Project documentation

Published sources and conversations for research into Baci Sospesi.

This page brings together material for people researching participatory, relational and socially engaged art.

Barbara Sbrocca is available by appointment to share more about the decisions that have shaped Baci Sospesi, the process behind the audio portraits, how people take part, and the life of the installations. Beyond what is published here, she has further photographs, memories, anecdotes and details to share about the project’s development through different people and places.

What can be shared will be discussed in relation to each enquiry, respecting the anonymity of the story donors, a value the project protects.

On this website

• The idea and the manifesto: the project’s origins, artistic language and principles.
• Audio portraits: the public listening catalogue.
• Installations: accounts and photographs from Passoscuro, Pioraco, Leiria and Loughborough.
• Labs: the Leiria workshop and Berlin Sprouting Lab.
• The Baci Sospesi Cloud: the online exchange of messages.
• Interviews and media: recorded conversations and published coverage.
• News, the flag and what’s next: current developments and collective actions.
• Take part or leave a Bacio in the Cloud: the public invitations to participate.

Interviews, podcasts and television

• Magnificence, episode 26: The artistic path to deep connection, Patricia Lindner, 4 March 2024. Audio interview, English.
• Canale 10: Baci Sospesi in Passoscuro, August 2020. Television interview, Italian.
• The Man on the Road: Incontriamo Barbara Sbrocca, Stefano Manduzio, 3 June 2022. Audio interview, Italian.
• Good Faith Idea Exchange: Baci Sospesi international art project, 16 October 2022. Audio interview, English; direct MP3.
• The Female CEO: Baci Sospesi, A Love Letter to Humanity, Tricia Scott, issue 60. Written feature, English.
• TGR Lazio, 7 January 2023: television report and presenter’s introduction. The damage to the Passoscuro installation, Italian.

Articles and local coverage

Passoscuro

• Sapereambiente: art and connection during the pandemic, 13 February 2021. Includes the Passoscuro installation, Italian.
• Canale Dieci: damage to the Baci Sospesi sculpture, Elisa Palchetti, 7 January 2023. Community responses to vandalism, Italian.
• Fiumicino Online: the restoration of Baci Sospesi in Passoscuro, 13 March 2023 (Italian). Reporting on the restoration after vandalism and the solidarity crowdfunding.

Pioraco

• Picchio News: Baci Sospesi arrives in Pioraco, 2 August 2021. Announcement of the installation, Italian.
• L’Appennino Camerte: Barbara Sbrocca’s gift to Pioraco, August 2021. The work and its invitation to leave messages, Italian.
• Picchio News: inauguration of the dispersed installation, 11 August 2021. The opening and its reception, Italian.
• Cronache Maceratesi: I “Baci sospesi” invadono Pioraco, 11 August 2021. The donation, inauguration and public participation, Italian.
• Il Resto del Carlino: Baci Sospesi and honorary citizenship, 15 August 2021. Recognition of Barbara’s contribution to Pioraco, Italian.
• Il Resto del Carlino: visitors and public space in Pioraco, August 2021. Local tourism coverage mentioning the installation, Italian.

Leiria

A clarification of project authorship

Some local newspaper reports incorrectly attribute Baci Sospesi jointly to Barbara Sbrocca and Lorena Terzi. Baci Sospesi was created by Barbara Sbrocca in 2020 and continues under her artistic direction.

The collaboration with Lorena Terzi of KulturNest e.V. and Fausta Cardoso Pereira and Paulo Kellerman of Hirundo NGO concerned the organisation and development of the 2024 Leiria workshop, rather than the creation of the Baci Sospesi project itself.

• Região de Leiria: Projeto italiano “Beijos suspensos” estreia em Leiria, 15 July 2024. The workshop and international collaboration, Portuguese.
• Patrícia Martins, “#Beijos suspensos”, Jornal de Leiria, 26 July 2024 (Portuguese). A reflection on encounter, artistic creation and the Leiria workshop.
• “Baci Sospesi: obras de 15 artistas no Moinho do Papel”, Jornal de Leiria, 9 September 2025 (Portuguese). Coverage of the collective exhibition and permanent installation.
• Jornal de Leiria: cultural agenda, 11 September 2025. Includes the Moinho do Papel inauguration, Portuguese.
• Paulo Kellerman: Baci Sospesi Leiria, September 2025. A literary contribution published by the writer and project collaborator, Portuguese.

Visitor guides and event listings

• Roma 03: visiting Fiumicino with children, 23 March 2023. Includes Baci Sospesi on the Passoscuro seafront, Italian.
• Canale Dieci: weekend guide to Rome and the coast, 13 January 2023. A mention in a local walking itinerary, Italian.
• Viral Agenda: Baci Sospesi at Moinho do Papel, September 2025. Public event listing, Portuguese.

Project partners and institutional records

• Hirundo NGO: Baci Sospesi in Leiria (English). The partner organisation’s presentation of the 2024 workshop and collaboration.
• Municipality of Leiria: Baci Sospesi (Portuguese). The official record of the installation inauguration and collective exhibition in September 2025.
• KulturNest: Berlin Sprouting Lab (English). The original invitation to the 2026 lab, outlining its approach and collaboration.

• Municipality of Leiria: Moinho Imaginário 4, Rosa dos Ventos, 23 September 2025. Performance marking the closing of the Baci Sospesi exhibition, Portuguese.
• European Heritage Days 2025: Leiria programme (PDF, Portuguese). Includes the presentation of the installation.
• Municipality of Leiria, activity reports: artistic residency (June 2025; PDF, approximately 35 MB) and educational participation (PDF, approximately 36 MB). References to Baci Sospesi within wider municipal reporting, Portuguese.

Barbara’s wider practice

Read Barbara’s introduction on this website or visit her personal site for her background, selected works and her account of Baci Sospesi.

• Baci Sospesi a Pioraco, 27 July 2021. Preparing the dispersed installation, Italian.
• L’onore è tutto mio, 19 August 2021. Barbara’s account of the Pioraco opening, Italian.
• Baci Sospesi in Portogallo, 21 May 2024. The partnership and plans for Leiria, Italian.
• Leiria on my mind, 3 September 2024. A first-hand account and photographs of the workshop, English.
• Baci Sospesi Sprouting Lab: Berlin and what comes next, 25 September 2026. The collaboration and its development, English.
• Baci Sospesi for Gaza: keeping attention alive, 25 September 2026. The project’s messages and support initiative, English.
• I am writing the first Baci Sospesi book, 25 September 2026. A book in progress, English.
• Barbara’s CV and news on her personal website: further context and updates.

Arrange a conversation

To request an appointment, write to Barbara with your research question or area of interest and your availability. This can be the starting point for a conversation about the project and the photographs, recollections or details that may be useful to your work.