Vincenzo Vela Museum celebrates the bicentennial of the Ticino artist's birth

On the occasion of the bicentenary of the birth of sculptor Vincenzo V ela (Ligornetto, 1820 - Mendrisio, 1891), the Vincenzo Vela Museum had planned many initiatives, postponed until next fall due to the health emergency: a monographic exhibition and a series of editorial, cultural projects and interdisciplinary events to illustrate the figure and personality of the Ticino artist.

On his birthday, Sunday, May 3, the artist will be celebrated with numerous gifts available to all. It will be possible to purchase the updated edition, enriched in content and in its iconographic apparatus, of the art-historical guide of the Society for Art History in Switzerland (SSAS) edited by Marc-Joachim Wasmer (now in e-book format available in Italian, German and French, and purchasable at https://shop.gsk.ch/it at a cost of CHF 10; soon to be available in paper format as well).

Thanks to an unprecedented collaboration with RSI - Radiotelevisione della Svizzera italiana, a number of interesting films and documentaries will be available on the figure of the artist or with clear references to the Risorgimento, a historical period that saw Vincenzo Vela as a protagonist of the cultural and political scene. In addition, at 9:25 a.m. on RSI LA1 for the program Portrait, the documentary by Tiziano Gamboni and Mirto Storni, entitled Vincenzo Vela. Art and Myth: a work made in 1985 that recounts, thanks to rare archival materials, the life and art of Vela.

On the Play RSI platform(www.rsi.ch/play/) it will be possible to see three art films that delve into certain aspects of the artist’s biography, including The Free Fall of Angels. Europe as experienced by a Ticinese, filmed by Linda Della Casa on the occasion of the renovation of the Vincenzo Vela Museum in 2001.
Also among the documentaries is Vincenzo Vela. The Sculptor of Freedom, made 120 years after the artist’s death in 2011 by director and composer Luigi Giuliano Ceccarelli. Also from 2011 is the film W Verdi, Giuseppe! How and Why Opera Made Italy, Perhaps..., directed by Davide Livermore and Roberta Pedrini, filmed partly in the museum’s interiors.

And again, the Bellinzona Cantonal Library will provide a bibliographic selection of volumes and other documents dedicated to the Ligornetto sculptor.

A musical tribute to Vincenzo Vela will also be held, in the presence of Marco Berti (tenor), Annika Rast (flute), Milo Ferrazzini (cello), Daniel Moos (piano), and Barbara Ciannamea (violin), who have responded to the appeal of Claude Hauri, cellist and tireless animator of the association Musica nel Mendrisiotto: a number of music videos focusing on pieces by composers coeval with Vincenzo Vela will be made in the museum rooms, commented by the museum director, Gianna A. Mina. Every Sunday in May it will be possible to listen to and follow the music videos on social media and on the museum’s website.

Ahead of the official opening, scheduled for October 10, of the monographic exhibition Vincenzo Vela (1820-1891). Poetry of the Real, which is proposed as a compelling thematic itinerary that will lead visitors to discover Vela’s work and his workshop as a sculptor, the Museum’s management and team wish a “Happy Birthday” to Vincenzo Vela.

Pictured is a scene from The Free Fall of Angels. Europe Experienced by a Ticinese, one of the art films that delves into Vincenzo Vela’s biography. Ph.Credit Franco Cattaneo

Vincenzo Vela Museum celebrates the bicentennial of the Ticino artist's birth

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