# When artistic is altruistic: the power of beauty from P. A. Sorokin’s sociology to Building Beauty social project

## TL;DR

This paper explores how beauty and altruistic love can drive social inclusion, using a project in Turin that involves homeless people in artistic activities.

## Contribution

The paper introduces a sociological model linking artistic beauty to altruistic love, applied to a real-world social project.

## Key findings

- The Building Beauty project uses art to foster social inclusion among homeless individuals.
- Participatory artistic processes reveal expressions of beauty with both aesthetic and sociological significance.
- Sorokin's concept of 'Altruistic Creative Love' is operationalized through the analysis of this social initiative.

## Abstract

The article contributes to the ongoing debates on the social value and sociological relevance of the arts by examining the intuitions of the Russian-American sociologist P. A. Sorokin (1889-1968) on the concept of “beauty” as a force akin to what he calls “Altruistic Creative Love”, both potentially catalysing a process of “fraternisation of humanity”. Starting from the author’s sociological reflections on the relationship between “Altruistic Love” and “beauty” and an analytical model of “altruistic artistic social action,” the article proposes the analysis of a specific social project named Building Beauty, promoted in Turin (Italy) by universities, public bodies and the third sector, which aims to foster the social inclusion of homeless people through participatory processes, discovering expressions of beauty with aesthetic and sociological relevance simultaneously, able to move social transformations.