Kicking Off the Street Art Festival Season!
Hola from Madrid!
Ciao,
how are you?
I’m writing to you from Madrid where, in a few hours, I begin our second street art trip with some dedicated readers of this newsletter. We're set to thoroughly explore the city, and similar to what we did in Paris, all the material we gather will be compiled into a travel book that will be available for you too (the Paris edition will be out in June, so stay tuned!).
This month’s newsletter looks a bit different from our usual format. Real Life hasn't given me a moment’s rest to focus on writing, what with my grandmother being hospitalized and the start of the festival season. Between handling press relations, social media, content creation, and media partnerships, this year finds me involved in five different street art festivals across four countries; they're all taking place simultaneously, more or less, and so April has been a whirlwind of zoom calls, strategy sessions, and planning—essentially, a lot of work!
However, I’m not complaining, as I absolutely love working with street art festivals, mingling with artists, and being part of the backstage dynamics (and I can't wait to share all of that here with you). I just want to explain why this newsletter—while certainly not “short”—won’t be breaking any Gmail character limits as is usual for our monthly updates.
Until next month,
Giulia
Save the date(s)
Explore London with me: August 23rd - 27th
Explore Athens with me: October 11th - 14th
(that’s all for 2024, I’m announcing more trips together next January)
New on the blog!
Excited to return as Media Partner for CVTà Street Fest 2024!
I’m thrilled to be back in Civitacampomarano, a hidden gem tucked away in Molise, Italy’s off-the-beaten-path region, serving once again as the social media manager for the fabulous CVTà Street Fest—one of the top street art festivals in Europe!
In this article, I'm introducing the four internationally renowned street artists coming to paint in Civitacampomarano this June. I'll also dive into why this festival is such a big deal in the global street art scene and why I'm so proud to be part of it.
Nuart Aberdeen 2024: Celebrating Street Art as Living Heritage from June 6th to 9th
Despite likely missing the Nuart Aberdeen festival this year due to overlapping dates with the production phase at CVTà, I remain a proud media partner of the world's leading street art festival.
In this article, I am delighted to introduce this year's festival theme and the exciting lineup of artists, alongside recalling some of my favorite personal memories from the streets of Aberdeen.
This year’s Nuart Aberdeen Festival suggests that street art, given its ephemeral nature and its role in urban culture, qualifies as a form of intangible cultural heritage.
Handpicked by yours truly
This month during one of my Rome street art walking tours, I met a longtime follower of this newsletter who recalled a time when this segment featured diverse discoveries from my month, not just limited to street art. She fondly remembered the stand-up comedians, music albums, and writers I recommended during the pandemic.
Inspired by her nostalgia and considering this newsletter issue is already quite unique, I thought why not revisit that old format? So let’s dive in, just like old times:
TV-Show: I’ve just finished watching "Hacks" (Neflix), a true binge-worthy show featuring a Las Vegas stand-up comedian diva who finds herself forced to collaborate with a young Gen Z writer, who also has no other options.
TV-Show: I loved the psychological horror “Baby Reindeer” (Netflix), based on the true story of Scottish comedian Richard Gadd, stalked by a middle-aged woman named Martha.
Cinema: One of the best movies I've ever watched, “There’s Still Tomorrow” directed by Paola Cortellesi, is now available on Netflix and has been translated or dubbed into many languages. Set in postwar 1940s Italy, the film follows Delia as she breaks away from traditional family patterns (read: patriarchy) and aspires to a different future. It was the most-watched movie in Italian cinemas in 2023, achieving tremendous success—and it absolutely deserved it.
Cinema: Another movie I loved this past month, which also won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, is "American Fiction" by Cord Jefferson. This film offers a thoughtful examination of the representation of Black culture in show business through the perspective of a frustrated Black writer who grapples with his failures and unexpectedly shifts to the "dark side.”
Shorts: Titled "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar" on Netflix, this collection features four imaginative shorts by Wes Anderson, including an Oscar-winning adaptation of Roald Dahl's tale. It centers on Henry Sugar, a wealthy gambler who develops a remarkable skill to cheat at cards. Roald Dahl, my favorite writer as a child, originally penned this captivating story.
Podcast: I've fallen down the rabbit hole of Italy's first podcaster, Jonathan Zenti, thanks to his latest production, "Totale." Becoming an obsession, I felt compelled to catch up on everything he's recorded so far, including an English-language podcast titled "Meat," which explores the theme of bodies.
Books: This month, I read an incredible book about abusive relationships titled "I giudizi sospesi" by Silvia Dai Pra. Unfortunately, it hasn't been translated into English yet. Instead, I'd like to recommend another recent favorite of mine: "Weyward" by Emilia Hart. This novel follows three generations of women as they contend with the constraints of patriarchy.
Reading list: It wouldn't be a "Handpicked by yours truly" selection without providing a link to David Sedaris' latest essay available online. Here it is: "How to Eat a Tire in a Year," from The New Yorker.
More Nostalgia…
This newsletter has already taken a unique turn, so let's embrace the unusual one step further: here are the links to previous newsletters sent on May 1st:
(I started this monthly newsletter back in 2014, but I can only share the issues that are available here on Substack, the mailing platform I joined in 2021.)
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Urban Art Events in May 2024:
On May 10th, the "Hello Mister Police Officer" exhibition is opening at Krulli Kvartal in Tallinn, Estonia. This exhibition chronicles 15 years of the "Stencibility" street art festival, where I'm serving as a media partner this year. I'll be bringing you along in July!
The Venice Art Biennale is now underway, and this year it features a special post-graffiti art exhibition. Running until June 22nd at Imagoars, the exhibition showcases canvases by prominent national and international graffiti artists.
Another graffiti art exhibition has recently opened at the Mambo Museum in Bologna, Italy. Titled "Frontiera 40: Italian Writing 1984 - 2024," the show will run until July 13th.
Wrapping up in Italy, an intriguing exhibition is being held from May 4th to June 26th at the RossoSette Art Gallery in Rome, where urban art photos are juxtaposed with the artists' original sketches. Have you ever wondered how much what you see in the streets differs from the original sketch?
The street art festival Bring The Paint returns to Leicester, UK from May 20th to 26th. I'm excited to check out the new works during the summer, which I'll be spending in London.
May 9th - 12th: My friend, My Dog Sighs, is hosting a solo exhibition at London's Copeland Gallery. This event will also feature screenings of a documentary about "Inside," his immersive 2021 exhibition set in an abandoned ballroom in Southsea. For those of you who are new here, I discussed the Inside exhibition with Paul in this video. Be sure to check it out!
As usual tanti spunti e grazie per la parte consigli!