TACTUS RADIO FESTIVAL 2025

RADIO DI GUERRA, RADIO DI PACE

12 ― 14 DICEMBRE

REPUBBLICA DI SAN MARINO

Sin dalla sua nascita, la radio ha rappresentato sia uno strumento di potere e propaganda, sia un mezzo di resistenza. Questo paradosso attraversa la sua storia ormai centenaria: dai tralicci di trasmissione dell’epoca coloniale fino all’oscuramento dei canali di comunicazione digitali durante le crisi politiche contemporanee.
Eppure, la radio analogica resta un mezzo economico, accessibile e resiliente, qualità che continuano a renderla un mezzo vitale per i movimenti di resistenza e per la gestione delle emergenze in tutto il mondo.

Mentre l’Europa abbandona progressivamente i segnali FM per passare al DAB+, alla radio via Internet e ai podcast, queste infrastrutture digitali risultano sempre più vulnerabili al controllo autoritario. Possiamo riappropriarci delle frequenze liberate per interventi politici o artistici? Possiamo costruire reti di comunicazione alternative?
Come può la creazione radiofonica tornare a essere una pratica sociale, capace di dare voce alle marginalità e di sfidare i contenuti guidati dagli algoritmi attraverso nuove forme di espressione?

In un festival-laboratorio di due giorni, che unisce sessioni pratiche e teoriche sotto il tema “Radio di guerra, radio di pace”, esploreremo insieme queste domande, immaginando e progettando la radio del futuro: un medium dell’ascolto.

RADIO OF WAR, RADIO OF PEACE

12 ― 14 DECEMBER

REPUBLIC OF SAN MARINO

Since its inception, radio has served as both an instrument of power and propaganda, and as a tool of resistance. This paradox runs through its more than hundred-year history, from the transmission masts of the colonial era to the shutdown of digital communication channels during today’s political crises. Yet analog radio remains inexpensive, accessible, and resilient. Qualities that continue to make it a vital medium for resistance movements and disaster response around the world.

While Europe is phasing out FM signals and moving toward DAB+, internet radio, and podcasts, these digital infrastructures are increasingly vulnerable to authoritarian control. Can we reclaim the freed-up frequencies for political or artistic interventions? Can we build alternative communication networks? How can radio-making once again become a social practice, one that amplifies marginalized voices and challenges algorithm-driven content with new forms of expression?

In a two-day festival-workshop combining practical and theoretical sessions under the theme “Radio di guerra, radio di pace,” we will explore these questions together imagining and designing the “radio” of the future: a medium of listening.

PROGRAM

ITA

ENG

ITA

ENG

OPEN CALL

Un’edizione speciale di TACTUS

Quest’anno, TACTUS si trasforma in un festival-laboratorio, un formato immersivo e non convenzionale che invita i partecipanti a trascorrere tre giornate di lavoro fianco a fianco con i curatori Andrea Borgnino, Roberto Paci Dalò, Nathalie Singer, Elisabeth Zimmermann e con gli artisti presenti al festival.
Limitato a 25 partecipanti, il workshop offre un’occasione unica per esplorare il mondo del suono, dell’ascolto e dell’arte radiofonica sperimentale, guidati da figure di primo piano della scena contemporanea.

La partecipazione è gratuita, ma è richiesta la presenza per l’intera durata delle tre giornate.

Fin dalla sua nascita, la radio è stata al tempo stesso strumento di potere e propaganda, e mezzo di resistenza. Questo paradosso attraversa la sua storia più che centenaria, dai tralicci delle trasmissioni dell’epoca coloniale alla disattivazione dei canali di comunicazione digitale durante le crisi politiche contemporanee.
Eppure, la radio analogica rimane economica, accessibile e resiliente, qualità che continuano a renderla un mezzo vitale per i movimenti di resistenza e per la gestione delle emergenze in tutto il mondo.

Mentre in Europa si abbandonano progressivamente le frequenze FM in favore di DAB+, radio su internet e podcast, queste infrastrutture digitali si rivelano sempre più vulnerabili al controllo autoritario.
Possiamo riappropriarci delle frequenze liberate per interventi politici o artistici?
Possiamo costruire reti di comunicazione alternative?
Come può la pratica radiofonica tornare a essere una pratica sociale capace di amplificare voci marginali e di sfidare i contenuti guidati dagli algoritmi attraverso nuove forme di espressione?

