Bucket list. Happy July
My Dog Sighs' immersive installation and more cool stuff, in your every-1st-of-the-month newsletter
Hey there, how are you?
This month I’ve crossed two spots off my bucket list of places to visit nearby Rome. It’s actually more than just a list; after international flights were, suddenly, all canceled and I wrote you that I was feeling homesick about spending Easter apart from my family, my boyfriend and I began writing down a list of places to visit ‘once this is all over’, as an attempt to take our minds off the idea that we may never go home again.
Fast forward 14 months, not only I’m home, but I also bathed in two places in that list: Bracciano Lake and Parco della Mola. (both very close to Rome btw so, if you are also suffering these days’ heat in the city, you now know where to go ;) ).
Another thing we used to do to cheer us up was watching stand-up comedy, especially Italian comedians who streamed every single day from their house to keep everybody’s mood up. One of these comedians is Francesco De Carlo, whom last week I finally saw live, like on an actual stage and surrounded by an actual audience in the flesh ;) (Francesco De Carlo is also one of the few Italian comedians who has some material in English, I’ll leave you a video in the curated list of links below).
These baby steps into a social, more fulfilled life make me finally see some light at the end of the tunnel. I’m looking forward to the street art trips I’ll take in the summer; I’ve been inside for so long that I forgot how much I enjoy being alive, and writing about it on the blog.
Until next month,
Giulia
ps. I’m keeping the reader survey online in case you’ve missed June Newsletter. Thank you to those who have already replied :)
Blocal Street Art Talks
My Dog Sighs talks about his upcoming immersive installation ‘Inside’
In this chat, we both mention the time when I hosted Paul at my place while he was painting a mural in Trastevere. If you've missed that story, you can read it here.
Your BLocal Friend
My private walking tours are back!
After a three-year break, my #BlocalFriend tours are available again. All experiences are private, so feel free to drop me a line to let me know what you are into and let’s plan your genuine experience in Rome together!
Handpicked by yours truly
Stuff I liked this month
As you might have seen on Instagram, I enjoyed some of the movies available online during the first edition of HipHop Cine Festival. My favorite, Alamari Love, is a tribute to the community of Alamar, a suburban "barrio" located to the east of Havana, where poems, graffiti and Hip-Hop music are mixed.
Seven more Cuban stories I enjoyed in the past month are those of 7 Days in Havana, a collective movie featuring seven directors and their different points of view on this charming city. As a Balkan addicted, I especially liked the one starring Emir Kusturica as himself.
As promised in the intro, here’s Francesco De Carlo at his show in London:
This original street art project on water intake points by Ericailcane in a rural area in central Sardinia:
Ericailcane, Santu Lussurgiu, 2021 The one on the left is inspired by Roman Emperor Giustiniano, who wouldn’t classify water and air as res publicae (public good), but as res communes omnium (goods that are used by everybody). According to Giustiniano, everybody should respect such goods and nobody could own them, because they are fundamental for the life cycle.
The one of the right, instead, is inspired by Pëtr Kropotkin’s essay “Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution” (1902), in which the Russian naturalist and anarchist philosopher showed that life for all beings isn’t simply a competition among the strongest. Instead, cooperation and mutual aid are the true driving forces of evolution of all species, including humans.
Mural of the Month: by Eron, at Parco XXV Aprile in Rimini (Italy)
Eron, Rimini, 2021 This mural by Italian street artist Eron was made in protest of the buffing of several old-school graffiti pieces that were painted during the graffiti jam “Indelebile”, which took place in Rimini in 1994. The guests of the elderly center nearby, who are responsible of covering the graffiti with grey paint, might have seen them as an expression of vandalism, but Eron (who had a long and respectful career as a graffiti writer, before becoming an exceptional street artist) ensures that they had important historical significance. Yet another protest against a “cleaning operation” that raises the urgency for a municipal committee which would work towards the valorisation of street art and graffiti art, taking into account their artistic and cultural value, rather than supporting the municipality’s delusion of fixing “problematic areas” by applying grey paint on a wall.
On a sadder note, Axel Void and Escif painted this moving piece as a tribute to street artist Hyuro, who passed away last year:
Axel Void x Escif, Valencia, 2021
I’ve just started the comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which I discovered in a what-should-I-watch-next listicle for those who are still mourning the end of The Office, like I am. I’ve just watched a few episodes and, although Brooklyn Nine-Nine is set in a police department, they both show working environments where characters do anything but work. I’m loving it already!
However, the best antidote I’ve found so far to the end of The Office is the podcast Office Ladies, starring Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey (respectively Pam and Angela in the series), who share behind-the-scenes and funny anecdotes about the show:
There’s an outstanding exhibition going on at MShed Museum in Bristol (Vanguard: Bristol Street Art), which reflects on the pivotal role the city has played in the formation of street art and graffiti in Britain and worldwide. Born in a time of political and social turmoil, Bristol street art vanguard drew inspiration from activism and, in turn, has inspired the work of many of today’s street artists aiming at raising awareness of environmental and social issues. The show celebrates Bristol’s pioneering underground scene through photography and original works from many artists (no, there’s no Banksy, although you’ll still find a Banksy piece in the permanent collection of the MShed Museum), from Bristol and from the rest of the UK. As I stated when I moved to Bristol in 2016: if you want to understand British street art, you should start from the city that led the way!
Last but not least, I watched the most recommended stand-up of the year, so I’ll now add my praise to the mix: Bo Burnham’s special Inside is probably the best home-made quarantine movie. Here I share my favorite moment:
Connecting Artists and Art Opportunities
Calls for Street Artists
Deadline July 5th: Reti Più is looking for a street artist to paint a music-themed mural in Seregno (IT). This is a paid commission, learn more here.
Deadline July 15th: Pompeii Street Art Festival is looking for artists to create murals on the theme of “the rediscovery, as a form of rebirth and projection of an ancient civilisation”. How to apply?
Deadline August 1st: after Nuart Aberdeen ‘Paste Up, Lock Down’ Edition last year, the Nuart team launched the call for street posters “Stuck Up” to create a 0.5 km wall for paste-ups in Aberdeen city centre. Send posters to: The Anatomy Rooms, Marischal College, Shoe Lane, Aberdeen, AB10 1AN, UK.
You somehow stumbled upon my blog and subscribed to the newsletter, but you have no idea who I am and how my blogging journey has unfolded so far? Here I share the ups and downs of my first 9 years of blogging :)
From the Archive
How to Spend a Summer in Rome Like a Local
Determined to show you my favorite things to do in Rome in the summertime, I’ve been going out a lot and attending many events, yet the list of places to go in Rome was becoming longer and longer. And it’s still growing! But this post won’t be of any use if I publish it in September, now will it? ;)
