«Toasts it is a contemporary city, it has a great thousand-year history but it stands out because it embodies all the challenges of the future” are the first impressions of Chris Torchthe American-Swedish professional leading Brindisi’s candidacy project Capital Italian of culture 2027.
How does Chris Torch introduce himself to the city?
«First of all I am a man of theatre, I chose this form of expression because I like direct communication. I started with the New York company Living Theatre, Julian Beck and Judith Malina were my teachers. Over time, however, I understood that the world of culture lacks the skills to generate working conditions. It is necessary to create the spaces, the community, the interest, to find the public economic resources which are currently in crisis throughout Europe. I am so committed to designing with a long vision, not the short term. Today I am a man in the world of culture and I also deal with cities that aspire to the European cultural title, because they are virtuous paths, not totally controlled by politics but which start from the bottom. Where thanks to the resources it is possible to design for many years and with great enthusiasm.”
What is your first impression of Brindisi?
«It is a contemporary city, it has a thousand-year history from which we must draw to recover energy but many Italian cities have an important history, Brindisi stands out because it embodies all the challenges of the future. The ecological transition, the dialogue between peoples, the desire to ask a new question. Then it is extraordinary that the sea enters the city. There is a lot of open space here both physically and mentally. It seems to me that there are great possibilities, I breathe an authentic atmosphere.”
Young people leave Brindisi to study and never return, how can we change this trend?
«I live in Pisciotta, a small town in Cilento with 2,000 people and they say the same thing. The truth is that young people want to stay, we understood this well during the pandemic. We are all interlocal, we are part of the world but our roots are local. The first kiss, all first experiences are in the place of origin. I was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in an Italian neighborhood, my grandparents are Calabrian, my surname comes from torchia. Many roots coexist in me. After the United States I moved to Sweden where I directed the national theater and then created Intercult, an institution that deals with international projects. We must build an optimistic vision tailored to young people. Young people must understand that they can determine their own future.”
Do all the cities for which it obtained the title of European capital have anything in common?
«No, every city is different. My contribution is also always different. It also depends a lot on the work group, everyone has their own skills and we have to find a balance. I don’t carry a lot of little tricks in my pockets. We need to start from the identity of the city, I will have to listen and only then will we decide how to set up the planning. I don’t have a pre-packaged idea and I won’t decide with a few people. In fact, more than a director, I prefer to define myself as an artistic guide.”
What impression did you have of the mayor and the work team?
«I really like the team and the mayor. I have known Carmelo Grassi of the Nuovo Teatro Verdi Foundation and his collaborators for some time. I have great respect for Carmelo and when he called me I was happy. The mayor seems to me to be an open person, he doesn’t want to influence or use me, we talked about the key words and the challenges of Brindisi. He gave me and his administration team a mandate with great trust, he is very involved but leaves us free. I was struck by the mayor’s story of when he welcomed the Albanian people together with the people of Brindisi, it’s something that couldn’t happen again today.”
What are the key words of this application? «Definitely: port, environment, technology and community. But there is one word that is more important than any other and that is creativity, because the young generations will have to answer questions that no one has ever answered before, having to find new solutions they will need creativity.”
Will he have time to meet the community?
«In June I will be in Brindisi for a month and also in September, so I will have the opportunity to get to know the people but I also have faith in the team that is here on a permanent basis and will do an intense job of involvement».
What do you hope Brindisi will gain from this experience?
«I wish Brindisi to begin a useful process for its future. I want to give Italy the opportunity to get to know a city that it has forgotten. Despite having great experience, I will try to approach it with a virgin gaze to generate something new, to learn together in Brindisi.”
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