The Orestiadi Foundation
The Orestiadi Foundation is a cultural institute located at the Baglio
Di Stefano in Gibellina. The Foundation is none government and not
for profit organization. It was founded in 1992 by a generous donation
from the Corrao Collection and has since expanded by many other donations.
The Foundation continues the cultural activities that had begun with
the reconstruction of a new Gibellina following the devastating earthquake
of 1968 that destroyed the original township. In the
reconstruction leading Italian artists were called to contribute their
art to the new township. As a result the New Gibellina became
a home and a cultural center of many extraordinary works of art.
The Foundation is engaged in sponsoring and creating cultural events
in the fields of theatre, music, poetry and exhibitions, as well as
in publication and academic conferences. The foundation provides
training activities with the aim of promoting public appreciation of
the arts and territory of the Southern Mediterranean regions.
The museum "Trame del Mediterraneo"
The Museum "Trame del Mediterraneo" (Museum of Mediterranean
Crafts) located in Baglio Di Stefano was established and opened to
the public in 1996. The Museum's collection comprises of textiles,
jewelry, ceramics, paintings, archeological artifacts, and sculpture.
It also features current art in the form of installation and temporary
exhibitions. The permanent collection exhibits originate from different
regions of the Mediterranean and from different historical periods.
Despite the diversity in the religion  and culture of their countries
of origin, the collection forms a testimony to the common roots shared
by the cultures of the Mediterranean basin.
The Museum is affiliated with
the Dar Bach Hamba Tunisia, a museum located in an ancient building
in the Medina at the center of town whose permanent collection
is complementary to the Museum delle Trame del Mediterraneo.
The Granary
The adjacent Granary, an imposing building that suggests communion
between man and nature in the dimension of a medieval fiefdom, houses
Contemporary Art. It exhibits works that were donated by artists
over a period of years resulting from their close association with
local workshops and the local environment.
Cultural Events and Activities
Festival
The Orestiadi Foundation holds annually the “Orestiadi di Gibellina",
a festival that features theatre performances, poetry reading, music
and visual arts.
The festival attracts artists, musicians, actors, directors and
poets both local and from all around the world. The theatre and
musical performances are held at the Baglio Di Stefano as well
as at the foot of the giant Cretto created by the Italian artist
Alberto Burri that covers all of the area of old Gibellina that
was destroyed by the 1968 earthquake. The visual art exhibition
attracts both established and emerging your artists and is held
in the ateliers of the Palazzo Baglio. The Poetry Festival spotlights
on the most noble expression in verse from the Italian tradition
and from other nations together with the ancient tradition
of poetry in dialect and the tradition of the street poet.
This festival is also held at the same time in Palermo at the Palazzo
della Cuba, a unique historical building dating back to the 12th
Century, whose architecture combines both Norman and Islamic
features. Travelling Exhibition
Since 2000, the Orestiadi Foundation has created a travelling exhibition
that emphasizes the bonds of culture of the Mediterranean countries
and the influence Islam had and left on the Sicilian culture from
the period of the Arabian Conquest. This exhibition is sponsored
by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and by Sicilian Regional
Councils. The exhibition was inaugurated at Palazzo Bach Hamba
in Tunis and has since travelled to Cairo (Egypt), Amman (Jordan),
and is continuing to Damascus (Syria), Teheran (Iran) and Dubai
before returning to Palermo.
The Orestiadi Foundation has participated at the Venice Biennale
and displayed its works at the Beaubourg Museum in Paris and held
exhibitions in New York, London, Basle, Algiers, Castel del Monte,
Matera and Forlì. |
