Beatrice Zagato

When I heard about London is Open my first thought was of Brexit: the consequences of leaving the EU and the idea that one of the determining factors for the decision to leave was to stem the flow of immigration by closing the borders.

So that's what I wanted to talk about if I won the competition. My work would be a rejection, a criticism of a decision I strongly disagree with: to close the door to the "other".

Then I realised that my work would be primarily about "closure" and that does not interest me at all . Art, or rather, what I express through my art, is exactly the opposite: it's the trigger that forces you to react to a situation, that gives you the strength to carry on when you think your strength has gone. That's why my art will never show that the door is closed but will make people take a second look and realise that actually it's half open and still letting in plenty of light. You just have to open it all the way.

That openness is what London represents for me and I'd like to actually experience it through the residency. Hence, my idea: when I get to London I want to contact like-minded artists who live and work there and collaborate with them on two artworks.

The subject doesn't matter – the most important thing is the fact that we are working together, creating a dialogue, sharing our time and our ideas. Our joint project will be recorded in photographs and on video.

In this way London is Open will have created a bridge.