Emilio Isgrò designs stage for Notte della Taranta 2024

Emilio Isgrò, the Sicilian artist known for his 'Cancellature' (erasures), will create the stage design for the 2024 Notte della Taranta festival in Melpignano, Italy. The festival, a major European celebration of Salento's traditional music, culminates in the Concertone on August 24. Isgrò will produce a series of new erasures based on images of the taranta and pizzica dances. The stage will also feature large papier-mâché sculptures of tarantulas by Officina Chiodo Fisso, functioning as contemporary light installations. The festival's artistic direction includes Maestro Concertatore Shablo and special guest Geolier, interpreting the theme 'generazione Taranta'. Isgrò was invited by Massimo Bray, president of the Fondazione La Notte della Taranta and former Italian Minister of Culture. The artist sees the festival as a symbol of Southern Italy's cultural renaissance. This summer marks the 60th anniversary of Isgrò's first erasure in 1964, celebrated with a dedicated room at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna (GNAM) in Rome until December 31, 2024. In June, he led the first edition of the Scuola della Cancellatura in Urbino, a high-level interdisciplinary course organized by the University of Urbino and the Academy of Fine Arts of Urbino.