A year of Emilia-Romagna culture abroad
Emilia-Romagna is a land 'rich' in culture in every sense, because, in addition to the profuse cultural and natural heritage, more than a thousand libraries, over five hundred museums, a circuit of about one hundred theatres, it is among the Italian regions that produce more wealth with culture, and where the cultural offer and fruition are among the highest in Italy.
But Emilia-Romagna is also capable of 'exporting' its artistic and cultural production. This is demonstrated by the 460 events that in 2019 brought to 59 Countries worldwide performing arts, cinema, exhibitions, multimedia, workshops, conferences, promotional events, spreading cultural activities and knowledge of the heritage of this territory throughout the planet.
The countries that hosted the largest number of events are, in order, France, the United States, Germany, Japan, Spain and Argentina (but the Kiribati were also reached, even with only one event!).
Once again, theatre is at the top of the cultural export ranking: the performances by 31 companies and production centers from Emilia-Romagna have been staged in important theatres and international festivals with about 200 performances, as well as artistic residencies, workshops and master classes, conferences and meetings.
As regarding drama, the activities of Societas theatre company stands out, with nine shows staged in Europe, Asia, North and South America, and that of Instabili Vaganti company, which has established fruitful and long-lasting relationships of artistic collaboration in India and South America, where the new production The Global City / Ciudad Global debuted.
As regarding children's theatre, the most active companies have been: La Baracca-Testoni Ragazzi, with seven productions on tour in Europe, China, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Rwanda; Teatro Gioco Vita, with five titles circulated in European Countries and Senegal; Teatro delle Briciole, with two productions staged mainly in Europe.
Special mentions go to Romeo Castellucci, increasingly celebrated abroad also as opera director so much to get a "triple” Opernwel Award for Salome -best show, best director, best set designer- and two Golden Masks for Jeanne d'Arc au Bûcher -best show and best set designer. Castellucci has also been honoured as a member of the Accadémie Royale de Belgique.
Special mentions also to Marco Martinelli, director-dramatist of the Teatro delle Albe, who received the 2019 Voluntary Service Award, called by the Presidency of the Senate, for the project Dante at Kibera, realized with Fondazione Avsi, and Teatrino Giullare, who won the Excellent Play Award 2019 at the 8th International Theatre Award in Tsingtao with the show Menelao, co-produced by ERT Emilia Romagna Teatro Fondazione.
And remaining in China, and speaking again of awards, we must mention the studio fuse* that won the Wu Guanzhong Art and Science Innovation Award in Beijing with the installation Multiverse .pan. The installations and multimedia performances by fuse* were also protagonists in Canada, Mexico and Europe.
As concerning music, there are over 60 concerts, with a vast repertoire performed by ensembles, orchestras, and soloists mainly in the United States and Europe, not forgetting the tour in Japan of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna with Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto and Rossini's The Barber Of Seville.
The Barber Of Seville also emerges among the most represented performances in the field of dance -in the total 36-, transformed into an 'action ballet' by Monica Casadei and her Artemis, although the 'primacy' in the choreographic field belongs to Aterballetto, with six different shows presented in 13 European squares.
There have been 35 exhibitions, mainly dedicated to cinema -thanks to the dynamic activity of the Centro Cinema Citta di Cesena in various European countries, and illustration for children -thanks to the commitment of the Bologna Children's Book Fair in China, Japan, Brazil. The MAMbo in Bologna brought the works by Giorgio Morandi to Spain, in an important exhibition at the Guggenheim Bilbao.
And speaking of cinema, there have been over 70 screenings, and in over 20 countries on all continents, of films by Emilia-Romagna authors, many of them in homage to the great Bernardo Bertolucci, who died on November 26, 2018, and Federico Fellini, in view of the 2020 celebrations for the centenary of his birth.
The 2019 balance for the culture of Emilia-Romagna abroad ends with a reference to the more than 40 promotional initiatives organized, mainly related to the events encouraged by the MAECI – Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for the promotion of Italy around the world: Weeks of Italian Language and Cuisine in the World, Italian Design Day, “Fare Cinema”, "Africa, Culture, Mediterranean", "Tempo Forte Italia-Grecia 2019" programme, Leonardo 500th Anniversary.
Among the most important, the participation of Aterballetto and the concert by Maestro Riccardo Muti "The Roads of Friendship", traditional appointment of the Ravenna Festival, in the Athens and Epidaurus Festival; the exhibition Design is Everyday at the Budapest Design Week, the round table "Fare Cinema: i mestieri del cinema nella creatività italo-lussemburghese", in collaboration with Film Fund Luxembourg and Emilia-Romagna Film Commission, the concert Maqeda Tour of the Andlay Association at the Ethiopian National Theatre in Addis Ababa.
In addition, there have already been preview initiatives on the 2020 anniversaries of Fellini, Artusi and Rodari, the latter with the exhibition Illustrators for Gianni Rodari. Italian Excellence, already set at the Portland Art Museum and now underway in San Francisco.
The activities have been realized thanks to the precious co-operation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation’s network of diplomatic and cultural Representations.