VISION
Gibellina Photoroad is a unique and unusual event, the first and unparalleled open air and site-specific festival in Italy, and one of the few in the world. Large-format prints, outdoor exhibitions, projections and installations, thought to dialogue with the urban space of Gibellina, town without any kind of visual and light pollution in which the vision of the exhibitions is not disturbed by the urban chaos. The festival questions how photography can shape itself in urban space, in the public space, finding new meanings, visions and interactions with the audience. And how photography can revitalize the memory, activating the contemporary creations. In the past three editions, the festival presented the work by 120 famous and emerging artists in 90 unique site-specific exhibitions. The festival is promoted by the Municipality of Gibellina and Fondazione Orestiadi and organized by the Cultural Association On Image.
VENUES
Situated in the center of the island of Sicily, and specifically in the Trapani area, is Gibellina, a new town full of amazing artwork which is one of the largest open air contemporary art museums in the world.
On 14 January 1968,a violent earthquake hit the Belìce valley in Western Sicily and the town of Gibellina was completely devastated. Following the quake, the mayor of Gibellina, Ludovico Corrao, a unique and visionary person, together with a group of artists and intellectuals (including Leonardo Sciascia) called for the town to be completely rebuilt through art. Among the artists who assisted in this rebuilding were: Alberto Burri, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Pietro Consagra, Mario Schifano, Joseph Beuys and Carla Accardi. Thus, the extraordinary experiment of rebuilding Gibellina took place – a natural and human catastrophe followed by the cathartic energy of art and culture.
The “Grande Cretto” of Alberto Burri covers the ruins of the old city and is a huge open air art masterpiece famous worldwide. It has recently been completed in 2015, reaching 90.000 mq.
Gibellina Nuova, located 15 kilometers from the old city, has been studied by many for its important architectural works and open air sculptures.It is one of the largest open air contemporary art museums in the world.
Originally built in the 18th century as a farmhouse,Le Case di Stefano following the earthquake, was restored by the architects Roberto Collovà, Marcella Aprile and Teresa La Rocca. Today this building is the headquarters of the Foundation Orestiadi and the Museo delle Trame Mediterranee in which are preserved important contemporary art collections. The exterior of this construction hosts the “Salt Mountain” by Mimmo Paladino, and has provided the backdrop for “La Sposa di Messina”, presented at the Cretto di Burri for Orestiadi in 1990. The courtyard hosts the annual Orestiadi di Gibellina, an international theatre review now in its 42nd year.
The large Piazza XV Gennaio 1968, which is overlooked by the city hall,was designed in 1972 by Giuseppe and Alberto Samonà with Vittorio Gregotti. It is surrounded by a portico decorated with large ceramic panels by Carla Accardi and Pietro Consagra (1985). One of the sides of the square is bordered by the sculpture entitled “City of Thebes”, by Pietro Consagra; it was the backdrop for Oedipus Rex 1988. The space is closed by the sculptures ‘Città del Sole’ by Mimmo Rotella (1987) and the ‘Torre Civica’ by Alessandro Mendini (1988).
A system of five interconnecting squares, designed by the architects Franco Purini and Laura Thermes, of which only three were constructed by the end of the 1980s, was created to connect the ‘piazze’ to other parts of the city's urban installations. The first square is accessed through a grand entrance and hosts the “Tracce Antropomorfe” by Nanda Vigo (1978).It was constructed with fragments originating in the old city and is bordered by pyramids of steps. The longer edges of the other squares are bordered by a double-level portico, the second level of which is an open walkway, with square windows looking over the square.
The Palazzo di Lorenzo, designed by the architect Francesco Venezia in 1981, was originally designed to serve as a Museum. The building spreads around one side of the Palazzo di Lorenzo, which survived the earthquake and was subsequently moved to its new location and ultimately reconstructed on the inner courtyard. A ramp originates here: it evokes the inclined roads of the old city and leads to the upper level, which consists of a long corridor with windows on one side overlooking the “Piazza System” and on the other, the open rural area.
This square forms part of a large urban project designed and built in the early 1990s by Pierluigi Nicolin. It is dedicated to the German artist Joseph Beuys, who spent Christmas in 1981 in Gibellina (he thought about a Sacred Forest made up of three-hundred oak trees that would have been planted on the site of the former slums). Two buildings overlook the square: these are entitled “The Meeting” and “The Theatre” - they have been designed by Pietro Consagra and are examples of the unique “Città Frontale”.
