SyArt Sorrento Outdoor Museum
The idea of a Sorrentine outdoor museum took off during the second edition of the SyArt Sorrento Festival (at the time Sorrento Young Art). We are in 2018 and a short distance from the inauguration of that edition the kiss staged by the street artist Tvboy between Salvini and Di Maio turns out to be propitiatory, turning the critical spotlight on the artist of Palermo origins, transplanted to Barcelona.
At the same time, work was being done on the entire organisation of the Sorrento kermesse, hosted at Villa Fiorentino, the headquarters of the Sorrento Foundation. In fact, in the previous months Tvboy was chosen as guest artist for the inaugural evening, and for the occasion he will create one of his murals right in Sorrento, also entertaining guests with a live painting, a performance that will catalyses the gaze of all spectators during the performance.
In the ongoing realization of the project, a pivotal element is the planned study of which work in terms of quality, innovation and cultural value can be included in the itinerary. To date, the Festival has hosted hundreds of artists from all over the world, each with their own personal research path, and the most important challenge remains the well-considered choice of which work and artist makes sense to include in the itinerary, which stands as an instrument at the service of the community, a relevant testimony of a time in the making.
In 2018, two artists are selected: Salvatore Benintende aka Tvboy and Carmen Novaco, in 2019 it is the turn of Dalya Luttwak and in 2020 Vincenzo Mascia.
As you will notice from the map, the close location of the works allows them to be enjoyed on foot. The route starts at the entrance to the Villa Comunale with Tvboy's ‘Sorrento loves Art’, a place chosen as the nerve centre of Sorrento's daily flow. Walking along Via San Francesco, in the direction of Piazza Sant'Antonino, one arrives at Palazzo Gargiulo, in Piazza San Francesco, where one can admire, pointing one's eyes to the sky, Dalya Luttwak's Ivy-Edera. A few metres away is the SyArt Gallery with a permanent exhibition of national and international artists. In Piazza Sant'Antonino, Carmen Novaco's ‘Essenza’ stands out, and finally, taking Corso Italia (no. 141), a few steps away from Piazza Tasso, between the Tabacchi and the ‘Unica concept shop’ is the work ‘Mikado’ by Vincenzo Mascia.
For information purposes, the map shows a second work by Dalya Luttwak in Sorrento, at the entrance to Villa Fiorentino, but as it is located within a space subject to opening and closing times, it is not part of the dedicated itinerary. A work by Alfonso Coppola is also permanently located in the same space. In both cases legacies of the Festival.
‘Artists in Architecture, Re-activating Modern European House’ is a project with the idea that architecture and art become an empowerment for the community. On 18 December 2019, guests were invited to a round table at the Department of Architecture in Naples (DiARC) as a virtuous example of an effective relationship and dialogue between contemporary production and local communities.
In 2021 at the National Archaeological Museum of Eboli and the Media Valle del Sele at the Sala Mangrella, we are invited to the conference ‘Nel segno della natura - Tra arte e architettura’ (In the sign of nature - Between art and architecture) in which we emphasis the powerful suggestions generated by placing ancient and contemporary in dialogue, with young people at the centre as human capital on which to build visionary and necessary projects.
