#inbiblioteca, culture Sundays, in Via Sacco

This rich programme is for #INBIBLIOTECA, the initiative by Varese Town Council, whose main aim is to revitalise and establish the spaces in Via Sacco as a vital, central hub for culture in the town.

This project will involve the spaces of the town library in a series of meetings that are free to attend, including unplugged concerts, theatre performances, conferences, follow-ups, presentations, and even readings and “live recordings”, which will mostly take place on Sunday afternoon.

 

THE SIX THEMES OF #INBIBLIOTECA, FROM NEW LANGUAGES TO PATHS

 

The events in the #InBiblioteca programme will be divided into six categories. These range from New Languages, with conferences and presentations on a number of contemporary languages styles, like comic strips, street art and music, and their relationship with writing and the town. Then there are Hidden Treasures, with meetings which aim to make the most of old texts owned by the library, by analysing them in a modern context. There will be a section dedicated to the News, with conferences on the topic of new journalism and its relationship with the Internet. In the section dedicated to Paths, we will examine this theme as both a secular and a religious experience of individual search, also with respect to different cultures and philosophies. The section most typical of a library, will be the one dedicated to the New Publications, with the presentation of new works by the authors themselves. Finally, the topic of Contaminations: a meeting with a variety of organisations in Varese, to make the most of the library as a cultural space, by organising readings, unplugged concerts, theatre readings, and much more.

 

EXPERIENCING THE LIBRARY ON SUNDAY, FOR ROUND-THE-CLOCK CULTURE

Mayor Davide Galimberti explained, “The decision to open the library on Sunday and to provide a number of important services, also at the weekend, poses the significant challenge of increasing the town’s cultural offer, by exploiting the space on Sunday and diversifying the offer, with the help also of the many associations in town, which I would like to thank for their collaboration; it’s a sign of important synergy for the development of this kind of initiative. The idea of a library ‘open’ also at unconventional times highlights its value as a cultural hub that is not just a lending service and a place to study, but also a place where cultural events are enriched and diversified. It is both a challenge and a clear decision, through free, high-profile meetings, to bring this space to life in a new way, without forgetting the central role of books and of reading as a valuable source for the growth of the individual and the vitality of the town. Thus, a new and stimulating future lies ahead for our precious library.”

The following associations are partners in this initiative, together with Varese Town Council: WG Art.it, Centro di Formazione Musicale in Barasso, Ginkgo Yoga, Comic Arte, Red Box, the “Frattini” Art High School, and Coopuf Iniziative Culturali.

 

#INBIBLIOTECA, THE PROGRAMME OF EVENTS

18 MARCH 2018

4.00 p.m.: Street Art. From spontaneous expression, to commissioned art.

A meeting with the artist Seacreative and Sofia Macchi, the owner of the Punto sull’Arte Gallery. Chair: Andrea Ciotti.

This is the first of three meetings organised by the association WG Art, in the series “Street Art, from urban art to the art gallery. A dialogue with history.”

During the meeting, the artist Seacreative will talk about the birth of “street art”, where it comes from and where it is going, from illegal art form, to commissioned and exploited art. A journey accompanied with photographs and videos of artists who experience the urban fabric in a thousand different ways.

The experience in Varese of the association WG Art over the last few years will be spoken about, as will the collaboration that began recently with Sofia Macchi of the Punto sull’Arte Gallery, with whom the project is being carried out to provide artistic decoration of the traffic light boxes in town, with the involvement Varese Town Council and of artists with various backgrounds, contaminations and connections.

6.00 p.m.: Science fiction in comics, from Godzilla to Nathan Never – Antonio Serra.

Antonio Serra, the great comics writer for Bonelli Editore, and “father” of the successful comic “Nathan Never,” will talk about the history of science-fiction comics, the archetypes and topos, which are now part of our imagination, the secrets and particular characteristics of writing original comic strips.

