Twenty-nine days is the time the moon takes to become full, a phenomenon that ancient cultures believed unleashed the highest potential of cosmic energy, influencing the reactions of nature and living beings. The full moon therefore marks the peak of physical, mental, and spiritual vigor, each time sparking an awakening—like that of those who resist the harshness of society, cultural decay, economic crisis, environmental exploitation, or, more simply, the difficulties of everyday life.

The ventinovegiorni project focuses precisely on the relationship between the awakening of nature’s energy and this human impulse. The dates of the full moon, used as a calendar, become a structural element of the program—an auspicious moment and the “triggering cause” for expressions of resistance, whether direct or evocative.

The artists’ works are not hosted in a traditional exhibition space, but in a workplace—open, yet in an area once occupied by galleries. The place itself already expresses a facet of resistance: that of art and of those who continue to believe in culture.

In a period of profound crisis, not only economic, following reflections on the need to rethink the organization of the financial system and social structures, alongside theoretical reconsiderations of the role of States in international relations, and amid countless appeals to individual sacrifice, it becomes necessary to look at the many facets of instinctive or deliberate attitudes taken by individuals (here understood as human beings and citizens) in response to today’s challenges.

While we cannot—and do not wish to—forget the many who, in recent years, have taken their own lives in despair, on this occasion we choose to look toward the alternative of hope. The only other possibility is therefore resistance. Resistance understood as opposition, but also affirmation; as denunciation and daily struggle, but also as a proactive act, a claim, a persistence in doing—despite everything.

Becoming aware of living in a world whose socio-economic foundations must be reconsidered unleashes a mixture of anger and disillusionment—brought on by the collapse of life’s cornerstones (fundamental rights and social systems on one side, ferocious capitalism on the other)—that, while driving toward darkness, paradoxically erupts as a flash of determination, akin to an instinct for survival.

The ventinovegiorni program aims to propose an interpretation of contemporary resistance in broad terms, encompassing not only explicit political declarations but also more intimate, introspective, and evocative dimensions. In this context, the gaze upon the many facets of life unfolds widely, at times overtly curatorial, at times metaphorical.

From 30 September 2012 onward, every twenty-nine days, the work of an artist will be presented in the Menexa space, while simultaneously developing online through additional visual or textual contributions.

The objective of ventinovegiorni is to create a micro-environment for reflection on the social and emotional condition of contemporary life through transversal perspectives.

Federica La Paglia,
curator of ventinovegiorni (of resistance)

Regarding attachment to life, see Giuseppe Ungaretti’s Veglia. Cima Quattro il 23 dicembre 1915. In the trenches during World War I, beside the mutilated body of a fellow soldier on a full-moon night, the poet expresses his poignant resistance to death.