Il Colorificio launches L'Ano Solare, a year-long program on sex and self-display in Milan's periphery

Il Colorificio, a project space founded in 2016 by curators Michele Bertolino, Bernardo Follini, and Giulia Gregnanin (later joined by project manager Sebastiano Pala) in a former paint shop in Milan's Giambellino district, has announced L'Ano Solare, a year-long program of exhibitions, talks, screenings, and performances exploring the body in its sexual and political dimensions. The program borrows its title from Georges Bataille's 1931 surrealist pamphlet. The curators describe the initiative as a response to rising populism and hate speech in Italy, aiming to explore non-normative constructions of the body and sexuality as a tool for collective agency. The first event, They are the Sun, takes place on November 16, 2019, at Il Colorificio and in collaboration with a fruit and vegetable shop at Via Giambellino 67. It includes a solo show by Caterina De Nicola titled Embarrassed and Conciliatory (until December 15), a speech by Jacopo Miliani, and the fourth installment of Body Language curated by Tomboys Don't Cry. The program also involves partnerships with Castro in Rome and Residency80121 in Naples. Previous projects by Il Colorificio include If You Believed in Me by Tamara MacArthur, a performance by Marco Giordano at ArtVerona, and Buildless by Gaetano Cunsolo.