Serra took his first steps in the world of comic books at the end of the 1970s, when he edited the amateur sci-fi magazine “Fate Largo”. In 1982, he met Michele Medda and Bepi Vigna at the cultural centre, “Il Circolo”, in Cagliari, and together they formed what, in the world of drawn literature, is known as “the Band of Sardinians”. United by a passion for comics, they became part of the “Bande Dessinèe”, and later, as professionals, entered the sector, and had some of their writings about Martyn Mystère adapted by Alfredo Castelli. Still working together, Medda, Serra and Vigna produced other works for the archaeologist-detective and for Dylan Dog. Finally, after working together on developing the project of Nathan Never and Legs Weaver, they separated to work separately on the scripts for individual stories. Serra was also the editor of the two comics, and of the series about Agenzia Alfa. In 2007, he was in charge of the new, six-monthly publication linked to the world of Nathan Never: Universo Alfa. For two years, Serra has taught comic scriptwriting at the association ComicArte Varese, and in 2017, the album “Astromostri” was published in the series “Le Storie” (published by Sergio Bonelli Editore), with illustrations by Maurizio Rosenzweig.

 

25 MARCH 2018

3.30 p.m. – “Rino Gaetano. Essenzialmente tu”. Reading-concert, with Matteo Persica

The book “Rino Gaetano. Essenzialmente tu” (Odoya) was published on 2 November, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Sanremo 1978, which launched the singer, Rino Gaetano, with the song “Gianna”. The book was recently presented at Bookcity, in Milan (Teatro dal Verme), at “Più libri, più liberi” and at Casa Sanremo, and was met with both public and critical acclaim.

The book is a true “labour of love” towards Rino Gaetano. What Rino left unsaid during his interviews is revealed by friends, colleagues, girlfriends, producers and musicians … The result is an original and authentic portrait of the singer-songwriter, which sheds light on some aspects of his life previously not known in the setting of Rome in the seventies. The author’s presentation of the book is quite original and engaging, with an alternation of readings, anecdotes and tales, with songs played live by Andrea Minidio and Lele Pesce.

Matteo Persica describes himself as a keen writer of true stories worth telling. He made his debut with Odoya in 2016, with the book Anna Magnani Biografia di una donna, which enjoyed great success among critics and readers alike. In 2010, he directed the documentary Nannarella 100; since 2012, he has been the artistic director for the Anna Magnani prize.

Then, at 6:30 p.m., there is a tribute concert to Rino Gaetano, at Cantine Coopuf, in Via de Cristoforis, Varese, in collaboration with Coopuf Iniziative Culturali.

 

8 APRIL 2018

From 4 to 6 p.m. – The art of Rapping: Kaso and Tormento

What lies behind the maddening lure of hip hop music? What characterises the writing process of rap lyrics and what performance abilities do rappers have? The meetings organised by CFM will talk about the many compositional aspects of rap music, its rules, its language style and its messages. It will be an occasion to listen to the stories and experiences of experts in this field, exchange ideas with other fans, and maybe even have a go at rapping.

Kaso first started out in the hip hop scene in the 1990s, when Varese was one of the capitals of Italian rap. In 1997, he produced his first vinyl single entitled “Ne Vuoi Ancora”, and soon after, in 1999, he formed the duo, Kaso & Maxi B, with the rapper Maxi B. In 2002, Kaso also produced his solo disc, entitled “ORO GIALLO”. In 2006, the duo produced their second album under Kaso & Maxi B, entitled “TANGRAM”, which features important names in Italian rap, such as Tormento, Fabri Fibra, Nesli and Esa. Between 2013 and 2016, Kaso worked as a coach on the RSI TV programme “Showtime”.

Massimiliano Cellamaro, who is best known as Tormanto, Yoshi Torenaga, Antonio Mantelli is an Italian rapper and record producer. He made his musical debut in the band Sottotono. The first album, which dates back to 1994, was Soprattutto sotto, from which the summer hit La mia coccinella was taken, which has also been used in TV advertisements. The disc sold more than 80,000 copies. In 2002, his solo career began, which brought him to work with numerous Italian and international artists.

 

15 AND 19 APRIL 2018

from 3 p.m.: Readings “On Air”

The Internet radio station of the “Angelo Frattini” Art High School, LAAFM, is the new multimedia lab of the school in Varese. Together with the historic music and theatre lab, Aristichorus, LAAFM will be the protagonist in the project #INbiblioteca in two afternoons dedicated to “reading aloud”. Extracts from great literature, poetry and plays will be read by the young actors of the school’s theatre group, and their schoolmates in the radio group will record and broadcast the material produced, live from Varese’s temple of literature, the public library in Via Sacco.

