From October 10 to 12, Parma will host the second edition of FRAGILE, the Festival of Sustainable Arts and Disciplines, organized by Santeria S.p.A. The unique event will transform the city into a national workshop dedicated to sustainability, involving citizens, businesses, institutions and professionals in an open and participatory discussion. The event will take place in six locations distributed in the city center, Colonne 28, Casa della Musica, Sala Show Cooking, Italia Veloce and Borgo Goldoni, all easily reachable on foot or by bicycle in less than ten minutes, offering a model of soft mobility consistent with the themes of the festival.
FRAGILE is configured as a diffuse laboratory of ideas, practices and visions that combines talks, musical performances, gastronomic experiences and moments of active participation, with the aim of exploring fragility as a key to understanding change. The program includes sixteen talks and conversations, ten concerts, two cooking shows, an urban bicycle ride, two yoga classes, a collective clean up, five tastings, and an unprecedented exhibition. The event is complemented by a podcast, which will collect all talks and cooking shows on streaming platforms, expanding the dissemination of content outside the physical event.
“For us, Fragile Festival is an exceptional event of civic participation that is based on dialogue, in-depth analysis and the search for solutions addressing the public of today and tomorrow,” says Andrea Pontiroli, CEO & Management of Santeria S.p.a. "The challenge is to involve and stimulate citizenship, the productive fabric and institutions through an intense and diversified program, capable of weaving music, art, culture and sustainability into a single collective narrative."
The opening of the festival is set for Thursday, Oct. 9, with the opening of Armin Linke ’s photography exhibition at Colonne 28, curated by BDC - Bonanni Del Rio Catalog. The exhibition, titled Preemptions, will remain on view until Dec. 21 and brings together images from the artist’s archive, including architecture, infrastructure, landscapes and social contexts.
“The paradox is that photography in the classical sense is not able to narrate complexity, and therefore must be questioned, pressed, interrogated,” Armin Linke argues. “In what way? By flanking photographic images with other and different forms of representation and creating sequences in which each object-image enters into symbolic resonance with the others.”
The soundtrack for the event will be provided by Duo Storto. Linke, born in Milan in 1966, has developed work that questions photographic and film technologies and their role in socio-political structures, collaborating with creatives, researchers and scientists. His exhibitions have ranged internationally, from the Centre Pompidou in Paris to MAST in Bologna to Berlin and Madrid.
On Friday, Oct. 10, the festival gets into full swing with a series of talks and musical moments distributed among the different locations. At Columns 28 Alessandro Tommasi, founder of FutureProofSociety, will discuss the role of businesses in promoting positive change together with journalist Benny Mirko Procopio. In a special talk related to music, Vasco Brondi will dialogue with Nur Al Habash. Italia Veloce will host two talks organized by Scintille Book Club: the first with Matteo Saudino, professor and youtuber, together with Tifany Bernuzzi, anthropologist; the second with Giulia Blasi in conversation with Caterina Bonetti. At the House of Music, the first talk will address the impact of shopping on the planet with Silvia Stella Osella and Caterina Grieco, interviewed by Ilaria Chiavacci, while the second will be led by environmental popularizer and stand-up comedian Fill Pill with Letizia Triglione. The day will end with concerts by Anna Carol at Italia Veloce, Ginevra and Galine at Colonne 28, and Giulia Mei at Casa della Musica.
On Saturday, Oct. 11, also at Colonne 28, there will be a talk with Laura Lusuardi, fashion coordinator of Max Mara, and Marco Rambaldi, independent designer, in dialogue with Carolina Sardelli. Italia Veloce will host several talks: Anna Vinci and Carlotta Magistro will talk about sustainability and the future of retirement planning, Serena Mazzini will discuss the dark side of social networks with Carlotta Sisti, and Martina Benedetti will address issues of popular science with Luigi Mastrodonato. At the House of Music Simone Fontana and Francesca Capoccia will analyze misinformation related to the climate crisis, followed by a debate on the right to housing with Michele Guerra, mayor of Parma, and Giovanni Zagni. The musical evening will feature live performances by Coca Puma and Jiný Metro at Colonne 28, Costanza Principe on piano at Casa della Musica and Bais at Italia Veloce.
On Sunday, Oct. 12, Colonne 28 will host a screening of the documentary Shark Preyed, with Marco Spinelli interviewed by Luca Genova. Andrea Batilla will talk with Giuliana Matarrese about fashion and sustainability, while Italia Veloce will host Antonio Pascale in conversation with Erica Vailati and Chiara Bertogalli, president of Legambiente, will interview Luca Sommi about the manifesto in defense of animals. The day will conclude with concerts by faccianuvola, Daria Huber and Martim Seabra, followed by DJ sets by Emma Iovino and Carlotta Sisti.
FRAGILE also includes experiential activities such as yoga sessions with Cristina Bosi on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and an urban bike ride on Saturday led by Roberta Bovaia along the Parma and Baganza streams. A collective clean up of Ducale Park in collaboration with Legambiente is also planned for Saturday 11. Borgo Goldoni will be the center of gastronomic tastings: cured meats and wines with Parma Bio Valley on Friday 10, herbal teas and honey on Saturday 11, and on Sunday Caseificio Il Battistero and Small Giants will offer the proteins of the future. Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m. there will be cooking shows on the food of the future with Di Pazza and The Bluebird Kitchen, organized together with Tuorlo Magazine.
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| Art and sustainability in Parma: FRAGILE 2025 with Armin Linke's exhibition |
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