Introduction: claiming presence

The introduction to this book portrays how individuals and collective groups struggle to find spaces and tools to express and depict themselves and their identities in the contemporary scenario. Despite the increasing effort of different subjectivities to claim their existence and value in the public sphere, what is done on a political level is often insufficient, if not counter-productive. For this reason, cultural and artistic actions have become a key tool to shape, negotiate, question, and experiment with identities and their in-the-making process. The introduction includes a presentation of this book, its content, contributors, and structure.