Santarcangelo Festival 2019: Slow and Gentle final edition under Neklyaeva and Gilardino

The 49th Santarcangelo Festival, running July 5–14, 2019, is titled 'Slow and Gentle' and marks the final edition under artistic directors Eva Neklyaeva and Lisa Gilardino. The program adopts a post-disciplinary approach, featuring international artists including Pablo Esbert Lilienfeld & Federico Vladimir Strate Pezdirc (Spain), Annamaria Ajmone, Cosmesi, Cristina Kristal Rizzo, Domínio Público (Brazil, first time in Europe), Dries Verhoeven (Netherlands), Elena Giannotti, Forensic Oceanography, Joan Català (Spain), Marco D'Agostin, Silvia Gribaudi, Varun Narain (India), mk, Markus Öhrn (Sweden) with Le Azdore, and Valentina Medda. Research paths by Ilenia Caleo, Silvia Calderoni, and Alessandro Sciarroni are included, alongside renewed collaboration with Macao and a dense music program. The festival emphasizes spontaneity, community engagement, and political commitment, with projects like Wash Up (teenagers commission a young artist) and È Bal. Artists associated include Francesca Grilli, Motus, and Markus Öhrn. The festival has faced political attacks and threats in previous years. Neklyaeva will curate a project on pleasure and sexuality at Vooruit arts center in Ghent, Belgium, while Gilardino works on Boarding Pass Plus Danza for internationalization of Italian dance.