In SuccoAcido’s years-long quest in search for - independent, non-profit, interdisciplinary - Art Places, Komplot in Brussels stands out as a very interesting model of collective management. One of its most defining elements is mentioned in the project’s concept: Komplot is a curatorial collective interested in the mutual cross-pollination between private, public and institutional spaces. We could even call it a “privately owned public space” since the space itself has been entrusted by the owner – a collector – to a group of young artists and curators who, since 2002, have made it the home of the most diverse activities (artistic, editorial, didactical). Their work spans from curating contemporary art exhibitions and festivals to publishing a magazine (Year), to the institution of an actual Public School – alas, a project currently on hiatus that stood as a model of a platform for sharing knowledge inspired by the American example of Telic Art Exchange. In such a declination, the very concept of “public space” embraces social and cultural values, distancing itself from the notion currently emerging from the debate around occupied spaces, and revealing a different side of the issue: an “European way”, and an example of cultural liveliness and inclusiveness. But is it really so?
 One of the issues we touched upon in the interview is, for example, the definition of “non-profit” which the Komplot kids assume in an anti-rhetorical way, strongly oriented towards a practical, entrepreneurial attitude. The result is a combination of social issues – often perceivable in the collective’s aesthetic choices – and a young, fresh mentality capable of dialogue with the “system” – collectors, mainly, when it comes to the arts, but also public institutions – which becomes crucial for survival in a city that’s so defined by the presence of international politics. The Komplot collective is active, at the same time, both in experimenting new sustainability strategies for individual projects and in year-long planning of long term events. Sonia Dermience, whom we sat down to have a chat with, believes it’s crucial to establish and maintain a connection with other organizations in and outside Brussels, but also to keep an eye on the market at the same time (for example by selling advertising spaces on their magazine, Year). What is such way of thinking symptom of? Of belonging to a privileged reality? A reality where you don’t have to face, daily, the cultural degradation that many countries in Europe are falling victim to, due to the lack of resources? And what does living and operating in Brussels really entail? What does it mean for a group of young people to carry on and promote a cultural project? In between Sonia’s words we will find references to terms such as “sustainability”, “cross-cultural”, “exchange”. Perhaps it’s in these terms that we can find clues to a new way of “doing”; a practice shared by a new generation of artists and curators alike, beyond differences and striving for a future to shape.

By choosing to live in England, Elena Cologni has tranformed her condition as foreigner into a transitory site for critical thinking and making. This being not only a starting point, but also a tool for redefining her own identity. Her art revolves around issues of memory and perception, and by investigating personal and subjective aspects of these, through an open analysis of her own experience, this in turn gives her a particular view on how to adopt collaborative strategies by looking at collective dynamics and methods. Elena Cologni's intellectual and interdisciplinary artistic career evolves through undertaking periods of study, and meeting with professionals within both the art and academic worlds, the artist engages with as active researcher, also by establishing collaborations with indifferent disciplines. From our interview arises the portrait of an artist constantly experimenting with, and re-inventing, her own very presence in front of the public. Cologni ultimately aims at re-elaborating negotiation strategies undelying human relations by proposing unconventional forms of interaction.

“Menoventi es una temperatura. Si miras el termómetro de tu sala al revés, te darás cuenta que es la temperatura de tu casa, lo que cambia es sólo el punto de vista”. Esta es la presentación de una de las compañias teatrales más activas en Italia, Menoventi, nacida del encuentro entre un romagnolo, una friulana y un napolitano. Desde 2005, cuando crean su primer espectáculo, In Festa, Gianni Farina, Consuelo Battiston y Alessandro Miele firman otros cinco trabajos mientras hunden aún más las manos en lo profundo de la relación controvertida entre actor y público y en las ambigüedades entre realidad y ficción. A lo largo de estos años han despertado así el interés de crítica y público y han ganado diferentes premios. Con Semiramis, en el cual Consuelo interpreta el papel de la despótica y fragil reina de Babilonia, asistimos a la primera fractura en la cuarta pared con la cual la compañía va a jugar de forma siempre más irreverente en InvisibilMente y Postilla para su completa desestructuración en Perdere la faccia y L’uomo della sabbia. Lo que más interesa a Menoventi no es el contenido sino el contexto de ese contenido, el marco, es decir el escenario. En sus experimentos el escenario se vuelve un gran carrusel donde entrar y de donde salir continuamente. En lo que definen el primer nivel de la representación, una vez superada la cuarta pared y también la posición del actor que se enfrenta directamente con el espectador, existiría sólo aquella figura que, aunque esté adentro del espectáculo, no sea consciente de tomar parte en ello. Pero quizás ésta sea simplemente la condición de quien toma parte en la que normalmente llamamos vida. De aquí la dificultad de caber en los vestidos incómodos, aunque perfectamente calibrados (es más, incómodos justamente porque tan perfectos), del espectáculo. Menoventi intenta solucionarlo todo con mucha ironía y el público les agradece. Pero detrás de las risas siempre hay algún tipo de mueca que nos acerca al lado más oscuro del hombre.

