GemellArte 2020: Street art unites Terni and Saint Ouen in Renaissance-themed festival

The second edition of GemellArte, an international contemporary art festival organized by Gn Media and directed by Chiara Ronchini, has opened in Terni, Italy. The project revives the practice of twinning between Terni and the French town of Saint Ouen, twinned since 1962, using street art as a tool for urban regeneration. The 2020 edition is themed 'Renaissance,' symbolizing rebirth and reconstruction. Artists Ozmo and Caroline Derveaux participated; Derveaux completed two murals in Terni—'Naissance à Terni' on Via Giotto and 'Renaissance à Terni' on Via dei Castelli—revitalizing decaying urban corners on streets named after Masaccio and Michelangelo. The festival is under the patronage of the French Embassy in Italy and the Institut Français Italia. Terni's deputy mayor and culture assessor Andrea Giuli praised the initiative as a 'presidium of culture and creativity,' while youth and twinning assessor Elena Proietti highlighted the importance of exchange processes for shared public memory. In the next phase, Ozmo will create a work in Saint Ouen inspired by Raphael's 'Portrait of Baldassarre Castiglione,' honoring the Urbino artist on the 500th anniversary of his birth.