The next 6 and 7 Juneon the occasion of the anniversary of the birth of QUEER WALL at the City Center Park, four associations intend to join together to bring activism to life within a public city space.
The project, sponsored by the Municipality of Livorno, was conceived by the photographer Giulia Barini and Valerio Chellini aka Lalique Chouette in collaboration with the associations NIP Neuropsicologia in Piazza, LED Libertà e Diritti Arcigay Livorno, Sons of the Ocean ASD and Agedo Livorno. It also sees the participation of the Livorno Coop Members Committee of Unicoop Tirreno, given the attention it has always placed on culture and education for citizens on reasonable consumption.
The 6 and 7 June from 4pm to 10pmguests of the Parchino Bistrot, the associations will liven up the park by involving children in the creation of an environmental education workshop, held by the Sons of the Ocean association, and an artistic workshop linked to the murals held by NIP Neuropsicologia in Piazza and the Giovani Arcigay group Livorno.
The framework that revolves around these two afternoon activities will culminate in the two evenings of 6 and 7 June, including a meeting on the integration between activism and the spaces of the city, a small theater show, a reading of fairy tales, and an aperitif drag with DJ set, to end everything with the sound of music.
EVENTS
Thursday 6 June
4pm – 6pm
“QUEER WALL” ARTISTIC WORKSHOP
The queer wall created by Giulia Bernini, aka Oblò, is a mural that celebrates LGBTQIA+ pride through the most important faces of the movement who have marked history with their art, becoming true icons, ranging from painting to sport, from theater to literature to cinema and music: Gilbert Baker, Madonna, Keith Haring, the Wachowski sisters, Harvey Milk, Lindsay Kemp, Oscar Wilde, Virginia Woolf, Marielle Franco, Marsha P. Johnson, Divine, Aldo Mieli, Lili Elbe , Raffaella Carrà, Saffo and Pier Paolo Pasolini.
The objective of the mural is to raise public awareness and give voice to young activists and artists because art has always been a common denominator capable of uniting people.
One year after its creation, the Arcigay Giovani Group in collaboration with the NIP Association – Neuropsychology in the square will involve the young park goers, to tell the story of these characters and make them come to life through collages according to their tastes, their colors and their preferences. The NIP association, following the publication of the book “Impiastro! color Livorno” of 2020, had the opportunity to carry out various creative workshops aimed at elderly people and children, using the material from the book as a starting point for activities within schools and municipal playrooms.
Since the publication of the book, NIP has maintained a close collaboration with Amal – Alzheimer’s patients association Livorno odv, dealing with the organization of cognitive stimulation, graphics, photography and music therapy workshops, as well as assistance to museum operators during the workshops inside of the city museums organized by the Itinera cooperative.
6.30pm
MEETING – Urban intersections for a reasonable city
In the hope of being able to involve further partners and members active in the social sector in the meeting, the associations promoting the project will meet to discuss the integration between activism and the spaces of the city. An intersection of forces to make the city center more welcoming and participatory. The meeting will be moderated by Alessio Porquier (FIPILI Horror Festival) in the company of Giulia Bernini, Martina Cardamone (LED Libertà e Diritti Arcigay Livorno), Matteo Nani (Sons of the Ocean ASD), Rita Rabuzzi (Agedo Livorno), Stefano Santomauro (Grande Giove APS) and Martina Turini (NIP Neuropsychology in the Square).
9.00 pm (45′)
PERFORMANCE PUSSY TABOO – ITINERARY IN 11 STEP ON THE PUSSY
Two human beings, two people, two women talk with music and pussy words. A trip. A poetic exploration. An explicit route on the pussy. Each different, special, with unique characteristics. Pussy Taboo is a performance that combines words and music: 11 monologues* to narrate the uniqueness of pussy, 11 melodies to narrate its diversity.
Laura Rossi (“The ballad of thoughtful beings”, “Girl 1.0”, “La hunger plobenaria”) and Letizia Pieri (Vocal Sisters, Megliosole, Sonnambula), after years of friendship, decide to compete in the creation of a project that unites their visions on femininity, in its varied declinations. From this synergy arises the urgency to create a project with the aim of breaking down stereotypes and eliminating judgement. Why this topic?
Because it’s time to talk about it, to take back the pride of having one.
*Some of the monologues are freely taken from “Coños” by JM de Prada, J. Plã, “Jouissance Club”.
Friday 7 June
4pm – 6pm
“CLEAN UP” ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION LABORATORY
Sons of the Ocean asd founded by nature-loving surfers from Livorno, combines a passion for outdoor sports with a commitment to environmental education. It organizes beach cleanups to preserve marine ecosystems, promotes coastal reforestation and involves the community in environmental awareness projects.
The association offers educational workshops in collaboration with the University of Pisa, consolidating the link between academic research and concrete actions in favor of the environment.
