After almost twenty years of touring exhibitions in major international art institutions, the multitude of protests documented in the video-archive, conceived and curated by Marco Scotini since 2004, with the direct collaboration of activists, artists and filmmakers, the project has grown over time, collecting autonomous instances of revolt and conflict. By archiving the forms of social disobedience, it now adds a further piece to the genealogy of dissent, starting from the modes of its representation within the space of art, between aesthetic praxis and political action.
Disobedience Archive is a multi-phase, mobile, and continuously evolving video archive that explores the relationship between artistic practices and political action. It has been presented fifteen times in various countries, transforming each time without ever adopting a final form. Whether in the shape of a parliament, a school, or a community garden, the project turns the archive—typically static and taxonomic—into a dynamic and generative medium.

This site-specific exhibition project will be presented in Slovakia for the first time at the Pohoda 2025 festival. It is a collaboration between Pohoda Festival and the European Capital of Culture Trenčín 2026 project, with the exhibition divided into two phases.

The first phase is the festival edition. The installation, including its architectural and curatorial concept, is being developed by a joint team composed of Marco Scotini, Ilona Németh, Edit András, and Zbyněk Baladrán, for both phases—Pohoda and Trenčín 2026.

At Pohoda, a selection of 20 videos will be presented, divided into three thematic sections:

I. Gender disobedience
II. Rebellious communities
III. Radical ecologies

In 2024, Disobedience Archive was featured at the Venice Biennale, where it was presented in its full forty-film version. This more extensive edition will be showcased in 2026 by the city of Trenčín as part of the European Capital of Culture Trenčín 2026 program.

Trenčín 2026 is financially supported by the City of Trenčín, the Trenčín Self-Governing Region, and the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic. The European Union is a partner of Trenčín 2026.
A truly interesting project that perhaps deserves to tour the European capitals of culture through specific sites to offer another view of the world.
Marco Scotini is Artistic Director of FM Centro per l'arte contemporanea, Milan, and Head of the exhibition programme of PAV, Parco Arte Vivente, Turin. He is Scientific Director of the Gianni Colombo Archive and the Bert Theis Archive, and since 2019 has been a member of the Italian Council.

More info here.