Generazione Spontanea: Emotional Archive at Palermo's Festival of Migrant Literatures
The sixth edition of the Festival delle Letterature Migranti in Palermo (October 21–25, 2020) introduced a visual arts section titled Generazione Spontanea, curated by Agata Polizzi in collaboration with Fondazione Merz in Turin. Artists Francesco De Grandi and Michele Guido were invited to create an emotional archive—images, writings, drawings, and thoughts—born from a quasi-scientific observation of creative generation during the lockdown. The project aims to compile these experiences into a publication, a travel diary. Originally planned as an open-door, one-to-one speakeasy-style studio visit, the event was restructured online due to new restrictions, resulting in a video where the curator and artists discuss the project's meaning and forms, supported by unpublished visual contributions.
Key facts
- The sixth edition of the Festival delle Letterature Migranti took place in Palermo from October 21 to 25, 2020.
- A new visual arts section called Generazione Spontanea was curated by Agata Polizzi.
- The section was organized in collaboration with Fondazione Merz in Turin.
- Artists Francesco De Grandi and Michele Guido participated.
- They created an emotional archive based on work produced during the lockdown.
- The archive includes images, writings, drawings, and thoughts.
- The ultimate goal is to publish a travel diary compiling these experiences.
- The event was originally planned as an in-person, one-to-one speakeasy-style studio visit but was moved online due to new restrictions.
- A video was produced featuring the curator and artists discussing the project with unpublished visual contributions.
Entities
Artists
- Francesco De Grandi
- Michele Guido
Institutions
- Festival delle Letterature Migranti
- Fondazione Merz
Locations
- Palermo
- Italy
- Turin