Through a tribute to the renowned personality of Aurelia Sanseverino (1498-1562), the "useful lady and ancient mistress" of the feud of Ceglie, NUCRÉ opens the Castello Ducale's doors to the public to host the exhibition The Court Ballet, dedicated to the topic of dance and music.
This unique "invitation to court" aims to evoke the customs of an enlightened and generous noblewoman who not only provided the city with social works - such as the hospital and the convent of San Giovanni Evangelista - but also contributed to the architectural development of the manor and the historic center, allowing citizens to cross the thresholds of the Castle for musical performances and to view the artworks from the baronial collection. The history of the noble palace, a place of culture and civic participation, now gathers suggestions and dialogues between contemporary art and some archaic and anthropological phenomena related to the cult of dance, closely intertwined with the exposition's locations. The artists featured in the exhibition, gathered in the Castle's stable, will be Dina Danish, Angelo Filomeno, Angelica Mesiti, Marzena Nowak, and Luca Trevisani.
Will be, also, presented an unpublished photographic work by Giulia Parlato dedicated to the Capitello della Danza, housed in the Regional Archaeological Museum "Francesco Ribezzo" in Brindisi, directed by the architect Emilia Mannozzi. The capital, an authentic medieval jewel – recently restored by the Artistic Pirro company under the high supervision of the ABAP Superintendence of the Brindisi and Lecce provinces – is considered one of the most relevant and significant testimonies of the Norman presence in the Brindisi region (and to that same age dates back the central nucleus of the Castle of Ceglie, too), especially for its unusual subject choice, depicting twelve male and female characters participating in a dance scene.
A further aspect of exploration in the festival will be the theme of Pizzica Serpentata Cegliese, an ancient form of musical and vocal expression in the local tradition with a magical-ritual nature and used to cure people believed to be possessed by an animal symbol such as the snake. Elena Mazzi's work is dedicated to this form of illness and its traditional healing methods.
Photos by Marino Colucci
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Dina Danish
She is an Egyptian artist and educator at The Royal Academy in The Hague and at Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. In her multi-media work, Danish focuses on language and structure, incorporating humorous and equivocal attitudes.
Among the exhibitions: De Appel Art Center, Amsterdam (2014); Stedelijk Museum, Schiedam (2015); Kunsthall, Oslo (2017); MAMbo, Bologna (2019); Artopia Gallery, Milan (2020, 2021, 2022); Stigter Van Doesburg, Amsterdam (2016, 2018, 2020, 2023). The artist is also winner of the following awards: Barclay Simpson Award, San Francisco (2008); illy Present Future award, Turin (2011); Curator's Choice Celeste Prize, Rome (2012).
Angelo Filomeno
After graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts in Lecce, moved to New York where he currently lives and works. The artist's work is characterized by a harsh dichotomy: the preciousness of materials, the refinement of the execution technique, and the high cultural references of his works, contrast with the horrific subjects represented: skulls, insects, representations of death. The artist's investigation, which often starts from metaphors or personal memories, speaks about fears, superstitions and vanitas, precisely by feeding on this polarization between an often macabre iconography yet almost concealed by the immediate fascination due to the refinement of the surfaces and fabrics.
The artist has exhibited on numerous occasions, including: Villa Medici, Academie de France à Rome, Rome (2000); Italian Cultural Institute of New York, New York (2011); Museum Bellerive, Zurich, Switzerland (2011); Museo Pino Pascali, Polignano a Mare (2014); Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), New York (2007, 2014); Bass Art Museum, Miami (2014); Wood One Museum of Art, Hiroshima (2017); Spazio46/Palazzo Ducale, Genoa (2017); Fundacion Casa Wabi, Puerto Escondido (2022); MART Museum of Contemporary Art of Rovereto and Trento, Trento (2022), MUST, Lecce (2023).
Elena Mazzi
Martina della Valle (Florence, 1981) lives and works in Berlin. Her work is developed often with different languages and forms, having the shape of photos, video, as also site-specific installations.
