SOL INVICTUS: Sounds and performances for the winter solstice in Milano
18.12.2024 H19:00-23:00
18.12.2024 H19:00-23:00
Istituto Svizzero celebrates the winter solstice with an exceptional line-up of performances and DJ sets in Palermo, Rome and Milan.
The shortest day of the year: the winter solstice, by convention, is the moment in which, due to the position of the Sun with respect to the equator, the longest night and the shortest day correspond. An astronomical event rich in symbolic meanings—sometimes even controversial—that was celebrated in antiquity by pagan populations before the advent of Christianity: the Romans celebrated Sol Invictus, the Egyptians the birth of Horus, the Greeks worshipped Helios. After the prevailing hours of winter darkness, the Sun seemed to be reborn and became invincible (from Latin Sol Invictus). A time of year that, ancestrally, marks the passage from darkness to light. And it is precisely this hope, this search for light in dark times, to which Istituto Svizzero dedicates these three evenings.
18.12.2024 H19:00-23:00
Fondazione ICA Milano, Via Orobia 26, Milano
To participate, it is recommended to register here.
Free entry
Performances by:
Alina Arshi, Entepfuhl, 20’
Anna Franceschini (with Lara Dâmaso), MORTADIMODAMODERNA, 20’
Based on Charles Perrault’s short story ‘Barbe Bleue’, 1697 and Jacques Offenbach’s 1866 operetta. Concept and Direction: Anna Franceschini. Body and Voice: Lara Damaso. Words: Anna Franceschini. Textile Intervention: Roberto Nizzari. Metal Body Structure: Lorenzo Lunghi. Hair Sculpture: Jonatan Eric Estrada
The lyrics of the song can be download here.
*Capacity is limited.
Alice Visentin, Material for a Thousand Stories, 20’
Sound references download here.
DJ set:
TZAZIKY & CRACK (TOMBOYS DON’T CRY)
Food and drinks by El Caminante will be available for purchase on site.
The event is organized in collaboration with Fondazione ICA Milano.
Alina Arshi was born in Lucknow, India, is a dancer and coreographer. In 2020 she obtained her Bachelor in Business Administration from KU Leuven in Brussels. In 2023, she obtained her Bachelor in Contemporary Dance from La Manufacture in Lausanne, where she is currently based as a dancer. Her bachelor work “Entepfuhl” explores social and economic architectures and their relation to feelings of solitude.
Anna Franceschini,born in Pavia, is a visual artist, filmmaker and researcher. Her work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions at numerous institutions, including Tinguely Museum in Basel; Mudam, Luxembourg; Triennale, Milan; Witte de With, Rotterdam; Kunstverein, DĂĽsseldorf; Spike Island, Bristol; MAXXI and MACRO, Rome; Museion, Bozen; CAC, Vilnius; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Les Abattoirs, Toulouse; Fiorucci Art Trust, London; Quadriennale, Rome. Her films have been selected by international festivals among which: Locarno Film Festival, Rotterdam Film Festival, Torino Film Festival, Milano Film Festival. In 2019 she realized a special commissioned project for the Italian Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale. She lives and works in Milan. She holds a PhD in Media and Visual Studies.
Lara Dâmaso, born in Biel/Bienne, is a Milan/Zurich-based artist focusing on the body as her primary medium. She explores the expressive, therapeutic, and political dimensions of the voice, linking it to movement and dance. Viewing the voice as a sensory, physical extension rather than a rational tool, she challenges power dynamics in its controlled use. Her work spans performance, sound, video, sewing, installation, photography, and text, showcased at institutions like Centre Pompidou, Triennale Milano, Tanzquartier Wien, Kunsthalle Zurich, and the 60th Venice Art Biennial. Lara also curates the Lausanne Les Urbaines festival.
​​Alice Visentin, born in Castellamonte, Turin, is an artist. She graduated from the Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti in 2018. She co-founded Bagni D’Aria, a self-training school for thought and action. Her solo exhibitions include Amanti Fabula (2024) at Sundy and Almanac, London, Everyday Mystery at Gió Marconi Gallery, Milan, and The Morning Tide of Moods at Lateral Roma (2023). She has participated in group shows like Espressioni con Frazioni at Castello di Rivoli (2022) and Domani, Qui, Oggi at Palazzo delle Esposizioni (2020). Alice received fellowships from the American Academy in Rome (2023) and Gasworks, London (2024), and a scholarship from the 13th Italian Council competition.
TZAZIKY & CRACK (TOMBOYS DON’T CRY) — born on the slopes of Mount Sappho, in the bay of Skala Eressos, is a project by visual artist Dafne Boggeri (Milan) that takes its ideal form from the soundscape of a Martian ballroom, featuring mutant sounds and lysergic reverberations