Federico Bonelli
Federico Bonelli is an independent researcher and practitioner based in the Netherlands. His work examines the intersection of data governance, institutional design, and cultural production.
He is the founder and director of Trasformatorio, a foundation that draws on hacklab practices to innovate and experiment and focus on artistic research. The program hosts international artists for collaborative, site-specific projects, with a focus on collective processes and long-term engagement with local communities. His involvement in this context informs his interest in situated, participatory methods and their potential application to other domains, including public sector innovation.
His professional background includes studies in philosophy of science and dynamical systems, which provided a foundation for his later work in both critical technology and the arts. He is a free software advocate and user.
His current research, conducted within the DATAGOV project, explores whether artistic methodologies—particularly those rooted in improvisation, observation, and relational practice—can contribute to the design of more adaptable and transparent data governance frameworks. He is interested in how non-expert stakeholders can be meaningfully engaged in processes that are typically treated as technical and closed. On this behalf apart of animating workshops he is the ideator of “Le Grand Jeu”(https://legrandjeu.net), a board game to explore possible futures, that has been used in multiple projects as a guideline for participation and citizen engagement.
Bonelli holds advisory roles with the MAIIIM Museum and Rossonove artist residencies. His artistic practice includes visual work, sound, and film, and he is represented by ETHEREA ART GALLERY in Genova. His output across art and research is characterised by an emphasis on process over outcome, and on the conditions under which collective action becomes possible.