In un workshop di due giornate, che combina sessioni pratiche e teoriche sul tema “Radio di guerra, radio di pace”, esploreremo insieme queste domande immaginando e progettando la radio del futuro: un medium dell’ascolto.

Per candidarsi, inviare una breve lettera motivazionale e un breve CV entro le 23:59 del 30 novembre 2025 a: tactus@usmaradio.org

giorni e orari

venerdì 12 dicembre
16:00 → 19:00 · DJ set alle 21:30

sabato 13 dicembre
9:30 → 13:00 · 14:30 → 19:00

domenica 14 dicembre
9:30 → 12:30

A Special Edition of TACTUS

This year, TACTUS transforms into a festival-laboratory, an immersive and unconventional format inviting participants to spend three days working alongside curators Andrea Borgnino, Roberto Paci Dalò, Nathalie Singer, Elisabeth Zimmermann, and the artists featured in the festival.

Limited to 25 participants, the workshop offers a unique opportunity to explore the world of sound, listening, and experimental radio art, guided by leading figures of the contemporary scene.

Participation is free, but full attendance for all three days is required.

Since its inception, radio has served as both an instrument of power and propaganda, and as a tool of resistance. This paradox runs through its more than hundred-year history—from the transmission masts of the colonial era to the shutdown of digital communication channels during today’s political crises. Yet analog radio remains inexpensive, accessible, and resilient. Qualities that continue to make it a vital medium for resistance movements and disaster response around the world.

While Europe is phasing out FM signals and moving toward DAB+, internet radio, and podcasts, these digital infrastructures are increasingly vulnerable to authoritarian control. Can we reclaim the freed-up frequencies for political or artistic interventions? Can we build alternative communication networks? How can radio-making once again become a social practice, one that amplifies marginalized voices and challenges algorithm-driven content with new forms of expression?

In a two-day workshop combining practical and theoretical sessions under the theme “Radio di guerra, radio di pace,”we will explore these questions together imagining and designing the “radio” of the future: a medium of listening.

To apply, please send a short motivation letter and a short CV until 23:59 on 30th of November 2025 to: tactus@usmaradio.org

schedule

Friday 12 December
16:00 → 19:00 · Dj set at 21:30

Saturday 13 December
9:30 → 13:00 · 14:30 → 19:00

Sunday 14 December
9:30 → 12:30

LINEUP

ANDREA BORGNINO

Andrea Borgnino is a journalist, writer and radio presenter. He has created many programmes for Radio3 RAI dedicated to the world of radio. He worked for Gr RAI, at Radio1 as the writer of the programme “Golem”. In 2009 he was New Media Manager at the EBU in Geneva. He published the book “Radio Pirata” (Persiani Editore, 2010). He is currently head of content at RaiPlaySound. One of the members of the EBU Radio Committee. Every thursday he talks about the latest happenings on the airwaves in his Radio3 segment “Interferenze”.

ANDREA GAVA

Andrea Gava (also known by the pseudonym Andreij Rublev) is a musician, composer, performer, producer, and sound designer. His work moves across sonic experimentation, education, and artistic production. He has led theatre workshops in high schools and universities, composed soundtracks for stage productions, contemporary dance performances, short films, and documentaries, and directed radio programs in collaboration with various institutions, including Usmaradio, the research centre for radiophonic studies at the University of San Marino. He has also performed at the Venice Biennale for several international artists. His research focuses on electroacoustic music and improvisational techniques, both as a solo artist and within collective projects. Alongside his performance activity, he produces online content on contemporary and experimental music, seeking to bridge the gap between artists and audiences through interviews, listening sessions, and collaborative projects.

L’IMPERO DELLA LUCE

L’Impero della Luce [The Empire of Light] is an Italian duo devoted to experimentation and musical research founded in 2018 by Johann Merrich and eeviac. Through the techniques of electromagnetic induction, L’Impero della Luce explores the sounds of the electric current emitted and dispersed by human technologies. In 2019, L’Impero della Luce was chosen to be part of the international network Keychange. Since 2020, it has officially collaborated with SOMA Laboratory, presenting to listeners the fascinating appeal of Ether.

MAURINE MERCIER

Maurine Mercier, a Swiss-Canadian journalist, has earned numerous national and international awards for her reporting in conflict zones such as Libya and Ukraine. Currently based in Kiev after six years in North Africa (2016-2022), Mercier prefers being known as a “ground reporter” rather than a “war reporter.” Her empathetic and rigorous reporting style has garnered praise, capturing the raw emotions of those affected by conflict while maintaining journalistic integrity. Mercier’s journey into journalism was propelled by a desire to shed light on the human stories behind geopolitical events. She has been recognised for her in-depth coverage of various conflicts, including the war in Ukraine and the plight of migrants in the Mediterranean, show-casing her commitment to amplifying marginalised voices on the global stage.

