That's Change! A talk on collaborative practices between art and business

Contemporary art, with its ability to question the status quo, explore new perspectives and stimulate critical thinking, can offer companies new tools to face the challenges of complexity, uncertainty and change. Artists, who are used to working with the unknown, improvising and searching for meaning, can help organisations develop greater flexibility, creativity and adaptability. At the same time, companies, with their resources, skills and organisational structures, can provide artists with a concrete context in which to carry out ambitious projects, expand their audience and generate a real impact on the territory. The culture of doing business is in fact fertile ground for creation and innovation, which are the basis of artistic research.

The event "That's Change! Collaborative Practices between Art and Business," organized by That's Contemporary for the opening of the Mega Art Fair in Milan on April 2, 2025, is part of this scenario, offering itself as a platform for reflection and discussion on the potential and challenges of this encounter. Through the presentation of case studies, testimonies from artists and entrepreneurs, and a debate among experts, the event served to outline new trajectories for art-business collaboration, in which creativity and innovation feed off each other, generating a virtuous circle of growth and transformation. 

Margherita Morgantin's contribution offered a fascinating perspective on the role of art in exploring abstract concepts such as time and human relationships. Her project with Trenord, one of Italy's largest railway operators, led her to confront the dimension of ‘collective time’, a ‘sort of summation of the time that each average traveller spends on Trenord trains in a day’. This experience represented an immersion in a continuous flow of lives, stories and interactions, in which the artist tried to capture the essence of the human experience in a space of transit.   

15,289,000 minutes is the collective time of those who travel every day and Morgantin emphasised that in order to relate to this enormous number, ‘it was necessary to adopt a somewhat broader stance also of the subject’. Her work has shown how art can allow us to observe the world from new perspectives, revealing intimacy and connection even in apparently impersonal contexts.

The collaboration between Mara Palena and Airframe illustrated the potential of art in enhancing the value of an industrial product. Palena emphasised the growing importance of ‘collaboration between artist and company, especially today, in a society where everything has to do with commerce’. In this project, art was not simply a decorative element, but an integral part of the product itself, enriching it with cultural meaning and aesthetic value.   

The artist emphasised how this collaboration can be ‘interesting both from a design point of view, and therefore also in terms of formalising both the work and a product that is then sold and used, and it is interesting because from a poetic point of view, it gives a different look to an object’. This approach opens new frontiers for design and production, in which art becomes a differentiator and a factor in commercial success.   

Andrea Amadei, with whom That's Contemporary is working on new projects between art and business, touched on the issue of critical and strategic thinking, increasingly central in the world of work. Amadei observed how art, in its autonomy, can help to construct a way of looking at things, stimulating a more analytical and creative way of observing the world, capable of opening unexpected spaces and generating authentic visions.

In particular, he emphasised the importance of developing these skills in the age of artificial intelligence, stating that ‘artificial intelligence should not be considered simply as a tool: it behaves more like an interlocutor, often intrusive, with whom it is necessary to learn to interact in a conscious and precise way’. In this sense, the experience of art can trigger forms of attention and formulation that refine the way we ask questions, establish relationships and define objectives.

Giovanni Muscarà's experience with Vivavoce has shown how art can be a powerful tool for communicating the identity and values of a company. Muscarà, who founded a network of medical centres for speech disorders, explained how art was used to ‘bring out the identity of the company created, or rather that beauty can also emerge from pain and effort’.   

This project highlighted how art can overcome the limits of traditional language, creating an emotional and engaging experience for the public. Art, in this case, has become a tool for telling a story, for creating connection and for strengthening the bond between the company and its community.

Collaboration between art and business has become essential for a number of reasons:

That's Contemporary acts as a strategic partner for Italian and foreign companies that wish to explore the potential of collaboration with contemporary art.

We offer support on various fronts, including:

In conclusion, the collaboration between art and business represents an extraordinary opportunity for both parties. Companies that embrace this innovative vision can gain a significant competitive advantage, strengthen their identity and create a positive impact on society.