L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 2016 www.italoamericano.org 8 M ilan and San Francisco, here we go again! Many times, on this newspa- per, we have talked about the legacy between the Italian and the American cities and the way artists, intellectuals, and other professionals tried to build a connection between the two con- texts , cons idered s omehow unique and similar at the same time. This was also the case for Italian A rt H is torian and M us eum D irector, M arina Pugliese, who found herself immersed in a new, fascinating reality after she left Milan one year ago. Today, Marina's new challenge is represented by the "Mapping-The-City" Project, a multi-level collaborative project that tries to promote the dia- logue between Italian and Bay Area artists, and to showcase the products of their artis tic exchanges outside of the Italian Cultural Institute with the final aim of engaging other communi- ties in the city. Marina, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your job? I am an Art Historian and I focus mainly on techniques and conservation. For 15 years I have worked for public muse- ums in Milan and had a chance to get involved, as curator, in the opening of the M us eo del N ovecento, for w hich I w as named Director in December 2010 when the Museum actually opened its doors. The Museum has the most important collec- tion of Italian art from the 20th century. M ilan has been the Capital of Italian art at least until the '70s and it's still the place where you can find the most rel- evant masterpieces. The Museo del Novecento, also thanks to its location in the popular Piazza Duomo, had a great success and, also for this reason, I was asked to direct the Galleria d'Arte Moderna and to get involved in a new project for the Museo delle Culture (M us eum of Cultures) that opened in March 2015. How did the opportunity to move to San Francisco come to life? M y hus band is a w ell- know n graphic des igner. In Italy, he worked for a range of magazines , among w hich Capital, Sport Week, Rolling Stone, and Wired Italia. Thanks to Wired Italia, he won some international awards and two years ago he was asked to move to San Francisco to join Wired US, where he works as Deputy SERENA PERFETTO SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY rm rm C C 6 y s om ty se om ity T o m d al un al er atio r t o m w h ncs com an ww an d a Colonia i li m de e he C y ca i ta d ion ica d d g l. .italiancs.com 9413 6 www 5 6423 • nci o, CA 9 362 • 415 n F an Francisco, CA 9413 G S 67 Stree S 78 678 Green S et C C a . oh F ohn F F F. 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You are artistically based in Milan. Is there anything that remin d s you of th e I talian tow n w h ile h ere in S an Francisco? We live in Orinda, a small town in the Contra Costa close to some reservoirs. The landscape, made of hills sur- rounded by trees and woods, reminds me of Tuscany, on the other hand, the place where we live recalls the memory of the Tigullio Gulf, close to Genoa. Now I understand why so many Italian migrants fell in love with California! Your project "Mapping The City" is a very structured one, in volvin g th e I I C b u t als o oth er cu ltu ral in s titu tion s . Could you tell us more? I start- ed from the idea of w orking together with other institutions in the Bay Area. That's why my project focuses on the impor- tance of both contest and collab- oration. The firs t exhibit, Fragile, has been done together with the Chinese Culture Center, the second one, High Up, is the result of a collaboration among graphic designers from Milan and the Bay Area, as well as the California College of the Art where I teach. The next one, Neon Afterwords, is organized together w ith the K adis t Foundation. It's a personal exhi- bition by Fiamma Montezemolo, an Italian artist who has been liv- ing in San Francisco for a long time. A few months ago, L'Italo- Americano had an interview with Marta Dell'Angelo on her exhibition "Fragile". Why was it so important to have it as part of the Mapping The City Project? Marta Dell'Angelo is a great artist with whom I had worked before at the Museo del Novecento. She is an opened and curios pers on, that's w hy I thought she was the right one for such a project. She worked with S ummer M ei Ling Lee for a month and together they pro- duced an emotional exhibition and an amazing performance that we may take to Switzerland in the future. Is Mapping The City help- ing covering any area/topic or give any artistic experience that - you believe - has not been covered yet? This is what we are trying to do. I am glad I was given such a freedom, the one to bring up innovation by Italian Cultural Ins titute's D irector, P aolo Barlera. This is my third inter- view on the topic, there must be some interest around it! Will you con s id er S an Francisco as an artistic hub for any future project? What flatters me the most since I arrived here is the cultural diversity. In Milan, while I was working on an important collec- tion at the Museo delle Culture, I developed s ome interes t for some intercultural topics and the connections between art and anthropology. I find the Chinese community very active and my favorite museum in town is nev- ertheless the Asian Art Museum. I find an energy and an open mindednes s that I cons ider unique. I love learning new things and I am open to work in the future on different kind of projects. Marina Pugliese is Museum Director and Art Historian originally from Genoa High Up Is Part of the Project directed by Marina Pugliese

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