Her works have been shown in solo exhibitions in various venues including: Palazzina Indiano Arte, Florence (2020), Nordiska Akvarell Museet, Skärhamn (2018), DRYPHOTO arte contemporanea, Prato (2016), METRONOM Gallery, Festival Filosofia, Modena (2015), Italian cultural Institute, Paris (2014), METRONOM Gallery Project Room, Modena (2012), Galerie KUHN, Berlin (2011), Artopia Gallery, Milan (2009, 2007 and 2005) with the exhibitions Blu, Riflessi e Impronte, ex Minerva, Artopia Gallery and MiArt Milano (2009), Bookshop Museo delle Papesse, Siena (2006). Group shows include: Ministero Affari Esteri, Rome (2019), The Koppel Project, London (2019), SpazioS, Milan (2019), NYU Tandon School, New York (2019), Nakata Museum, Onomichi (2018), Acquario Civico, Milan (2018), Galleria Milano, Milan (2011), Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Guarene (2009), Jarach Gallery, Venice (2009).
Angelica Mesiti
Her artistic research revolves primarily around the study of language and alternative methods of storytelling, primarily through the use of video and film. Mesiti's works are characterized by the absence of verbal language, allowing the artist and the viewer to focus on a primitive and paraverbal stage of communication. Tradition, performative models of communication, performance, and physical language are recurring themes in the artist's videos, embedded in a context rich with archetypes, cinematic references, and a structured attention to image creation. Among her recent exhibitions: The Kitchen, New York (2003); Tate Modern, London (2010); Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney (2012); 13th Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul (2013); 19th Sydney Biennale, Sydney (2014); MAXXI, Rome (2014); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2016, 2018, 2019); MACRO, Rome (2019); PAC, Milan (2020). The artist also represented Australia at the 58th Venice Biennale (2019).
Marzena Nowak
Her artistic research focuses mainly on the relationship between memory and imagination, between autobiography and the dream world. Nowak’s work, to be contextualized in the historical-social context of the political changes of the 1980s, plays with the forms of sensory perception and the intertwining between the tasks of everyday life and the desire to take refuge in fantasy.
She has exhibited in numerous international galleries and museums including coca Center of Contemporary Art, Torun (2011); Salzburger Kunstverein, Salzburg (2011); Kunstlerhaus, Salzburg (2011); mumok - Museum Moderner Kunst, Wien (2012); Warsaw Museum of Modern Art; Warsaw (2014); CAC - Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius (2015); Pori Art Museum, Pori (2016); Neuer Kunstverein, Wien (2018); Stiftung Ludwig, Wien (2021).
Giulia Parlato
In her works, the artist challenges the belief that drives us to associate photographic images with truth, creating new spaces that highlight a sense of staging. Parlato is particularly attentive to the study of the past and the impossibility of capturing it in its entirety. This interest drives her to investigate history, mythology, and cultural heritage through the use of photographs and videos.
Among her recent exhibitions: Royal College of Art, London (2019); Palazzo Rasponi 2, Ravenna (2020); Royal College of Art, London (2021); Villa Bardini, Florence (2022); Triennale Milano, Milan (2023). The artist has also recently been awarded the Luigi Ghirri Prize (2022).
Luca Trevisani
Artist and a professor at IUAV in Venice, NABA in Milan, Trevisani’s exploration encompasses the use of numerous media and disciplines, including sculpture, video, performative arts, graphics, design, cinema, and architecture. Due to the characteristic of transcending an encompassing different branch of art simultaneously, the artist's works often question and subvert traditional de nitions, hierarchies, and boundaries between disciplines, in a constant investigation and challenge to matter and its narratives.
Among the artist's exhibitions: Hangar Bicocca, Milan (2010); Marino Marini Museum, Florence (2014); Villa Croce Contemporary Art Museum, Genoa (2015); Museion, Bolzano (2017); Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (2015, 2017); XVI Quadriennale, Rome (2016); Museo del Novecento, Milan (2016); Gam, Turin (2016); ZKM, Karlsruhe (2019); Maxxi, Rome (2015, 2018, 2020); Palazzo Grassi, Venice (2021); Mambo, Bologna (2008, 2022). Among the artist's awards: Premio Italia Arte Contemporanea, Rome (2012); Italian Council Award (2017); Cantica21 (2021).