V13 est un group français qui vient de sortir son deuxième album, "Traqueur", enregistré à Chicago aux Electrical Audio studios par Steve Albini. Ici ils nous relatent leur experience à l'interieur de l'évolution de la vie de la band.

Il racconto delle avventure musicali di Bach diventa uno spunto per denunciare lo scandalo attuale degli investimenti spropositati che gli Stati, Italia compresa, dedicano agli armamenti piuttosto che alla cultura, dimostrando che la stoltezza dei potenti ha radici ben profonde ma dimostrando anche che il genio di Bach e le sue composizioni più belle furono possibili anche grazie all’illuminazione dei pochi che compresero l’importanza e il valore delle sue imprese musicali.

L’appuntamento fiorentino con Le Buone Pratiche del Teatro, organizzato da Mimma Gallina, Oliviero Ponte di Pino e Anna Maria Monteverdi, quest’anno è stato preceduto da due giornate preparatorie svoltesi a Ravenna e a Catania. L’incontro siciliano (Verso Sud. Una nuova politica per la cultura: progettualità, merito, trasparenza) si è rivelato un momento di confronto molto intenso. Un’occasione per fare un resoconto dello stato del teatro siciliano negli ultimi anni ma, soprattutto, un punto di partenza per un cambio di rotta.

Journaliste, traducteur, éditeur et écrivain, Luigi Milani est né à Rome, où il vit et travaille. Il a publié des récits et des poèmes pour divers éditeurs et revues littéraires. En Janvier 2011, il a publié Nessun futuro (Casini Editore), Noir situé dans le monde du Rock. Le protagoniste « souterrain » du roman/backstage est Phil Summers, librement inspiré de Kurt Cobain et Dave Gahan, un personnage qui représente l’illustration archétypale de la star du rock qui tombe victime de soi-même et de la Destinée adverse, réincarnation moderne du héros romantique de moule byronien, qui s’immole pour son art. La disparition mystérieuse de Phil Summers évoque les légendes métropolitaines de la « substitution » ou « feinte mort » de certaines rock stars. Parmi les ouvrages publiés après le roman, il ya les collections d’histoires courtes Seasons et de récits d’horreur - mystère L’estate del diavolo, pour les éditions Delirium. Avec Danilo Arona et Angelo Marenzana, récemment Luigi Milani travaille à une histoire encore dédiée au Rock, dans le cadre d’un projet à trois basé sur le concept de l’île comme lieu fermé. Pour les éditions Graphe.it, il est l’éditeur en chef de la série eTales, consacrée au roman et entièrement numérique.

