Simon Vincenzi's 'In The Carnival Of The Void' launches Xing's multi-year FESTA project

Xing, the Bologna-based cultural organization, has launched FESTA, a two-year project unfolding across Italy. The initiative commissions artists to create performative works responding to the question: 'Does a use, or at least an idea, of FESTA exist within our contemporary world?' The first commission, 'In The Carnival Of The Void' by British director and choreographer Simon Vincenzi, took place on May 10, 2026, at the Parcheggio della Fiera in Bologna. The performance, set in an underground parking lot, involved a white van, masked figures, a shredder, and references to Georges Bataille's secret society Acéphale, the film 'Blonde Venus,' and quantum physics. The work explored themes of destruction, creation, and the political dimensions of festivity. FESTA picks up an unrealized 1976 exhibition project by Alberto Boatto for GAM in Bologna. The project reflects Xing's post-pandemic focus on live arts as an act of gathering.