We work along different lines. We sometimes look for cold, anonymous spaces e.g. masses of reinforced concrete near tourist attractions (common in Calabria) and try to "demolish" them by drawing on them, producing works that are not invasive, in colours that blend with the surrounding landscape. Other times, we use historic sites, monuments or old castles and, in that case, apply varying techniques, from light to music, to try and revive old local legends – repeated and rethought to be perceived as if they had originated today.
Why have a Mediterranean comic-strip school in Cosenza and what do you mean by "Mediterranean"?
Cosenza is showing huge interest in cartoons. Exhibitions, conferences and all kinds of activities linked to "drawn literature" have always been a great success. Invited artists return readily and are amazed by the turnout of public and young creatives asking for schooling activities. A schooling centre is possible and a must – also for simple democratic reasons: today, those aspiring to become comic-strip artists and professional illustrators or who want to learn 3D animation are forced to emigrate to Rome, Florence or Milan. Not everyone can afford to do this. Why dissipate creative talent and deny others their rightful aspirations?
When, where and how will this creative centre come into being? What "forces" are involved and what are the difficulties of working in an area such as Calabria?
We hope the project will be active by next year. There is still much work to be done. We will probably bring in the institutions that have backed this process from the beginning, such as the Provincia di Cosenza and the leading specialist publishers who have worked with us over the years, but also the University of Calabria and, of course, expert professionals such as Ivo Milazzo, who has supported this project from the very first.
What might it mean for your area and the young people living there?
Making an area a draw for creative talent opens up a host of development opportunities. Culture is certainly the best means to bring change to southern Italy, ones that really do turn away from the past, failed policies.
Have the artists been asked to express themselves on specific themes?
Our cultural output has always been linked to the area, its history, its scenery and the physical and literary architecture that surrounds us. We must always ask the artists to produce works linked to all this. We have always taken a firm stance against the merchandisation of culture, intended as a single product to be sold any and everywhere.
Have any of those encountered on this "journey" commenced in 2007 grown thanks to you and become professionals?
The impact of cultural events must always to be considered in the long term but, in recent years, some young people met by chance have started working with us. Some have "jumped at the opportunity" and trained in one of the professions that helps create cultural events. And many artists who only previously knew each other by name have met at our events and now work together.
What has the local response to the project been?
There is a great deal of interest, which has grown disproportionately and unexpectedly over the last three years. We are building strong networks of links with people who focus on the same themes and are located in the most far-flung places.
How much does the "landscape" of an artist's own province/region impact on their work?
It is crucial. Every work of art is the product of a specific time and context. You can love or hate what surrounds you but you cannot refute it. Basquiat could never have produced the works he did without having had the New York cityscape before him and Pratt would never have drawn Corto Maltese if he had lived in a village in Trentino Alto Adige.
What do you have in the pipeline after a comic-strip workshop with Ivo Milazzo, a visual workshop and the live evening mixing the languages on 6 August? Any future projects?
We are already working on the next Festival, to be held in the summer of 2011. Next year we are focusing on Hannibal, who spent a long time in Calabria. We shall have concerts, installations, workshops and a fine exhibition with the original drawings of Astarte, a splendid comic strip by Andrea Pazienza in which the actions of the African commander are narrated by a dog that accompanies him in battle. The streets will be filled with life-size paper elephants, as a good a way as any to relive the past, conserve the memory and bring it to life in the present via all the endless changes that can be made to the landscape without adulterating it or ourselves, and simply turning it into a worthy stage for our lives.
