Illuminating Perspectives through Critical Visual Literacy: 56th Annual IVLA Con

Fragments of Italy, a photography survey conducted for a Housing Cooperative located in Northeast Italy, committed to providing affordable housing for low-income, working-class families. The survey was carried out as a qualitative method to gather data on the conservation state of the Cooperative's building portfolio, aiming to inform maintenance planning operations. In this workspace, interactions with working-class families and their living spaces revealed an unexpected beauty stemming from the residents' unique aesthetic expressions, meriting more intentional and profound investigation. These observations elevated what was initially a seemingly routine task into a systematic exploration of a collection of visual materials, showcasing everyday objects, symbols, memories, daily rituals, furniture selections, colors, textures, and the organization of room layouts. The photographic survey could be interpreted as the foundation for an ethnographic study, one that could unveil a rich tapestry of political, social, and aesthetic dimensions embedded within Italy's affordable housing landscape.