Biennale Arte Dolomiti

39 INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED ARTISTS FROM 19 COUNTRIES WILL BE EXHIBITING WORKS IN BIENNALE ARTE DOLOMITI, MAY 29TH – OCTOBER 02ND, 2016, EX CASERMA MONTE RITE, CIBIANA DI CADORE (BL) ITALY. ADDITIONALLY, THERE WILL BE A COLLATERAL EVENT WITH 7 LOCAL ARTISTS FROM THE VENETO REGION, POLO CULTURALE “TAULÀ DEI BOS” BOLOMITI SOCIETÀ COOPERATIVA, CIBIANA DI CADORE (BL) ITALY.

HELD AT AN ASTOUNDING HEIGHT OF 2116 METERS ABOVE SEA LEVEL, THIS PREMIER “HIGH-ALTITUDE” BIENNALE IS AN EXCHANGE OF ARTISTIC IDEAS THROUGH DIFFERENT ART MEDIA INCLUDING PAINTING, PHOTOGRAPHY, INSTALLATION, VIDEO PROJECTION, DANCE PERFORMANCES, MUSIC, ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN IN THE DOLOMITI MOUNTAINS ITALY.

BIENNALE ARTE DOLOMITI IS A CELEBRATION OF ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE IDEAS, WHICH AMPLIFIES THE THEMES OF FREEDOM, LOVE AND COMPASSION JUXTAPOSED AGAINST VIOLENCE, ANNIHILATION AND CONFLICT. THROUGH THIS GATHERING OF ARTWORKS AND ARTISTS, THE BIENNALE SETS UP A SPACE WHERE GEOGRAPHICAL BOUNDARIES DIVERGE, UNITING A DIVERSE RANGE OF CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES AND IDEAS ON AN INTERNATIONAL SCALE.

THE FOUNDER PAIVI TIRKKONEN, PARTNERS ALBERTO GERSICH AND ANDREA ZINATO, AND CURATOR LOREDANA TRESTIN OF BIENNALEI ARTE DOLOMITI, HAVE CHOSEN THE EX CASERMA AT MONTE RITE, CIBIANA DI CADORE AS THE EVENT SITE. ALL INVOLVED ARE GRATEFUL TO CIBIANA DI CADORE AND THE MAYOR LUCIANA FURLANIS FOR HAVING ENTRUSTED THE EX-FORTRESS AT MONTE RITE AS THE SITE FOR THIS INTERNATIONAL EVENT, ALONG WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE ASSESSOR OF CULTURE, ELISABETTA RORATO AND THE HEAD OF THE TECHNICAL OFFICE OF CIBIANA, MAURO PUPPULIN. OVER THE PAST CENTURY, THE EX CASERMA HAS GONE FROM BEING A HISTORICAL SITE IN BOTH WORLD WARS TO THE HOME OF CULTURAL GATHERINGS. THE WAR IN THE DOLOMITES WAS ALWAYS OFFICIALLY PERCEIVED AS A UNIFYING EVENT AND A COLLECTIVE MATRIX THAT CONDITIONED, MARKED AND TRANSFORMED TERRITORIES, PEOPLE AND THEIR CULTURE INSIDE ITS VAST ALPINE AREA. THIS HAPPENED FOR THE FIRST TIME ON A BIG SCALE THROUGH AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH AND BY CROSSING REGIONAL BORDERS, IN ORDER TO TRANSFORM THE LANDSCAPE THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN DECLARED A UNESCO HERITAGE SITE. THE EX CASERMA’S STURDY ARCHITECTURE HAS SERVED AS SHELTER FOR PARTISANS AND SURVIVED BOTH WORLD WARS. IT IS LOCATED A KILOMETRE AWAY FROM THE FAMOUS MESSNER MOUNTAIN MUSEUM OF THE DOLOMITES, A FORMER FORTRESS THAT IS PART OF THE MESSNER GROUP OF MOUNTAIN MUSEUMS, AFFECTIONALLY KNOWN AS THE “MUSEUM IN THE CLOUDS”, SITUATED 2187 METERS ABOVE SEA LEVEL.

THROUGH STAGING SUCH AN EVENT, WE ARE REMINDED THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO OVERCOME THE HOSTILITIES AND ARTIFICIALITY OF A GLOBAL SOCIETY CONSUMED BY ECONOMIC SUCCESS AND INSTEAD, TO CONSIDER THE SANCTITY OF NATURE REFLECTED BY THIS BREATHTAKING LOCATION.