Punk war gestern – doch die Musik-Schaffenden, die diese Szene klanglich prägten, sind mit ihrem heutigen Tun immer noch kreativ präsent, nicht dem Gestrigen verhaftet jedoch ohne ihre „alten“ Ideale guter Soundwelten über Bord geworfen zu haben. Bemüht, im Einbezug all Ihrer reichen Erfahrungen die musikalische Landschaft zu bereichern aber vor allem auch stetig weiterzuentwickeln. Im Gespräch mit Gudrun Gut wird deutlich, dass dieses Ansinnen, diese Art, Musik zu schaffen, einen Austausch voraussetzt, der nur dann möglich wird, indem man unterschiedlichste Projekte ins Leben ruft, dann die sich herauskristallisierenden Ansätze und Ergebnisse sinnvoll miteinander vernetzt. Der Mut, der Wille, Dinge selbst in die Hand zu nehmen, die eigene Musik eigenständig zu vermarkten und zu produzieren und dabei gleichzeitig auch noch anderen die Chance zu bieten, ihre Kunst zu veröffentlichen, ist hierfür die Grundvoraussetzung. Gudrun Gut ist eine von wenigen Frauen, die dieses Prinzip verinnerlicht haben und es auf beeindruckende Weise lebt. Gudrun Gut - Sinn-Flut der elektronischen Musik. Es wirkt.

Our interview with Anna Detheridge has a double value: not only it is an in-depth examination of the themes we touched upon in our focus on "Milano e Oltre" - a project created and developed by the Connecting Cultures group, which Anna herself founded and leads; but also constitutes a juicy opportunity of discussion, with one of the most highly regarded international authorities, about the most diverse issues regarding contemporary arts, from the "social responsibility of the artist" conundrum to the role of public institutions in regards to cultural preservation and promotion. A journalist, art theoretician and curator, Anna Detheridge introduced in Italy the research and study of Public and Community based practices; in addition to that, she's always been an extremely clear-headed and impartial analyst of the arts as a whole system, often expressing a very strong opinion in favor of a more dynamical and up-to-date view of the relationship between culture and economy.

The Woodpecker Wooliams are in fact a singer-songwriter, Gemma Williams. She’s just gotten back from a tour, saying to be dazzled and also gotten a post-tour cold. Over the last two years Woodpecker Wooliams has tours in Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, The Baltics, Russia and Italy, and she has played at Positivus festival (Latvia), The Big Chill, the Alternative Escape at the Willkommen Foxtrot and the first Fano Free Folk Festival (Denmark). Sometimes ‘interesting connections’ (as she said) happen... This is one of those times. Gemma is that kind of special and rare person which is delightful to meet even virtually. She lives in Brighton, she’s a keeper of bees, all round naturophile and appears to be also a lover of Russian Dolls. After a serious illness she sought out the countryside calm of Devon, moving in a cottage in Totnes, where she waitressed in a teashop. Totnes is a very peculiar town, affiliate to the Transition Town network, being among the towns which created it. A bunch of communities that are working to build resilience in response to climate destruction and economic instability, founding their existence upon the principles of permaculture. Her songs are unusual as her life and voice, an ethereal and maybe a little eerie voice. She’s created something halfway between folky sound and psychfolk, sometime noise music, blending traditional sweet harp sound with electronic, droney sound. An alluring, dramatic combination. She was also initiated onto a shamanic path, which is really remarkable, after completing a thorough practitioner's training over several years, including an overnight earth burial!! Truly an amazing side of her life. Indeed, her new album reveal a very shamanic point of view. ‘The Bird School Of Being Human’, released on Robot Elephant Records, is about birds that have stories to tell. “Rather than anthropomorphising animal characters,” Gemma says, “these songs are kind of how it might be like if people were aviomorphised, or if the birds were in human bodies. Bird's eye views... So they're the bird's songs really.” The songs are always compelling, going from desperation to spiritual elevation, throughout oversensitive frenzy, violence and self exploration. And, more the one song gave me the feeling of becoming physically a bird, truly. A single from the album, ‘Sparrow’, my favorite actually, has been released on 3rd September, and a beautiful video has been shot for her song Hummingbird by Paola Suhonen.

Our focus on Cuore di Pietra falls in line with a strong interest we have in those italian projects born locally and representing the most diverse aspects of their territory in a site specific approach. The work of Mili Romano, artist and curator, represents a fine example of a long-term project carried out together - from 2005 until present time - by artists, architects and experts in various disciplines on a specific area - the municipality of Pianoro, in the Bologna area - as a response to the urban developement plan that would have changed forever the little town's aspect.