The project for the theatre, today still unfinished, is a prime example of the concept of the Città Frontale, devised by Pietro Consagra (1920-2005), a concrete example of which can be seen in the “Meeting” and the “Star”. Consagra designed the building to be delineated by curved unbroken planes and without right-angles, promoting a plastic image and a communicative aesthetic. In the intentions of Mayor Ludovico Corrao, and author Pietro Consagra, the building was to be a theater, museum and library. The imposing building has undergone various changes over the years that have distorted its original use and the interior spaces.
The monumental and civic nature of this church, designed by Ludovico Quarioni and Luisa Aversa in 1972 and completed in 2010, is one of the most imposing and fascinating pieces of architecture in the city. It is composed of a parallelepiped structure which is grafted on one side to a 16-meter high sphere which forms the apse. The construction is dominated by the contrast between these two shapes, which reinterpret the material representation of the sacred motif with the dome, which has Arabic and Christian origins.
Il Giardino Segreto 2 is an architectural work by Francesco Venezia, built in 1992. It is a quadrangular space without a roof and accessed via two narrow cracks. At its center is the “Renaissance” , a sculpture by Daniel Spoerri, while on the travertine walls the second “Città del Sole” by Mimmo Rotella is installed. On the external wall that oversees the road,there is a stone tub, originating from the Castle of Charamontano, in old Gibellina.
The botanical garden covers an area of three hectares divided into four areas. It is crossed by a network of avenues that invite you to walk through the variegated vegetation and the following artworks: "The door of the Kremlin" by Pietro Consagra, "Qanat - the routes of the sky" by Medhat Shafik and "Meridiana / Ellittica" by Ettore Colla. Inside the botanical garden are the "Labyrinth" by Pietro Burzotta and the Ethno Anthropological Museum, today closed.
PAST EDITIONS
2021
30.07–29.08.2021
Special Edition IMAGES GIBELLINA, in collaboration with Festival Images Vevey
CONCEPT
Multiplicity
28 exhibitions, 44 artists, 20 site-specific installations, 3.000mq prints, 14 venues, 5 talks, 16 guided visits, 2 open call, 2 workshops, 2 videomapping
EXHIBITING ARTISTS
Jun Ahn, Olga Cafiero, Edoardo Delille / Giulia Piermartiri, Stefano De Luigi / Michela Battaglia, Alina Frieske, Maurizio Galimberti, Simona Ghizzoni, Bruce Gilden, Stephen Gill, Cécile Hummel, Vincent Jendly, Francesco Jodice, André Kuenzy, Nicola Lo Calzo, Mimì Mollica, Roselena Ramistella, Riverboom, Robert Pufleb & Nadine Schlieper, Massimo Siragusa, Batia Suter, Carla Sutera Sardo, Dominique Teufen, Hayahisa Tomiyasu, Alberto Vieceli, Serena Vittorini, Fang Wen x Art of Change
ORGANISED BY
Associazione On Image
FESTIVAL CO-DIRECTED BY
Arianna Catania e Stefano Stoll
UNDER THE HIGH PATRONAGE OF
European Parliament
UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF
Direzione Generale Creatività Contemporanea of the Minister of Culture, Municipality of Gibellina, Fondazione Orestiadi
INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS
Pro Helvetia, Ambasciata di Germania, Istituto Svizzero Roma
PARTNERS
MAXXI-Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo Roma, Festival Planches Contact Deauville (Francia), Format Festival (UK), Belfast Photo Festival (UK), Artsfor, SlideLuck Editorial, Ricoh, Visual Impact, Galleria Podbielski Contemporary, Kublaiklan, CSF Adams, Phroom, 89Books, Cresm, Made Program
TECHNICAL SPONSOR
Moma Cafè, Ricoh, Tenute Orestiadi, Bruno Ribadi, Gibeltransfer
