The Italian Institute of Culture in Algiers and AlbumArte
present
Anteprima#5 | The Act of Seeing
Curated by Maria Rosa Sossai | AlbumArte Rome
April 12th, 2015 | Italian Institute of Culture in Algiers
13th – 14th, April 2015 | École supérieure des Beaux-Arts d’Alger
The fifth edition of Anteprima, an international project by AlbumArte, is arriving in Algiers. The project, titled The Act of Seening, offers the opportunity to examine various aspects of reality by means of the poetic vision of two Italian artists, Raffaela Mariniello (Naples, 1965) and Elena Bellantoni (Vibo Valentia, 1975), both of whom have been engaged for many years in the production of videos and photography in Italy and abroad.
The project will be divided into distinct phases: screening | talk | workshops
Sunday, Avril 12th , 2015 During a meeting open to the public at the Italian Institute of Culture in Algiers, in the presence of the curator and the artists some of their videos will be shown, including their two latest creations: Still in life by Raffaela Mariniello (2014) and Halla Yella by Elena Bellantoni (2014). The topic of the debate will be about will be about how the act of seeing has always been considered a process of amplification of one’s perceptual capacities. In the artists videos the act of seeing often becomes a critical means for reading and interpreting reality in many different areas: educational, social, scenic, sentimental and relational, so to be able to reflect and subsequently act.
Monday, Avril 13th and Tuesday, Avril 14th 2015 In the second workshop and research phase, the two artists will each conduct a workshop with two groups of students of the École supérieure des Beaux-Arts d’Alger. From this exchange of experiences a relationship and a dialogue with the students will be established, in order to elaborate a shared creative experience, discover their shared history.
Video summaries
Raffaela Mariniello | Still in Life, colour HD Video 13′, 2014
Conceived by Raffaela Mariniello. Directed by Raffaela Mariniello, with Giacomo Fabbroncino, Naples, March 2014.
With the slow and reflective sequences of the video Still in Life the artist takes a journey to the devastated places of the Città della Scienza (City of Science) of Naples where a fire was deliberately started on March 4th 2013. This act of arson almost completely destroyed this educational and interactive science museum, which would have been a cultural centre and a prime example of various projects of renewal and revival of the former industrial area. The presence of people can be sensed by shadows and the sound of footsteps in the rubble, engaging in a nocturnal, imaginary and metaphysical exploration, in the midst of painful silences.
Elena Bellantoni | HalaYella adios/addio, 2013, HD VIDEO, 8′, 2013
This project stems from an experience the artist had at Cape Horn (in Chilean Patagonia) for three months in late 2012 and early 2013.
During this period she travelled in search of the woman Cristina Calderón, also known as Abuela, who was declared a Cultural Heritage of Mankind by UNESCO in 2006 as the last living full-blooded person of the ancient Yaghan ethnic group who are native to Tierra del Fuego.
Unfortunately, when she passes away the last traces of the living language and ancient culture of this indigenous people will also disappear. With the project Hala Yella adios/addio, the artist attempts to preserve and pass on a testimony of life from the place once known as the “Uttermost Part of the Earth“.
Biographies
Raffaela Mariniello (born in Naples, 1965) lives and works in Naples. The comparison and reflection on social and cultural issues in her work show that she is particularly sensitive to the relationship between man, the objects of his daily life and the places where he lives. The artist has participated in numerous exhibitions in Italy and abroad and she has had several solo exhibitions including: the 12th Art Quadrennial of Rome (1996), the 8th Biennial of Photography in Turin (1999), the 11th Biennale of Architecture in Venice ( 2006), the Ffotogallery of Cardiff, Wales, UK (2006), the Festival of Photography of Rome (2002, 2005, 2008), the MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai (2006, 2010), Paris Photo (2007), the Festival of Photography of Toronto – Contact – (2008), the MAXXI Museum, Rome (2010), the MADRE Museum, Naples (2011), the Museum of Palazzo Fortuny, Venice (2011) Casa della fotografia, Villa Pignatelli, Naples (2012).
Elena Bellantoni (born in Vibo Valentia, 1975) lives and works in Berlin and Italy. After graduating in Contemporary Art at the La Sapienza University of Rome, she studied in Paris and London and received an MA in Visual Art at the WCA – University of the Arts London in 2007. She then started to explore the sector of dance-theater and the performing arts, participating in workshops and advanced training courses in Italy and abroad. In 2007 she set up Platform Translation Group and in 2008 she co-founded the non-profit space for art projects 91mQ in Berlin. Her solo exhibitions include: Hala Yella at the end of the world, at Set Up Plus Art Fair Bologna / Alviani Art Space Pescara, and Passo a Due, at Careof DOCVA, Milan (2015); Tempo Imperfetto at the Fondazione Filiberto Menna and the Archaeological Museum, Salerno (2014); My name is… elena bellantoni a videoart project, Milan (2013) Looking for E.B. at the Galleria Muratcentoventidue, Bari and Hala Yella presentation, at Caja Negra Artes Visuales, Santiago de Chile (2012), Is it Real? at the 91mQ art project space, Berlin (2008); Transparentz at the Weisser Elephant Galerie, Berlin (2007) Her group exhibitions in 2014 included: Open doors at the Foreign Ministry – an exhibition of new acquisitions, (Farnesina porte aperte mostra artisti MAE nuove acquisizioni) at the Foreign Ministry of Rome; Talent Prize 2014 an exhibition of the finalists at the Acquario Romano, Rome; White Canvas at the University of Oradea, Romania; Video Art Year Book at the Universty of Visual Arts of Bologna; African Fabbers at the Marrakech Biennale, L’Blassa, Marrakech, Morocco; Exodus at the Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Spaces of perception between intangible and tangible (Spazi di percezione tra intangibile e tangibile) at the National Gallery of Modern Art,
Images: from left Elena Bellantoni, Halla Yella Elena e Cristina Calderon, video still 2013. Raffaela Mariniello, Still in life, frame video, 2014. Courtesy the artists
For further information in Algiers:
Italian Institute of Culture in Algiers | 4 bis, rue Yahia Mazouni, El Biar – 16030 Alger
T/F +213. 21. 925191 – 923873 E: info.iicalgeri@esteri.it W www.iicalgeri.esteri.it
In Italy: AlbumArte | Via Flaminia 122, 00196 Roma
T/F +39063243882 E info@albumarte.org W www.albumarte.org