press release

press conference, milan, fondazione arnaldo pomodoro

Milan, May 15, 2008 – Manifesta 7, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art, is hosted by the Trentino – South Tyrol Region from July 19 to November 2. It takes place in Italy for the first time, stretching across an entire regional territory, encompassing venues in four cities along a course of 150 kilometers joining the north and south of Europe along the Brenner axis: Fortezza (Bressanone), ex Alumix in Bolzano, the Palazzo delle Poste in Trento, and Manifattura Tabacchi and ex Peterlini in Rovereto.
In Milan, Manifesta 7 is introduced at the Fondazione A. Pomodoro by Hedwig Fijen -President of the Comitato Manifesta 7 and Director of International Foundation Manifesta in Amsterdam, Fabio Cavallucci – Co-ordinator for Manifesta 7 in Trento, Andreas Hapkemeyer – Co-ordinator for Manifesta 7 in Bolzano and Anselm Franke/Hila Peleg – Curators of the exhibition site in Trento; together with Catterina Seia – UniCredit & Art Project Co-ordinator, Gerhard Brandstätter – President of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio in Bolzano, Paolo Cellini – Seat Pagine Gialle Internet Manager and Dario Cimorelli – Silvana Editoriale General Director.
The four exhibitions of Manifesta 7 in Fortezza, Bolzano, Trento and Rovereto host 188 artists, architects, writers and experts from around the world. Manifesta 7 features 32 Italians, several of whom have created their artworks through the support of PARC (General Management for the quality and the protection of the environment, architecture and contemporary art, Ministry for Arts and Culture). The majority of the paintings, sculptures, videos, installations and sound works on show have been specially created for Manifesta 7.
In Rovereto, Adam Budak develops his exhibition Principle Hope in both the 20th Century industrial building of the ex Peterlini and the 19th Cenuty Manifattura Tabacchi; Anselm Franke/Hila Peleg in Trento curate the exhibition The Soul (or, Much Trouble in the Transportation of Souls) at the Palazzo delle Poste, a functionalist building from the 1930s; Raqs Media Collective, formed by Jeebesh Bagchi, Monica Narula & Suddhabrata Sengupta, present their exhibition The Rest of Now in Bolzano at the ex Alumix, another industrial building from the early 20th Century. The entire curatorial team works together at the final exhibition venue, the Austrian fortress of Fortezza, with Projected Scenarios, a project exploring the concept of the immaterial dimension.
Together with Manifesta 7, many Parallel Events take place throughout the two provinces: a selected program incorporating 45 events in South Tyrol and more than 60 in Trentino. This includes exhibitions, events, performances and concerts supported by many of the numerous institutions and associations that have made of this region into such a dynamic territory for contemporary art.
Particular attention is dedicated to educational activities throughout the entire region, with a special didactic program linking all the various exhibitions, offering a space to interact, to initiate an exchange of ideas between the public and various exhibition specialists. The educational department of Manifesta 7 offers the audience an opportunity to relate to art in different ways. The didactic team, formed by 20 art experts from the region and from abroad, invites people to approach contemporary art in a way that freely shows their own personality and imagination, to build a hospitable place where opinions can be recognized and re-valued. In this way, art mediation becomes an ideal starting point for a personal dialogue with the artists’ work, with the structures that contain them, and with the history of the surrounding territory. Courses and activities for all ages, for different academic levels and for families have been developed for each venue. The education department functions in Italian, German and English.
The new website of Manifesta 7 is a combination of two parallel websites, conceived and operated as twin platforms to offer information and updates about events aligned to the main initiatives and all parallel events, as well providing cultural and historical points of interest in Trentino – South Tyrol: www.manifesta7.it. The site features information on the institutional and artistic aspects of the main event. Meanwhile www.manifesta7.paginegialle.it takes care of the planning and organizational aspects of a visitor’s trip to the exhibition sites (bookings for flights, train-timetables, car rentals, hotels, sports and wellness activities, satellite surfing and traffic information). It also provides information about all parallel events taking place as part of Manifesta 7, also indicating a special section devoted to local gastronomic and wine specialities, sightseeing and architectural attractions in Trentino and South Tyrol, with live satellite webcams directly focused on the region. Moreover, a call center is activated 24 hours a day with an 89.24.24 personal assistance service, to grant quick assistance and information to the public.
Silvana Editoriale has published three catalogues for Manifesta 7: a guide book dedicated to the four exhibitions and the participating artists (in Italian, German and English versions); a companion book as a volume of critical and theoretical studies about the shows and artistic projects (in English); and a monograph edition dedicated to the Fortezza project (in Italian, German, English versions).
Manifesta, characterized by its itinerant nature within Europe, is one of the most important international events dedicated to contemporary art. It takes place every two years in a different city. Previous editions have been hosted by Rotterdam (1996), Luxemburg (1998), Ljiubljana (2000), Frankfurt (2002), San Sebastian (2004) and Nicosia (2006).
Manifesta and all activities connected to it are an initiative of the International Foundation Manifesta in Amsterdam, which functions as the only permanent structure of this nomadic biennial.
Manifesta 7 is supported by the Autonomous Province of Bolzano and Trento and by the International Foundation Manifesta.
It is also supported by Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Bolzano/Stiftung Südtiroler Sparkasse, Unicredit, Seat Pagine Gialle, Zumtobel.
The exhibitions will be open to the public from 19 July to 2 November 2008, everyday from 10.00 am to 7 pm and on friday from 10.00 to 9.00 pm.
For further information:
Manifesta 7 Press Office
Alessandra Santerini, +39.331.6703550
Chiara Costa, +39.331.7001172
e – mail: press@manifesta7.it

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