 

15 APRIL 2018

From 6 to 8 p.m.: Sottovoce – a Gospel concert

They are not a choir, and it is more from the Black Keys, than from black music, that they take their inspiration, although they sing in Italian. They are I Gospel, and come from the very north of Varese Province, bringing a special acoustic set, with songs from their first album, I Gospel, which came out last year and was produced by Marco Ulcigrai (Il Triangolo / I Ministri / Le luci della centrale elettrica).

“Sottovoce” is a collection of concerts that are homemade, from start to finish: home music, played inside living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, gardens and balconies; friends, acquaintances and strangers gather together and share an experience that later becomes part of a series of online videos. The collection has been organised by the cultural association, Red Box, which was founded in Varese in 2010, to promote, share and give visibility to emerging artists, and bring high quality, cultural creations around the territory, through the conception, creation and promotion of events.

 

6 MAY 2018

From 4 to 6 p.m. – India: the ways of the beyond – Marilia Albanese

Oppressed by ignorance and pain, the Indian man goes from existence to existence, wishing finally to free himself of the world that conditions him. In this, not so easy undertaking, he is sustained by the marga, spiritual paths centred on rites, knowledge, devotion and discipline, which provide points for reflection and practical tips that go beyond the Indian border. Greater self-awareness and a more serene balance can help anybody to live better under any sky.

Marilia Albanese graduated in Sanskrit and Indology, in the Faculty of Classical Literature of the Catholic University in Milan, and, at the same time, graduated in Hindi and Indian Culture, at the Is.M.E.O. (Italian Institute for the Middle and Far East). She was the director of the Lombardy section of this institute at Milan’s State University until 2011, when the institute closed. She has collaborated with Italian Swiss Television and with RAI radio programmes, such as “Uomini e Profeti” and “Wikiradio.”

 

13 MAY 2018

From 4 to 6 p.m.: The art of Rap – Kaso and Kiave

What lies behind the maddening lure of hip hop music? What characterises the rhyming lyrics, and what performance abilities do rappers have? The second meeting organised by CFM on the many compositional aspects of rap music, its rules, its language style and its messages. Special guest, the rapper Kiave, together with the “master of ceremonies, Kaso”.

 

20 MAY 2018

From 6 to 8 p.m.: Fake news, the new opium of the masses? – Edoardo Vigna

Fake news, the invented and misleading news created to spread false information, and the ability to use the Internet to spread it all over the world, in an instant, has made it more insidious, less easy to spot and extremely dangerous for every democracy. But disinformation is given also by titles out of context and distorted, apparently innocuous articles, which create a false reality on social media. Readers, Internet users and journalists: it is time to defend ourselves. Edoardo Vigna has worked for Corriere della Sera for 23 years. Together with his colleague Enrico Marro, he wrote the book “Sette mesi di Berlusconi”, an in-depth analysis of the first experience in government of the founder of Forza Italia. For 15 years, he has been the chief editor of “Sette”, for which he has written reportage, investigations, interviews and cover stories, as well as the features “Globalist” and “AfrAsia”. On corriere.it, he runs the blog “Globalist”.

 

5 JUNE 2018

From 7 to 8:30 p.m.:  Literary gardens

The first meeting in the collaboration with the review “Giardini Letterari, conoscere I libri, incontrare gli autori” (Literary Gardens, getting to know books, meeting the authors) by Coopuf Iniziative Culturali. In the unusual setting of the library of Varese, which, for the occasion, is being moved to the delightful park beside the newspaper library, the author himself will present his new book. The meeting will mark the beginning of the initiative, which will continue, throughout the summer, in the park of Villa Toeplitz. Information about the author will soon be available at www.coopuf.org.

 

10 JUNE 2018

From 6 to 8 p.m.: Public Art, with its frescos, statues, sundials and secrets. By Rossella Bernasconi and Sebastian Paolo Righi

The second meeting in the cycle “Street Art, from urban art to the art gallery. A dialogue with history.” Our guide will be Rossella Bernasconi, a restorer of landmarks, with work carried out primarily on moveable works and frescoes, in Varese, Como, Milan, Mantua, Valle d’Aosta and Trentino. At her side, there will be the video maker, Sebastian Paolo Righi, who specialises in digital applications for landmarks.

 

1 JULY 2018

From 6 to 8 p.m. – Festival of comic strips, at the library

After its public and critical success, the festival of comic strips and games is now into its second year, and is collaborating with the #INbiblioteca! project. In the course of the three-day festival, a meeting will take place, inside the library, to present new comic series, with a number of special guests. More detailed information will soon be available at www.comicarte.it.