OPEN 2027: Technology, Human Agency and Futures
OPEN is an initiative that brings together contemporary art, academic research and civic participation to explore the challenges shaping Europe and its future. Through exhibitions and collaborative activities at Palazzo Buontalenti in the heart of Florence, it creates a space for interdisciplinary research, experimentation and public dialogue, connecting the university with local communities and wider society.
Why: Exploring Europe's capacity to shape its future
Europe faces interconnected challenges, from democratic fragility and geopolitical tensions to ecological disruption, inequality and rapid technological change. These developments raise fundamental questions about how societies understand the world, exercise democratic control and shape their own futures.
Addressing these challenges requires more than traditional research and policy approaches. It calls for dialogue between different forms of knowledge and new ways of understanding the complex relationships between people, technology and society. OPEN responds by creating a space where academic research, artistic practice and civic participation come together to explore these questions and make them accessible to wider audiences.
What: Exploring technology, human agency and possible futures
OPEN aims to strengthen the connection between European academia, contemporary culture and civil society, using art and research to explore the transformations shaping our societies.
The 2027 edition, Technology, Human Agency and Futures, will examine how people, machines, algorithms, living organisms and institutions shape our shared reality. It will focus on three interconnected themes:
- More-than-human agency: exploring the interactions between human, ecological and artificial intelligence.
- Collaborative intelligence: examining digital commons, collective experimentation and the ways knowledge is created and shared.
- Democratic accountability: addressing power imbalances, transparency and public oversight of technological infrastructures.
Through exhibitions, research collaborations and public programmes, OPEN aims to encourage critical reflection on technology and help imagine alternative futures in which people retain the capacity to shape the systems that affect their lives.
How: Bringing research, art and communities together
OPEN combines contemporary art exhibitions with interdisciplinary research, educational activities and public engagement. At Palazzo Buontalenti, its activities bring together EUI researchers, international artists, students, cultural institutions and civil society partners.
The 2027 edition will include an exhibition opening on 14 May, following a institutional preview on 13 May, as part of the EUIdeas Research Festival. The exhibition will remain open to the public until 8 December 2027, accompanied by a programme of workshops, seminars and educational activities.
Artists and EUI researchers will work together through collaborative workshops and co-creation processes, exploring different perspectives on technological change. Partnerships with local institutions, including the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze, IED Firenze, MUS.E and FAI, will involve students and communities in exhibition design, digital storytelling and cultural mediation. Initiatives such as Officine d’Orizzonti and U-Lead will extend this engagement to secondary schools and young people from vulnerable backgrounds.
By connecting artistic experimentation, academic research and civic participation, OPEN aims to establish Palazzo Buontalenti as an ongoing laboratory for collective inquiry and dialogue, strengthening the EUI's role as a bridge between European academia and the cultural and civic life of Florence.
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