SACRO/SAGRA

The Blank ArtDate is the three days festival dedicated to contemporary art, annually organized in Bergamo, that offers an extensive program of exhibitions, performances, conferences, studio-visits, guided tours, educational workshops, concerts and extraordinary openings of major places in town.

 

The Blank ArtDate presents for the first time the project Sagra dell’Arte, in which artistic vision and folk festival are combined and where the distinctive elements of this context—as food, music, dance, traditional games and furniture—are designed by some of the most important protagonists of the art world.

 

Cory Arcangel designed the staff t-shirts, creating an unreleased graphic; Ryan Gander selected from his book Artist’s Cocktails the drinks served on Saturday night; Erik Saglia realized the wheel of fortune; Marco Basta, Riccardo Beretta and Andrea Mastrovito designed the place mats; Simone Berti, Sergio Breviario, Samuele Menin, Alessandro Roma organize an unusual darts tournament in which the targets are artworks; Gabriele De Santis realizes the performance We’re short a guy: artists, collectors and art lovers, face each other in an unusual football match during which each player has to hold or wear an artwork; the colorful bunting is made by Zak Kitnick, while Ethan Cook shows bronze sculptures of food blending into the typical dishes of the festival. Marinella Senatore pays homage to Bergamo with Do you need more proof that we are united?, a performance dedicated to local traditions that takes inspiration from folk rituals.

 

The Blank ArtDate reflects on the theme of the Holy, reinterpreting rituals and gestures able to unite people in a common spirit. Taking as reference the ancient sagre—from the Latin sacrum—that were moments of communion between men and the holy, The Blank ArtDate asks numerous artists to reinterpret this fundamental subject through their contemporary artistic practice.

 

Among the other highlights of the 7th edition: the conference of the sociologist Gian Antonio Gilli on the ex-voto; the exhibition of an habitat by Flavia Mastrella The exaltation of the insignificant; Gabriele De Santis and Jonathan Monk’s conference that ironically reflects on the dialogue between artists and public; the Holy Tour, a visit to three exceptional places of worship, in Bergamo and surroundings—The church of the Hospital Papa Giovanni XXIII, the Cemetery of Romano di Lombardia and the Church of San Giacomo Maggiore of Sedrina—in which there are important works of contemporary artists: Adrian Paci, Andrea Mastrovito, Stefano Arienti and Mario Airò; the Galleries Time, moment dedicated to openings and events at the galleries of The Blank network.

 

The Blank ArtDate is organized by the cultural association The Blank under the patronage of Regione Lombardia, Comune di Bergamo and Camera di Commercio, in partnership with BFM - Bergamo Film Meeting, GAMeC Club, ATB Azienda Trasporti Bergamo, in media partnership with L’Eco di Bergamo, ATP Diary, Bergamo News and CTRL magazine, with the support of Fondazione Banca Popolare di Bergamo ONLUS and Fondazione Comunità Bergamasca, DIELLE Ceramiche Spa, Gruberg Srl, MOGI caffè.

 

The festival is recognized by the European platform EFFE - Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe for its artistic quality, the local community engagement and its European and international scope.