ROBERTO PACI DALÒ

Roberto Paci Dalò is an Italian author, composer, director, artist, and radio-maker. He directs Giardini Pensili, a performing arts company and cultural space based in Rimini, Italy. A pioneer in the use of new technologies in the arts, his work – appreciated and supported by John Cage, Aleksandr Sokurov, Giorgio Agamben, John Zorn, Gerfried Stocker, and Giya Kancheli – has been presented at festivals, theatres, biennials, and museums around the world. Art, science, nature, and voice are the key words of his research. Founding director of Usmaradio – Research Centre for Radiophonic Studies at Unirsm, where he is professor of Exhibit Design, and artistic director of the festivals BIOMA and TACTUS Radio Festival. Among his publications are: Millesuoni. Deleuze, Guattari e la musica elettronica, with Emanuele Quinz (Cronopio 2006), Filmnero (Marsèll 2016), Ombre (Quodlibet 2019), eBAU (Quodlibet 2024).

NATHALIE SINGER

Nathalie Singer is a radio artist, curator, and professor of Experimental Radio at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, where she also served as vice president. Her work explores how artistic ideas move between media, cultures, and disciplines, bridging art and science through sound. With a background in musicology, communication sciences, and psychology (Berlin and Paris) as well as in electroacoustic composition at the Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRM), she has developed a distinguished international career as an author, composer, director, curator, and researcher in the field of Radiophony. Her artistic and curatorial projects — including the award-winning Wurfsendung, the international exhibition Radiophonic Spaces (2018–2020), and Listening to the World – 100 Years of Radio (2023–2024) —explore new modes of listening and the artistic potential of radio art archives. She founded the Real.Sense.Lab in 2021, a platform for experimental listening research and interdisciplinary collaboration. Singer’s work has been recognized with the RadioJournal Broadcasting Award, the Heritage in Motion Award, and multiple Prix Europa nominations.

ELISABETH ZIMMERMANN

Elisabeth Zimmermann is a cultural manager living in Vienna. She has been involved in organizing, coordinating, and curating radio art projects, symposia, publications, and international telematic art projects. She has held various presentations and lectures on radio art projects at national and international festivals. Since 1998, she has been the producer of the weekly radio art program Radiokunst – Kunstradio (http://kunstradio.at) on the cultural channel of ORF (Austrian National radio), since 2023 she is the producer of Kunst zum Hören. In 1999, she founded werks – an art association dedicated to the realization of artistic projects in telecommunications media, which published the book “Re-Inventing Radio – Aspects of Radio as Art” (eds. Heidi Grundmann, Elisabeth Zimmermann, et al, Revolver, Frankfurt am Main, 2008). She has been part of the international curator’s team for the Festival Radio Revolten, Halle/Saale, 2016. Furthermore, she is repeatedly active as a member of juries.

CREDITS

Un progetto di Usmaradio – Centro di Ricerca per la Radiofonia, ORF Kunstradio / Kunst zum Hören, Experimental Radio and Real.Sense.Lab of Bauhaus-Universität Weimar

Produzione UNIRSM – Università degli Studi della Repubblica di San Marino

In collaborazione con Unirsm Design, RaiPlay Sound, Tomo Tomo Milano, Giardini Pensili, Sentire le Voci – La festa del podcast, Il Macello cooperativa culturale San Marino

Con il patrocinio di Segreteria di Stato Istruzione e la Cultura, Segreteria di Stato per l’Industria e l’Artigianato e la Segreteria di Stato Turismo della Repubblica di San Marino

Media partners Gagarin Orbite Culturali

A cura di Andrea Borgnino, Roberto Paci Dalò, Nathalie Singer, Elisabeth Zimmermann

Direzione organizzativa Alessandro Renzi

Ufficio stampa Jeffrey Zani

Comunicazione Erica Tentoni, Andrea Conti

Diario Valentina Maggioli

Design Davide di Gennaro (Tomo Tomo)

VENUE

Aula Magna
Antico Monastero Santa Chiara

Contrada Omerelli 20 — San Marino
47890 Repubblica di San Marino

Ingresso libero | Free entry
tactus@usmaradio.org
+378 0549 885170