Biumor Festival Turns 10: Humor and Art Collide in Tolentino

The Biumor festival, dedicated to the philosophy of humor, celebrates its tenth edition in Tolentino, Italy, on November 23–24, 2023. Founded by Luigi Mari in 1961 as the Biennale Internazionale dell'Umorismo nell'Arte, the festival now collaborates with Popsophia. The program includes the presentation of 70 selected artworks from the Biennale at the Politeama, with jury president Michael Rocchetti (Maicol&Mirco) discussing his work 'Natura Morta, una domanda a Giorgio Morandi'. Piero Massimo Macchini performs a monologue, and artistic director Lucrezia Ercoli reflects on the festival's first decade. On November 24, the awards ceremony takes place at Teatro Vaccaj, followed by a philoshow directed by Riccardo Minnucci, featuring live music by the Factory band performing ironic songs from the last 50 years. Ercoli notes that philosophical analysis of humor involves contrasts between comedy and tragedy, happiness and sadness. Rocchetti observes that despite the free theme, most submitted works focus on war and death, calling it a 'chilling photograph of our times'.