Panorama 2023

The demiurge potter’s workspace becomes a discotheque as his potter’s wheel turns into a console; a sculptural action turns bread from food into an object to be preserved; downtown cafes become places for meetings, exchange and knowledge; the L’Aquila sky becomes a blank sheet of paper ready to welcome inspirations for conversations about art; music and gestures merge for improvisations without rules; the scaffolding of a deconsecrated church later to become an artist’s studio, come alive as a place where classical and rock music beat in unison... All these experiences and many more are Panorama L’Aquila, the four-day city-wide exhibition, from Thursday 7 to Sunday 10 September, that brings art and artists to the city’s places.

Organized by ITALICS and curated by Cristiana Perrella, Panorama L’Aquila showcases works, performances and site-specific projects. It features more than 60 Italian and foreign artists from different eras, with varying visions, poetics and languages, from the great names in Art History to international voices, and established, mid-career, and emerging Italian artists.

Starting with the idea of the term wit(h)nessing, coined by the feminist theorist, artist and psychoanalyst Bracha L. Ettinger, and expanding the concept of witnessing from the individual to the collective and participational dimension, the third edition of the event involves twenty city venues and creates art itineraries in a dialogue with the land, its institutions and its inhabitants.

Emphasizing Panorama’s desire to establish deep and lasting connections with the social fabric of the Abruzzo capital, the entire Public Program of this third edition is open to the public, with screenings, panel discussions, talks and presentations.

Every day of the event, in the late afternoon, with At the Cinema, Panorama presents art films at the Auditorium del Parco: on Thursday 7 September is the screening of La riappropriazione della città [The Reappropriation of the City] by Ugo La Pietra [FRA, 1977, 30’] followed by the awarding of the Italics d’Oro 2023 to the artist; on Friday evening is the screening of Infinito. L’universo di Luigi Ghirri [Infinite. The Universe of Luigi Ghirri] by Matteo Parisini [ITA, 2022, 73’] followed by Omelia contadina[Peasant Homily] by JR and Alice Rohrwacher [ITA, 2019, 10’]; Saturday will be the preview of Anselm by Wim Wenders [DE, 2023, 93’], the film about Anselm Kiefer; finally, Sunday, September 10, will be the screening of the documentary Ettore Spalletti by Alessandra Galletta [ITA, 2019, 89’].

Starting on Friday, for all the mornings of the event, A coffee with the Artists invites the public to two cafes in the historic center to discuss art and more with the guest artists.

Every afternoon, at the Auditorium del Parco, the Book Corner will host presentations of the publications selected by the participating galleries and the curator.

A special appointment is slated for the afternoon of Thursday, 7 September, with the talk Why is there so much art in Abruzzo? with Mario Pieroni, Simone Ciglia, Paola Capata, Silvano Manganaro and Dora Stiefelmeier, speaking to the public about the thriving art scene in the region.

Like previous editions, during the event, Panorama will be launching special projects and collaborations with cultural institutions in L’Aquila, generating virtuous relationships capable of extending beyond the four-day event. The collaborators include: MAXXI L’Aquila, which will host the Panorama projects beyond the duration of the exhibition, and inside the programs of Performative03, the international festival of performance art, dance, music and theater of MAXXI L’Aquila; Fondazione Giorgio De Marchis, in dialogue with the exhibition, will open its archives; MuNDA Museo Nazionale d‘Abruzzo – Castello Cinquecentesco which will host an exhibition work capable of interacting with the extraordinarily impressive and famous exhibited skeleton of a Mammoth from L’Aquila; Jazz Italiano per le terre del sisma which will include the work of Massimo Bartolini in the program; the dialogue with the Conservatorio statale di Musica “Alfredo Casella” [music conservatory], the Academy of Fine Arts L’Aquila and with the Convitto nazionale “D. Cotugno” [city high school cluster] whose students, and musicians and artists, will be involved in the performances and at various times helping to prepare, run the exhibition and to organize guided tours from Friday 8 to Sunday 10 September.

The four days of Panorama are not only about art, but all types of culture, landscape, encounters and exchange: PANORAMA OFF will not just involve places and events outside the exhibition circuit, this year the event includes ad hoc collaborations with Straperetana, for example, which will extend its opening times until 10 September 2023, welcoming extra guided tours on Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 September.

From the Caffè Fratelli Nurzia to the Casino delle Delizie Branconio, the Museo Nazionale d’Abruzzo –Castello Cinquecentesco and Palazzo Rivera... but also bakeries, bookstores, record stores, restoration workshops, as well as museums and aristocratic, up to the sky above the city: Panorama L’Aquila will offer an itinerary through sites and venues inhabited by ancient, modern and contemporary artworks, creating a new image of the capital of Abruzzo, a composite portrait consisting of both its historical monuments and its industrious daily life.

Discover the complete agenda of the four days of Panorama L’Aquila at www.italics.art