The first edition of Seeding New Imaginaries, titled THE PLACES OF THE SOUL AND THE EARTH, is a project proposal that has involved established artists such as Sarah Bowyer, Paolo Campana, Chen Li, Irene Pittatore, Francesco Faraci, and Paolo Grassino. This initiative is part of a journey of artistic and relational exchange with residents of Turin and the Canavese area, of all ages and abilities.

The exhibition, set up at Villa Vallero in Rivarolo Canavese, showcases relational and site-specific artworks created during dedicated workshops and labs. The primary settings for these activities include:

• Il Coorto, an inclusive project by Oglianico 360 and Fermata d'Autobus Onlus, a meeting place with the land and the rhythms of nature, fostering social interaction through agriculture and other creative, educational, and recreational activities;
• Atelier dei Sensi in Oglianico, an applied arts lab involving people in vulnerable situations to create artisanal and artistic products;
• The nursery of the Istituto Comprensivo Statale Valperga in Pertusio;
• Galleria Gliacrobati and the Porta Palazzo market in Turin.

The exhibition's reception has been designed with special attention to accessibility for people with disabilities and for schools of all levels. The exhibition pathway unfolds in relation to the geographies involved in the project.

In the first room, two interactive works:

• Pertusio's Summery by Sarah Bowyer consists of drawings and paintings that serve as preparatory works for a large mural for the Enel tower in Pertusio, to be completed in 2023. As the first step of the project, a VR device will be available to the public, allowing those interested to travel within the reinterpreted landscape using the paintings from the future work.
• Alfabeto Natura by Chen Li is a wall installation resulting from a workshop involving children from the nursery of the Istituto Comprensivo Statale Valperga in Pertusio. This collective work consists of paintings made on paper with natural materials, collected by the children in the park, aiming to create traces resembling themselves through signs that connect human history and material to nature. The human ability to make marks over millennia has evolved through the development of tools: first the handprint, then bamboo, brushes, chisels, goose feathers, followed by metal nibs, printing types, and finally computers and virtual reality. During the exhibition, activities will be held to enhance the installation on the designated free wall. Assistant: Gaetano Verde.

In the second room, two paths of relational and participatory art:

• Chi semina vento by Irene Pittatore is an ongoing project that starts from listening to the needs and desires of some residents of the Fermata d'Autobus Onlus communities, such as Il Melograno and Fragole Celesti. The initial results include:
  • Gli orti da passeggio (Pocket Gardens), small terracotta pots with sprouts and guiding words, wearable as necklaces, made in collaboration with professional gardener Paolo Cesselli in the ceramic workshop L’atelier dei Sensi led by artist Cristina Mandelli.
  • Le Ricomposizioni (Recompositions) are photographs of whimsical assemblies of vegetables and fruit, dedicated to the theme of difficult relationships. The sewing of two or more vegetables through different threads and stitches suggests seemingly impossible combinations that generate unexpected shapes, postures, and inspirations. Pocket Gardens and Recompositions are accompanied by testimonies on the meaning of care and coexistence, and by practicable or dream-like suggestions for the garden, developed from an agricultural glossary: "fertilizing, hilling, sowing, weeding, harvesting…". Assistant: Elena Alexandrescu.

Additionally, the video and preparatory drawing of the work Spaventapasseri (Scarecrow) by Paolo Grassino are presented. This environmental sculpture, created outdoors, is visible in the Coorto di Oglianico and was completed in autumn 2022. It represents an experience of art and pedagogy developed in collaboration with Sofia Manfredi Grassino, a psychology student, and with the participation of local residents. This project includes an educational action to promote cooperation through “making”. Video documentation by Paolo Campana.

In transition, a testimony of a solitary environmental utopia: Bioparco La Pepita by Paolo Campana is a video interview with irregular author and visionary landscaper Antonio Dematteis about the Pepita Park or Biopark in Oglianico. Antonio Dematteis, known to everyone as "Tony," is fifty-five years old, born and raised in Oglianico. Since 2000, on land originally owned by his father, in the countryside leading to the San Grato district, he has been working on a project that is both his home and a space equipped with curious recovered dwellings and adorned with sculptures, where he imagines hosting school-age children and the elderly, allowing them to stroll and share peaceful moments with local animals.

In the third room, an artistic-educational experience with photography: Porta Palazzo: an orchestra of low sounds is an installation created from the workshop titled Esercizi di nutrimento dello sguardo (Exercises in Nourishing the Gaze) led by Francesco Faraci and Chiara Borgaro. Almost covering the large walls of the room is a series of black-and-white photographs in various formats. This represents the second stage of the exhibition, displayed in October at Galleria Gliacrobati in Turin, featuring a selection of shots from the photographic activity conducted with some residents of Fermata d’Autobus Onlus at the Porta Palazzo market. These are exercises of the gaze to activate the senses and capture what is commonly unseen. It translates discovery into documentation through images and words, providing a map that guides the observer into the essence of things, illuminating both visible and invisible aspects. Participant tutor: Carola Lorio, art therapist and photo-art therapist.

This event is part of the project Per arte e per lavoro 2022, curated by Fermata d’Autobus Onlus, Gliacrobati, and Forme in bilico A.P.S., in collaboration with Artenne and Arteco. Supported by the City of Turin, Social Services Department, Socio-Health, Housing, and Work Division, Social Inclusion Division. In collaboration with the Work Training Group of ASL Città di Torino.

INFO
Villa Vallero
Corso Indipendenza, 68, 10086 Rivarolo Canavese TO
Hours: Saturdays from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM - Sundays from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM continuous hours.
The exhibition will be closed on December 24, 25, 31, and January 1, 2023.

Galleria Gliacrobati: info@gliacrobati.com | www.gliacrobati.com
Fermata d’Autobus Onlus: www.fermatadautobus.net

Press Office: Elena Inchingolo
E: elena.inchingolo@gmail.com – M: +39 3476717998

A PROJECT BY
Fermata d’Autobus and Forme in bilico Association

WITH THE SUPPORT OF
City of Turin

UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF
Municipality of Rivarolo Canavese - Municipality of Pertusio

PARTNERS
Areacreativa42, CCW/Cultural Welfare Center, Chronos Social Cooperative, Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation, Galleria Gliacrobati, Oglianico 360, Pro Loco of Rivarolo Canavese, Tactile Vision