms, returning a plurality of approaches and sensibilities.

Works in the exhibition include Poets on the Wall, Massimo Arduini’s second series, created between 2024 and 2026 through digital processing of stock photographs printed on pvc. Laura Barbarini presents Emergono dall’acqua from 2021, an oil on canvas, while Marina Bindella exhibits Siderale 11, a mixed media work on forex developed between 2022 and 2026. Also featured is Tiziano Campi with Barcafoglia double face from 2003, a high relief combining maritime signal flags and rope, while Sauro Cardinali contributes two works, Constructing a Landscape from 2007 and Mother of the Bowels from 2011, which employ mixed media and materials such as resins and paper.

The exhibition also includes Fabio Caricchia ’s 2025 photographic installation Up and Down and works by Iginio De Luca, including 2016’s Expatrie and 2008’s Homefocus, a self-portrait, both made from polyester cut-outs on photographs.

Completing the exhibition are works by Peter Flaccus with Red rover from 2024, encaustic on fiberglass and aluminum, Elena Nonnis with Big Sister from 2008, made with thread and pencil on canvas, and Maurizio Pierfranceschi with Terre d’ombra from 2024, executed with water colors. Also featured are Roberto Piloni with Tacet and Parasites from 2016 and Hourglass from 2022, Vincenzo Scolamiero with Poi null’altro era rosso from 2019, and Alfredo Zelli with Tutti from 2026, made with enamel on Pet sheets.

Blocco 13, a nonprofit association founded in 2021 in memory of Tiziano Campi, promotes contemporary art through exhibition activities in its space at 13 Via Benzoni in Garbatella, Rome, with a focus on young artists and site-specific projects. CSV Lazio, which has been active for more than 20 years, supports and enhances the role of associations and volunteers in the Third Sector, offering free services and meeting spaces through a network spread throughout the region.

The exhibition will be open by appointment only, by contacting accoglienza@csvlazio.org. A catalog dedicated to the project will be published following the opening, documenting the exhibition itinerary and the works presented.

Art and volunteerism meet in Rome: exhibition at CSV Lazio

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