Lucca, starts the 9th edition of Cartasia, the biennial paper art exhibition

This summer Lucca returns as the world capital of paper art, architecture and design. From July 31 to Sept. 25, 2022, in fact, the Tuscan city will host the 11th edition of Lucca Biennale Cartasia (Lubica), the biennial of art on paper, which presents a rich program of exhibitions, performances, workshops, meetings and much more. The event, promoted by 9 Muse social enterprise, the Region of Tuscany, the City of Lucca, the Province of Lucca and the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca, takes place in the squares and streets of the historic center of the Tuscan city, as well as in the historic venue of Palazzo Ducale and in the new locations of Villa Bottini and the Cannoniera of the executioner’s house. The blank page is the theme chosen for Cartasia 2022, an invitation to the visitor to imagine a different future, a different perspective, a better world.

The mosaic of the paper biennial consists of 9 sections, coordinated by artistic director Emiliano Galigani: Outdoor, Indoor, Fashion, Performance, Architecture/Design, Guest Country, Edu, Network days, Lubica off . The first piece of the mosaic, Outdoor, is the exhibition spread throughout the center of Lucca with installations and large-scale sculptures by 6 Italian and international artists - Daniele Cornacchia (Italy), Eu Tazé (Peru), Kazuya Katagiri (Japan), Papier Atelier (Turkey), Sebastian Blomqvist (Sweden), Zofia Chamera (USA) - made during a month-long residency held at the Polo Fiere in Lucca, joined by Olivier Bertrand (France), an artist with solid paper art experience. During this period, students were also offered the opportunity to engage with artists in working with the material paper and cardboard: a unique experience for these youngsters who find themselves learning the craft in the field and acquiring skills alongside the world’s greatest paper artists.

Adding to the exhibition circuit is the Indoor section, which offers a series of reviews, curated by Giacomo Pecchia: the exhibition is housed in the prestigious Palazzo Ducale in Lucca and one can admire creations of sculpture, engraving, drawing, origami, and video art, all with paper as the protagonist.

Two important exhibitions are heldat Villa Bottini, a new exhibition location. The Fashion section, with the creations of designers and fashion ateliers, sensitive to the creation of paper models. In recent years, in fact, some fashion houses have been using and experimenting with this material to make accessories, such as bags and jewelry, and even dresses, some of which will be worn by models who will parade through the streets of downtown Lucca. Also hosted on the ground floor is the Lubica 2022 Host Nation Focus. After China and Japan, it is Germany’s turn. In it, it is told-through the hosted artists-how paper is also experienced in Germany as a fundamental media.

Particular attention within the 2022 edition of Cartasia is paid to the theme of sustainability, which has always been one of the values the Biennial aims to promote and which is becoming increasingly urgent. The new venue of the Executioner’s House Cannon House is one of the stages that hosts a number ofperformance art actions created by international authors who use the medium of paper as a tool to stimulate, denounce, criticize and narrate.

In recent years, the use of paper and cardboard has become increasingly popular as a construction material. Lubica has in this sense developed a section where innovative architecture and design projects are presented that document the versatility of paper in this area of research.

Lubica also stands as a place for research and development for new uses of paper. In fact, at the end of the event, a publication documenting what has been experimented to date at the architectural level will be available free of charge from the Lubica website. And again, in the first week of September, there will be a day, in collaboration with the Order of Architects and Landscape Architects of Lucca, dedicated toArchitecture in Paper, aimed at the order of architects, designers, architects, students and professors of the faculties of architecture and professionals in the field, to present and discuss and deepen the use of this material.

Another well-established Lubica event is Network Days (Ne.d), a time for discussion-scheduled for Saturday, July 30-among artists, curators, designers and architects, university professors, and representatives of companies, who will discuss topics such as education, innovation, sustainability, and paper industry culture.

Lubica also does not forget the value of education. During the Biennial, the EDU section offers some educational activities such as workshops for children, teens, families, and workshops for adults, on the theme of recycling and papermaking, stimulating people to learn about art as a means to tell about themselves. Finally, as a tribute to the plain of Lucca, Europe’s most important industrial paper district, the LUBICA OFF circuit will spread the paper works among the stores in the center, thus creating the Paper Art District.

“The history of Lubica began in 2004,” says Federica Moretti, Lubica director, "and it could only start in Lucca, which represents the most important industrial paper district in Europe. In the ten previous editions, Lubica has been an added value to the entire sector for its willingness to involve the universe of art, architecture and contemporary design. Lubica has thus made people discover how paper is not only an indispensable tool for everyday life, but also an eclectic material that stimulates creative people to express themselves in ways of great interest and fascination."

Lucca, starts the 9th edition of Cartasia, the biennial paper art exhibition

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