Exhibitions and events for the inauguration of the winged sculpture, symbol of the artistic and cultural rebirth of the city.
Of Andrea MacCIO
“The Thyrus will no longer be the bearer of nefarious events, but a symbol of art” it was one of the objectives of the Thyrus cultural association.
The “dragon” Thyrus, symbol of the city of Terni, a mythological animal with a meaning that is still partly mysterious today, will become the symbol of the artistic rebirth of the city from next June 15th.
The Thyrus association, founded just a year ago to bring together the creative and artistic energies of the city of Terni, after a year of events, exhibitions and initiatives is preparing to coordinate an event of great impact for the image of the Umbrian city. “It happens, sometimes, that a small but great revolution in the territory can start from a small group of artists” says Saverio Bafaro, organizer of the “night of the dragon” on June 14th.
One of the characteristics of the Thyrus association, stated another of the founders, Jenny Piccini, is to promote a connection between all the arts, creating connections with the cultural realities already existing in the area and creating new ones.
In just one year the Thyrus association was one of the creative forces that contributed to the rebirth in new forms of the CavouArt Festival, it created the traveling exhibition “Extraordinary Women” and two interesting extemporaneous collective performances at the PalaSi on the occasion of Valentine’s Day and the event “Wine love weekend” in May.
The first appointment with art is Tuesday 12 June at 5pm at the Cloister of the Church of San Pietro in Corso Vecchio with “The origins of Thyrus between myth, history and imagination” with Franca Nesta, Paola Pieroni, Valentino de Ponte Cardona, author of “The battle of the nations. Umbrian heroic poem”, Alessandro Sartini, Andrea Socci and with the participation of Briccialdi.
On the occasion of the event, an impromptu exhibition of the artists of the Thyrus association is also planned.
Friday 14 and Saturday 15 June in Terni the “Dragon Days” will celebrate the inauguration of the tallest steel sculpture in Italy, which depicts the dragon Thyrus, symbol of the city.
The sculpture was created by Marco Diamantisculptor and creator of the work, in collaboration with Onirico and Jacopo Cardinali, who was responsible for the translation of the technical-artistic project of the work which will be located in the Filipponi rotunda, between the Nera river and one of the cultural centers of the city, the Chaos Museum.
Unlike the ancient sculpture positioned in the courtyard of Palazzo Spada, the Thyrus created by Marco Diamanti will have wings, to represent the “flight” of the capital of southern Umbria, which is increasingly intent on establishing itself as a cultural center and emancipating itself from image with the stereotype of a city linked to pollution and the steel industry.
In February there was a “sweet” preview with the large chocolate Thyrus created by Marco Diamanti on the occasion of the association’s collective exhibition at the PalaSi in Piazza della Repubblica during the Valentine’s events.
There evening of Friday 14 June “The Night of the Dragon” poetic performance/reading by Saverio Bafaro, a conference-show that aims to stimulate the active and dancing participation of the public: a large collection of paintings, iconographies, images of heraldic alchemy depicting the dragon will be projected, mixed with rock, metal, trip-hop with the theme of “fire” and recited poetic passages taken from some books by Saverio Bafaro himself.
Saturday 15 June at 9 am guided tour on the urban routes on the Nera river, organized by Coop Actl project Terni, my city.
In the afternoon, a new impromptu exhibition curated by the Thyrus association, in the Prua area and Via Campofregoso, with the presence of food stands and DJ sets.
At 4pm “To make a dragon. The use of steel in the contemporary artistic panorama” conference in the Clock room at the CAOS premises by Daniela Zannetti. Guests: Daniela Zannetti, Lorenza Fruci, Alberto Borgatta, Andrea Forges Davanzati, Simone Pezzè, Andrea Salvatori.
Also on Saturday 15th at 6pm at the Laurentian Esoteric Library, conference on the alchemical symbolism of the Dragon by Carlo Dorofatti.
The afternoon will continue with a DJ set and parade of the sports clubs that have the dragon as their symbol, and at 7.15 pm the official inauguration of the Thyrus statue will take place, with speeches from the authorities’ stage and ribbon cutting.
Followed by a dance performance curated by Musical Dance Academy and opening of the sculpture.
The evening will end with the screening of the Italy-Albania match in the European Championships on the screen.
Inside the Caos an exhibition will illustrate the various phases of creation of the Thyrus.
From the 16th to 30th June the exhibition can also be visited at the Cenacolo di San Marco in Via del Leone “Mauro Monzi from the Renaissance to the Contemporary” edited by Liviana Sinibaldi.
With the Dragon Days, Marco Diamanti’s Thyrus will become one of the symbols of the cultural rebirth of a city which in recent years has demonstrated a particular effervescence in the field of contemporary art, in a very suggestive area in which urban routes branch off on the Nera river and in which we already find important artistic testimonies such as “The key art of joy” by Dano Masala created as part of the Gemellarte project.
