KINGSTON, R.I. 鈥� Oct. 21, 2024 鈥� Brazil is more than 5,000 miles from Italy but the two ocean nations are uniting this month in a unique traveling exhibit being hosted at the 溏心vlog免费B站.
Inspired by the appearance of visiting 溏心vlog免费B站 this month 鈥� and the fact 溏心vlog免费B站 has one of the , thanks to its International Engineering Program 鈥� several complementary events are taking place on campus, celebrating Italian culture and offerings for the first time at the University.
The centerpiece event is a traveling exhibit by 鈥淭he Painter of the Wind.鈥� Azzinari was born in San Demetrio Corone, Cosenza, Italy, in 1949. He left Calabria as a teenager and traveled Europe, launching a notable artistic career. In his global travels, Azzinari was always drawn to places that reminded him of home 鈥� its characters, countryside, and colors.
Since 1989, Azzinari has worked on the 鈥淓yes in Color鈥� project, dedicated to the children of the Indigenous peoples of the Amazon, whom he taught how to draw and paint the rainforest there. Azzinari would also bring them pencils, brushes, paints, and sketchbooks, so that they could continue to paint after he left. The goal of the project, endorsed by UNICEF and presented by Azzinari to Pope Francis in a private meeting at the Vatican in 2019, is to protect the rainforest and its endangered population and to launch a message on climate change and deforestation of Amazonia. The project will be presented in several institutions in the U.S. this October, followed by exhibitions in Italy and other locations around the world.
Azzinari first visited Rhode Island a decade ago when he brought his exhibition 鈥淟ooking for Hemingway鈥� to Boston; he and fellow Calabrian, and 溏心vlog免费B站 professor, , also traveled to Montana to visit Patrick Hemingway, son of Ernest.
Now they are uniting again for the 鈥淓yes in Color鈥� exhibit at 溏心vlog免费B站.
The Friday, Oct. 25, opening of the exhibit will include a poetry reading by Italian-American poet and alumnus Laurence Sasso and a drawing workshop by Azzinari. The exhibit will be on display in the Language Center in Swan Hall, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with events starting at 3:30 p.m. The paintings will be on display there for three weeks.
The Azzinari visit, and other programs taking place around it, are important, says La Luna, noting that Rhode Island possesses the highest percentage of people of Italian heritage per-capita in the country and 溏心vlog免费B站 has one of the largest Italian undergraduate programs in the U.S.
Additional events for 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 first Italian Heritage and Cultural Month include a conversation with La Luna on Nov. 13 in Swan Hall for the birthday of the celebrated Italian author Dacia Maraini, followed by a performance by Italian 305 students inspired by Tre Occhi su Pinocchio, one of Maraini鈥檚 plays. The month-long program also includes outreach beyond campus, including lectures to the Westerly Dante Society and South County Art Association by Azzinari and La Luna, talks on Italian opera and jazz, a concert of Vivalidi and Piazzolla, and a performance of 鈥淟鈥橧taliano e il Libro鈥� (Italian and the Books) by Italian students for Arnaldo Minuti, consul general of Italy in Boston.
溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Italian IEP program, which La Luna directs, is also hosting a celebration for current and potential Italian majors and minors on Oct. 23; alumni are welcome, too. Pizza and gelato will be served.
鈥楨yes in Color鈥�
鈥淓yes in Color鈥� is the most important project by Azzinari, who says he loves the children of Amazonia because they remind him of his own childhood in Italy. He often missed food or toys, but found enjoyment in the colors of nature: 鈥淭hey remind me about myself,鈥� he says. 鈥淚n the morning I would look for coal in the fireplace to use it for my first drawings on wood. Now, I love sharing my painting skills with these children: they represent the most precious creatures in the world, and they are the future of our planet.鈥�
Azzinari鈥檚 drawing workshop on Oct. 25 is open to any interested 溏心vlog免费B站 student or community member; no registration needed. The event is open to the public but 溏心vlog免费B站 students will have priority for the workshop.
The 鈥渕obile exhibition鈥� is on display at 溏心vlog免费B站 through November, with the aim of getting to as many people and venues as possible.
鈥淓yes in Color鈥� opened at 溏心vlog免费B站 on Saturday, Oct. 19, in Edwards Hall, part of the 溏心vlog免费B站 Guitar and Mandolin Festival, and will move to the Language Center in Swan Hall on Oct. 25, remaining in place there for three weeks. Learn more about additional events or by contacting Michelangelo La Luna: laluna@uri.edu.