The exhibition We are still dreaming by Matteo Trevisan, curated by Annalisa Polli for Visual Hub, will open in Trieste on Friday, November 8 at 6 PM at the exhibition spaces of Trieste Contemporanea (via del Monte 2/1).
We are still dreaming is a visual investigation into the community of young people under 30 living in the Susa Valley, one of the wildest alpine valleys in Italy, which holds the record as the most militarized area in the country and is home to the longest-running protest movement in Italy, the No Tav movement.

The movement originated in the early 1990s among the residents of the Susa Valley, who declared their opposition to the construction of the high-speed rail line between Turin and Lyon, considering it a waste of public money and harmful to the territory.

To date, in Italy, after more than 30 years of work and construction sites, not even 1 meter of the 12.5 kilometers of tunnel that should accommodate the high-speed trains (TAV) has been completed.

With the project “We are still dreaming”, Matteo Trevisan has decided to tell the story of this new generation of young people, who have never known a life without struggles, protests, arrests, and denunciations, through portraits and a diary collection of their testimonies. A generation that is facing the TAV situation with new tools and a significant focus on climate and the environment.

The question that drove the photographer in this investigation begins with one question: What does it mean to live a life that constantly forces you to question the goodness of your country’s institutions and leads you to view the figures who should protect you as a threat to your freedom?

The project has also become a book titled I guardiani della montagna – We are still Dreaming, published by Danilo Montanari Editore in October 2024. It will be presented on the occasion of the exhibition’s finissage on Friday, November 29 at 7:15 PM in the exhibition spaces of Trieste Contemporanea.

The event will feature the author in conversation with Daniela Bezzi, journalist, cultural operator, and independent researcher who explores environmental issues, human rights, and labor (streaming), and Federico Venturini, research fellow at the University of Udine.

Matteo Trevisan is a documentary photographer and videomaker, represented by the agency Contrasto. He divides his time between Rome, where he lives and works, and Gorizia, his hometown.

In 2018, after studying photography at the ISCFC school in Rome and attending several specialization courses at Officine Fotografiche Roma, he began working as a photographer and videomaker. A passionate mountaineer born in the borderland between Italy and Slovenia, Trevisan’s projects mainly focus on social issues, particularly those related to the environment and anthropology. His photographs have been published in major magazines such as the New York Times, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Internazionale, National Geographic Italia, Espresso, and many others.

He is currently working on a personal project about the Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giulia and a long-term environmental project in the central Balkans.

In 2022, he won the FotoLeggendo Award – a festival created and produced by Officine Fotografiche Roma – for the best portfolio with the project We are still dreaming.

In the photos: Images from the series We are still dreaming, 2022. Matteo Trevisan, portrait. (all photos: courtesy Matteo Trevisan)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are still dreaming
by Matteo Trevisan
curated by Annalisa Polli
—
Trieste Contemporanea
via del Monte 2/1 – Trieste
Hours: Tuesday – Friday from 5 pm to 8 pm
Free entry

Exhibition created in collaboration with Officine Fotografiche Roma and Trieste Contemporanea.

 

 

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