Friday, March 1, at 5:30 PM, the MAMbo conference hall hosts the presentation of the book Parole Passeggere. La pratica artistica come semantica dell’esistenza by Elena Bellantoni (Castelvecchi Editore).

The book offers insight into the artistic practice of visual artist Elena Bellantoni, who explores the world with an authentic gaze, engaging in relationships in a participatory and personal way. Video, photography, drawing, sculpture, and installations serve as "linguistic" techniques that Bellantoni employs to represent both self-perception and reality, with a strong focus on the body as a means of interaction. Writing then follows as a way to bring order and give voice to the relationship between life and art—two entities that dialogue and recognize each other in the continuous flow of wandering, losing, and finding oneself in a dimension that unfolds over time. From the artistic creation process to the inevitable need to address political, intellectual, aesthetic, narrative, and identity-driven urgencies, the book traces Bellantoni's artistic journey.

About the artist:Elena Bellantoni is a visual artist and professor at ABAQ L’Aquila, ABA Rome, and NABA Rome. After earning a degree in Contemporary Art History, she studied in Paris and London, obtaining a Master of Arts in Visual Arts at WCA – University of the Arts London in 2007. In 2018, she was among the winners of the 4th edition of the Italian Council by MiC (Ministry of Culture), and in 2019, she presented her book On the Breadline at MAXXI in Rome, focusing on her entire video production. That same year, her work Ho annegato il mare was selected for the Collateral section of Manifesta 12 in Palermo. In 2018, she was also chosen for the Gran Tour d’Italie by MiC. In 2014, she won the special Repubblica.it award for the Talent Prize, and in 2011, her project In Other Words. The Black Market of Translation – Negotiating Contemporary Cultures won the NGBK Berlin grant.

Her artistic research revolves around identity and otherness—exploring territories and communities—using the body and language as tools of interaction. Her explorative approach includes video, photography, installations, sculptures, and drawing. In 2023, Bellantoni opened Dior’s Spring-Summer 2024 fashion show with the installation NOT HER at the Tuileries Garden in Paris. Her work is featured in major public and private collections.

Speakers: Marinella Paderni, Silvia Grandi, and Leonardo Regano. Moderator: Giuliana Benassi. Introduction by: Lorenzo Balbi.

In collaboration with Castelvecchi Editore. Free admission.