MEDIA PARTNER
Rai Radio3, I-D Vice
2019
26.07–30.08.2019
CONCEPT
Fictions
35 exhibitions, 34 artists, 21 outdoor exhibitions, 2.000m2 of prints, 10 locations, 4 presentations, 17 guided tours, 2 permanent installations, 2 call for entries, 37 days, 1 videomapping
EXHIBITING ARTISTS
Joan Fontcuberta, Mario Cresci, Moira Ricci, Tobias Zielony, Taiyo Onorato & Nico Krebs, Peter Puklus, Nicolas Polli, Brian McCarty, Christian Lutz, Adrian Paci, Mustafa Sabbagh, Sophie Zénon, Michel Le Belhomme, Manon Wertenbroek, Morgane Denzler, Alterazioni Video, Monica Alcazar-Duarte, Olivier Lovey, Pietro Consagra, Maija Tammi, Andrea Botto, Gianni Cipriano, Federico Clavarino, Terje Abusdal, Novella Oliana, Andrea Alessandrini, Gian Marco Sanna, Giorgio Varvaro
FESTIVAL CREATED AND DIRECTED BY
Arianna Catania
ORGANISED BY
dall’Associazione On Image
CO-ORGANISED
dalla Fondazione Orestiadi
UNDER THE HIGH PATRONAGE OF
del Parlamento Europeo
UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF
del Comune di Gibellina
MAIN PARTNER
Festival Images Vevey
SUPPORTED BY
Pro Helvetia, Ambasciata di Germania, Ambasciata di Finlandia, Ambasciata di Ungheria, Accademia di Ungheria
PARTNERS
Cresm, Fondation des Treilles, Galleria Lia Rumma, Istituto Svizzero, Matèria Gallery, PhotoTales, Stepping Stone, Terre des Hommes, Unint, Mag, Leporello, Italy Photo Award, Museo San Rocco
SPONSORS
FLORIM, Moma Cafè, Ricoh, Cia Pirrello, DBF, Specchio Piuma, Gibeltransfer
MEDIA PARTNERS
YET Magazine, Click Magazine
PREVIEW
6.09–31.10.2018
CONCEPT
1968/2018
A Preview of Gibellina PhotoRoad took place in Palermo from 6 September to 31 October 2018 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Belice earthquake. A large open-air exhibition at Cantieri della Zisa presented Sputnik by Joan Fontcuberta. There were also meetings and residences with Mario Cresci and Tobias Zielony at Museo Riso.
EXHIBITION ARTISTS
Joan Fontcuberta
ARTISTS INVOLVED
Joan Fontcuberta, Mario Cresci, Tobias Zielony, Danilo Torre
THE PREVIEW WAS CREATED AND DIRECTED BY
Arianna Catania
ORGANISED BY
Associazione On Image
CO-ORGANISED BY
Fondazione Orestiadi
Event part of European Year of the Cultural Heritage of the MIBAC (Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali)
PARTNERS
Comune di Gibellina, Comune di Palermo, Festival Images Vevey, Ambasciata di Germania, Cresm, Galleria LIa Rumma, D.O.O.R, Matèria Gallery, Tenute Orestiadi
SPONSORS
Ricoh
2016
29.07–31.08.2016
CONCEPT
Disorder
32 exhibitions, 45 artists, 18 site-specific exhibitions, 1.500m2 of prints, 10 locations, 11 presentations, 4 workshops, 1 videomapping
EXHIBITING ARTISTS
Olivo Barbieri, Valérie Jouve, Anouk Kruithof, Giulio Piscitelli, Massimo Mastrorillo, Ezio Ferreri, Sarker Protick, Mimmo Jodice, Guido Guidi, Letizia Battaglia, Silvio Wolf, Giovanni Chiaramonte, Vittorugo Contino, Andrea Jemolo, Enzo Brai, Arno Hammacher, Melo Minnella, Sandro Scalia, Alice Grassi, Issa Touma, Rumore Pair, Petros Efstathiadis, Maria Vittoria Trovato, Andrea & Magda, Alessandro calabrese, Daesung Lee, Milton Gendel, Emma Wieslander, Dario Coletti, Turiana Ferrara, Urfaut, Giovanni Pepi, Roberto Collovà, Rori Palazzo, Petra Noordkamp, Danilo Torre, Photobook Bristol
CREATED AND DIRECTED BY
Arianna Catania
ORGANISED BY
Fondazione Orestiadi e Galleria X3
SPONSORED BY
Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri – Dipartimento della Gioventù e del servizio civile nazionale
IN COLLABORATION WITH
Comune di Gibellina, D.O.O.R, Matèria Gallery, Accademia Belle Arti Palermo, Festival circulation(s) Parigi, Gazebook, Visual Impact, Huffingtonpost.it, YET magazine, Gente di Fotografia, Pixartprinting