Osservatorio Cortina 2021 is an artistic research project in which the territory and the events planned for the 2021 Alpine Ski World Championship in Cortina were examined through photography. In their artistic research, which took three years, two artists, Gianpaolo Arena and Marina Caneve, documented the key moments in the construction of the sports event, while at the same time observing the territory and its history with an open, inquisitive, and exploratory attitude, seeking links between sports and the territory.
Cortina’s shared imaginary often reproduces iconic expectations that support the wishes of its visitors, rather than offering new keys to interpretation for its territory and society. Can this approach be offset by offering renewed attention to a landscape that has become a sort of crystallized icon within an image?
This study involved the work of the creative agency Vulcano that supported the project from the start. Its intention was to trigger a new process of cross-pollination, aimed at developing a more complete gaze over Cortina and its territory, through contemporary photography.