Sous le pseudonyme Ambre, Laurent Sautet a crée sa propre revue Hard Luck en 1991 et la maison d’édition Terre Noire en 1997. Son premier ouvrage de bande dessinée paraît en 1996 et il publie de nombreux récits dans les revues Le cheval sans tête, Jade... Il adapte Une trop bruyante solitude de Bohumil Hrabal en 2003 avec Lionel Tran et le Faust de Goethe en 2006 avec David Vandermeulen. Pour le projet La Passion des Anabaptistes, il décide d’étudier la gravure allemande de la Renaissance et radicalise son approche de la bande dessinée.

Daniele Ciprì è un regista maturo. Palermo la conosce bene, è la sua città. Assieme a Franco Maresco ha esplorato per decenni un territorio nuovo per il cinema italiano e non solo, portando sullo schermo uomini e storie che a molti hanno fatto storcere il naso. Hanno fatto qualcosa di più che rappresentare l'inferno in terra, hanno puntato l'obiettivo su quella fetta di umanità che i più non vorrebbero neanche vedere. I freaks che tessevano le trame dei loro film o dei magnifici corti di “Cinico Tv” sembrava che facessero più paura dei demoni dell'horror.

Santiago de Chile. Una chica de 25 años busca trabajo como secretaria. La cámara la sigue por los pasillos de las empresas, adentro de los cuartos en donde encuentra a los entrevistadores, en la calle mientras se dirige a las oficinas. Esperas interminables y pocas charlas con las chicas que postulan al mismo puesto. No es un documental sino una película de ficción, Rabia, mucho más adherente a la realidad que muchos así llamados documentales. A través de largos primeros planos, la cámara busca en la cara de Camila Sepúlveda (la excelente Carola Carrasco) cada pequeña expresión y, aunque ella quede aparentemente tranquila, seguimos su rabia, su desesperación que crecen en su mirada siempre más triste. Lleva un año buscando trabajo y cada entrevista es más denigrante que las otras. El director de esta película simple y potente a la vez se llama Oscar Cárdenas, es chileno y es un partidario del cine de bajos presupuestos. Rabia, de hecho, fue rodada en sólo 3 días en los que fueron respetados los horarios de oficina, de 8:00am a 6:00pm, y costó unos 1000 euros. Las actrices (los actores masculinos sólo son dos) llegaban la mañana con la ropa de escena ya puesta, es decir entraban en el rol de sus personajes desde cuando salían de sus propias casa y cogían el metro para llegar a rodar. Nos sorprendió como con medios así de pocos Cárdenas logró hablarnos con elegancia y equilibrio de una historia tan común. Y se sabe que a menudo las historias más comunes son las más difíciles que contar. Es impactante la forma en que Cárdenas y su bella atriz nos cuentan a través de muchos silencios lo incómodo que las jovenes generaciones se sienten en buscar su lugar en el mundo y la dificultad de conocer sus propios deseos de verdad. Así que cuando uno de los entrevistadores (de los cuales sólo se escuchan las voces) pregunta a Camila qué le habría gustado hacer en su vida si no hubiera decidido ser secretaria, ella responde con asombrosa naturaleza: “bucear”.

Lampedusa in Festival è un piccolo ma significativo appuntamento cinematografico ma anche letterario e artistico che ha richiamato, quest'anno, operatori, ospiti, volontari e pubblico da più luoghi dello stivale, ma anche da vari paesi dell'Europa e dell'Africa. L'anima del Lampedusa in Festival è una piccola ma attivissima associazione di Lampedusa: Askavusa, una parola che significa “a piedi scalzi”.

The following interview is the result and synthesis of an exchange – started in 2009 – between Succoacido and Gulsen Bal, curator and contemporary art theorist and also founder of the non-profit Open Space in Vienna. The Open Space project was created with the intention of establishing a landmark for research and experimentation of cooperation strategies among artistic practices, and to promote international exchanges implementing a critical approach towards cultural and territorial identity issues through a constant dialectic between geographies imagined and experienced. From the very first interview to the present the viennese project has expanded into an open platform for debate and discussion between different artistic approaches and points of view. Open Systems is configured as a new operational structure agglomerating knowledges and competences in a pluralistic perspective. We wanted to delve into the most prominent aspects of such research, so we sat down and caught up with Gulsen Bal about the most recent productions and events in the pipeline.