Gabriele Basilico's Dance Hall Photography in Emilia on View at NonostanteMarras

A new exhibition at NonostanteMarras in Milan, curated by Francesca Alfano Miglietti in collaboration with Studio Basilico, showcases Gabriele Basilico's lesser-known dance hall and discotheque photography from Emilia-Romagna. In 1978, the magazine Modo commissioned Basilico to photograph provincial dance venues like Club 501 in Gualtieri, Marabù in Sant'Ilario d'Enza, and Picchio Rosso in Formigine. The project captured the collective rituals of disco and liscio music during the John Travolta and Raoul Casadei era. Basilico continued the research independently, and a first exhibition was held at Galleria Civica di Modena in 1980. In 2007, Galleria Jarach in Venice revisited the work in a double solo show with Massimo Vitali titled Disco to disco. After Basilico's death in 2013, a selection was again shown at Galleria Civica di Modena. The current exhibition is accompanied by the 2013 book Dancing in Emilia, published by Silvana Editoriale with texts by Silvia Ferrari, Gustavo Pietropolli Charmet, Gabriele Basilico, Giovanna Calvenzi, and a 2007 conversation between Basilico and Vitali. The show explores social customs through Basilico's eye for everyday life and popular culture.