The educational workshops focused on marine ecology and sustainability offer participants a practical and informative experience promoting an active and sustainable lifestyle, aimed primarily at actively dedicating themselves to protecting the environment and those who live in it.
An experience of this kind within the City Center Park will guarantee children an awareness of the environment they frequent every day. Equipped with gloves and bags for the collection of multi-materials and small undifferentiated waste, they will sift through the grounds of the park and through an in-depth study of the materials that emerge from it, it will help them to understand not only the importance of separating, but of preserving and maintaining it hygienic and decent. the park that hosts them every day.
6.30pm
A DRAG AND HER FAIRY TALES
What do Drag Queens have to do with fairy tales?
“Children like fairy tales and drag queens. Absolutely. I assure you!” Lalique Chouette says: “When I was a star in Ibiza in the evening I used to get ready at home and then go to the bar where I usually spent the evening before the crazy nights at the disco. Every evening I experienced the street that separated my apartment and the club like a long red carpet. I showed off my confident step, boldly immersed in flashes of cameras and greetings: “Hola Lalique, Hey Hermosa, Fantastic… Lalique, a photo?” I responded with a hint of a smile and continued straight towards my destination. One evening I feel someone grabbing my skirt. Annoyed, I turn around, ready to respond in kind. I see nobody. I look down. I meet the eyes full of curiosity of a little girl. She had escaped from her mother’s safe hand to cling equally firmly to the hem of my dress. Enchanted she asks me – Forgive me, are you a fantasy girl? Are you a fairy? – How to contradict her: -Claro! I’m a fantasy girl! – I am a fairy, a sorceress, a queen…”
And what little boy or girl wouldn’t want to listen to a fairy tale told by a fairy? The society we are living in is changing much faster than we think. The new generations speak an inclusive language and consequently it is necessary to talk about a new world, free from the patriarchal logic that has conditioned the growth of us adults.
Families change, identities evolve and even fairy tales need a new breath!
7.30pm – 10pm
DJ SET
Following the appointment with drag and its fairy tales, an aperitif with DJ set will follow until 10 pm to close and celebrate these two days of workshops.
ORGANIZERS
Giulia Barini graduated in Art and Entertainment in Florence and in Cinema Psychology in Bologna, in a path that led her to collaborate with film and artistic festivals nationwide. Her studies and her work experiences have led her to street photography, events, weddings, people and all those happy moments that the soul breathes and thanks to which she lives.
After having lived in Bologna, Rome and Naples and having collaborated with cultural associations in the province of Udine for some time, her experience in the field has led her to create exhibitions and collateral meetings at prominent events in the Labro area such as Effetto Venezia, FIPILI Horror Festival, Sulla Happiness Festival, Tuscany Pride. He collaborates with many local associations such as LED Libertà e Diritti Arcigay Livorno, Sons of the Ocean, as well as being an active member of the board of the NIP-Neuropsicologia in Piazza association. For some time his business has found a home in via Roma, 94 in Livorno. A space in which he also dedicates himself to portraits and fashion editorials, passing through still life and then to the creation of photographic content for sites and social networks.
Valerio Chellini, actor, performer and activist, began his theatrical career in Pisa with the Sant’Andrea theater company and subsequently made his debut on stage with i Sacchi di Sabbia. Known for his alter ego Lalique, an internationally renowned drag queen and soubrette, he moved his “first heels” in 2009 on the famous terrace of the disco mamamia in Torre del Lago and then landed in Ibiza where he worked for the most important parties and clubs on the island Blanca (Matinee, La Troya, Ushuaia, Pacha..) in the years 2010, 2011, 2012. Upon returning to Italy, the tour of national discos continues without stopping and then takes charge of the artistic direction of mamamia until 2017. In 2019 she debuts in her first theatrical monologue, Tornar by Paolo Vanacore, then distributed as an online study in spring 2020 on the occasion of the Drag me Up Festival directed by Karma
B. In 2020 the partnership began with the LED Arcigay Livorno association for which he contributed to the birth of the first LGBTQIA+ themed party in the city, Haus of Sitrì and collaborated in the creation of Toscana Pride 2022, for the first time in the city of Livorno , taking care of the weeks of events that preceded the parade, and of the final party together with Luca Dieci and La Marchesa. In August 2023 he directs the Torre Pride Fest festival for Mamamia. Since January 2023 he has created the first Tuscan course for drag queens in collaboration with the Circolo Castigo of Pisa.
For information and communications:
Giulia Barini – organization and promotion of the initiative
+39 3663422800
Martina Cardamone – President of LED Libertà e Diritti Arcigay Livorno
+39 389 261 1723
Valerio Chellini – organization and promotion of the initiative
+39 347 850 9108
Matteo Nani – President ASD Sons of the Ocean
+39 339 692 9702
