23 March 2022 2022

Cogli l’attimo, Carpe Diem, Seize the Day

An online study day dedicated to performance and its presence in Italian museum collections and archives, exploring how to define, document, collect, preserve, promote, teach and pass on this art form, curated by Marcella Beccaria.

The history of performative practices coincides with pivotal moments in the evolution of culture and art. With roots stretching back to the earliest civilisations, multiple forms of performativity ran through the twentieth century, giving rise to new forms of expression capable of moving beyond codified categories. From the 1960s to the present, performance has emerged as an artistic genre in its own right, representing one of the most advanced frontiers of contemporary research and helping to redefine the very concept of the artwork, and the roles of both artist and audience.

Although the crucial significance of performance is recognised within the history of contemporary art, and although many performative practices have long formed part of the programming of numerous museums, its presence within museum collections and archives continues to pose challenges. The pandemic emergency also compromised the feasibility of many “live” body-centred artistic practices, identifying elements of risk precisely in the shared presence of bodies.

Reflecting on the relationship between performance and museum policy, AMACI, with the support of the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture, promoted Cogli l’attimo, Carpe Diem, Seize the Day, a study day curated by Marcella Beccaria, Vice President of AMACI and Chief Curator and Curator of Collections at Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea. The day aimed to explore in depth the main issues surrounding how this art form can be defined, documented, collected, preserved, promoted, taught and passed on within museum collections and archives, including through the possibilities offered by digital tools and new forms of cataloguing.

The day gave the floor to artists and their practices, starting with those involving the body, asking them, first and foremost, what remains of these ephemeral works, how such practices can be passed on and — drawing on the teaching experience of many of them at academies and universities — how this art form can be taught.

Participants included: Dora Aceto, Nico Angiuli, Francesco Arena, Chiara Bersani, Rossella Biscotti, Silvia Calderoni, Ilenia Caleo, Lara Conte, Raffaella Cortese, Duccio Dogheria, Eva Frapiccini, Francesca Gallo, Francesca Grilli, Adelita Husni-Bey, Marcello Maloberti, Marzia Migliora, Paolo Naldini, Franco Noero, Cesare Pietroiusti, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Andrea Pizzi, Virgilio Sieni, Andrea Viliani, Uliana Pierina Zanetti and Italo Zuffi, in dialogue with: Lorenzo Balbi, Director of MAMbo – Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna; Marcella Beccaria, Vice President of AMACI and Chief Curator and Curator of Collections at Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea; Denis Isaia, Curator of Collections at Mart – Museo di arte moderna e contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto; Luca Lo Pinto, Artistic Director of MACRO – Museo d’arte contemporanea di Roma; Bartolomeo Pietromarchi, Director of MAXXI Arte – MAXXI Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo; Caterina Riva, Artistic Director of MACTE Museo di Arte Contemporanea di Termoli; and Emma Zanella, Director of Museo MA*GA – Fondazione Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea ‘Silvio Zanella’.

Public attendance was high, with more than 400 unique log-ins from 14 different countries, for a total of 495 minutes of lectures. For anyone unable to attend, all the talks are available on YouTube.

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PROGRAMME

Institutional greetings
Onofrio Cutaia, Director-General for Contemporary Creativity, MiC
Lorenzo Giusti, President of AMACI

Introduction to the study day
Marcella Beccaria, Vice President of AMACI and Chief Curator and Curator of Collections at Castello di Rivoli

Sessions

● SESSION 1
Performance as an artistic practice. The artist’s body. What remains?
Francesca Grilli, Artist
Marzia Migliora, Artist
Michelangelo Pistoletto – Cittadellarte, Artist
In dialogue with Bartolomeo Pietromarchi, Director of MAXXI Arte – MAXXI Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo

● SESSION 2
Performance as an artistic practice. Bodies and objects. How to pass it on and teach it?
Eva Frapiccini, Artist and lecturer at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Palermo
Marcello Maloberti, Artist and lecturer in Visual Arts at NABA – Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti di Milano
Cesare Pietroiusti, Artist and Chairman of the Board of Azienda Speciale Palaexpo
Italo Zuffi, Artist and lecturer
In dialogue with Luca Lo Pinto, Artistic Director of MACRO – Museo d’arte contemporanea di Roma

● SESSION 3
Performance between dance, theatre and the museum
Chiara Bersani, Performer and writer
Silvia Calderoni, Performer, actor and writer
Virgilio Sieni, Dancer and choreographer
In dialogue with Denis Isaia, Curator of Collections at Mart – Museo di arte moderna e contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto

● SESSION 4
Performance. An ontological definition
Ilenia Caleo, Performer, activist and researcher
Lara Conte, Associate Professor, Roma Tre University
Francesca Gallo, Associate Professor, Sapienza University of Rome
In dialogue with Marcella Beccaria, Vice President of AMACI and Chief Curator and Curator of Collections at Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea

● SESSION 5
Performance as an artistic practice. Performing with others. Artwork or document?
Rossella Biscotti, Artist
Francesco Arena, Artist
Nico Angiuli, Visual artist, director, performer and Professor of Performing Arts, Accademia di Belle Arti di Bari
Adelita Husni-Bey, Multidisciplinary artist and educator
In dialogue with Caterina Riva, Artistic Director of MACTE Museo di Arte Contemporanea di Termoli

● SESSION 6
Collecting and archiving a performance
Dora Aceto, Editorial Manager and Exhibition Coordinator, Studio Fabio Mauri
Uliana Pierina Zanetti, Head of Exhibitions and Collections, MAMbo – Museo d’arte moderna di Bologna
Duccio Dogheria, Archivio del ‘900, Mart – Museo di arte moderna e contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto
Andrea Viliani, Critic, curator and Head of CRRI – Centro di Ricerca Castello di Rivoli
In dialogue with Emma Zanella, Director of Museo MA*GA – Fondazione Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea ‘Silvio Zanella’

● SESSION 7
Selling a performance
Raffaella Cortese, Galleria Raffaella Cortese
Franco Noero, Galleria Franco Noero
Andrea Pizzi, Lawyer specialising in art law and intellectual property
In dialogue with Lorenzo Balbi, Artistic Director of MAMbo – Museo d’arte moderna di Bologna