WoW – Worlds of Words

The WoW – World of Words project, launched in 2023 with the support of Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo as part of the three-year program highlighting the fair’s identity traits, IDENTITY, has returned for its second edition with the aim of promoting publishing and its protagonists, essential for disseminating contemporary culture.

WoW was realized in three spaces:

EDICOLA
A true newstand curated by Reading Room, featuring a selection of Italian and international titles that has offered the chance to discover visionary projects redefining periodical publishing and the very meaning of print.

EDITORIAL AREA
A nucleus of individual booths and single displays designed to maximize visibility for participating magazines and publishers, highlighting their unique characteristics. The magazines featured have included: Arte — Cairo, Artforum, Artribune, Canvas, CURA., Espoarte, exibart, Flash Art, Il Giornale dell’Arte, INSIDE ART, MOUSSE and segno.

WoW TALKS
For the second year, a new series of talks curated by Francesca Spiller and inspired by the edition’s theme and Richard Buckminster Fuller’s futuristic vision, bringed together publishers, artists, philosophers, curators, and designers:

Friday, October 31
Inhabiting the Planet, an investigation into how art and material culture help us read and reinvent the spaces we inhabit.

Saturday, November 1
Languages for the Present, focusing on design as a visual grammar to understand contemporary complexity and imagine new narratives.

Sunday, November 2
Planetary Visions, exploring artistic and curatorial practices addressing ecology, memory, and global transformation.

Through these activities, Artissima has confirmed its role as a platform for critical thinking, fostering dialogue between independent publishing, artistic practices, and cultural research for the collective construction of an operational manual for our time.

The talk area’s space design was by Bolzan.
The editorial space has been transformed and enhanced thanks to the valuable contribution of Dott. Gallina and the innovation of its GreenoPoli® polycarbonate panels with arcoPure treatment.

BOOKSHOP
The Bookshop, managed by Librerie Corraini, offered a selection of publications aligned with the fair’s contemporary focus. A curated selection of distinguished bookstores presented monographs, artist books, and often previously unpublished multiples.