Pippa Bacca
International Day of the Elimination of Violence against Women
November 25 was designated by the United Nations in 1999 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, in memory of the Mirabal sisters, who fought against the dictatorship in the Dominican Republic and were imprisoned and tortured for their activism. For more than twenty years, this international day has aimed to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls worldwide, calling for global action to raise awareness and support, and to create opportunities for discussion about challenges and possible solutions.
Through its commitment to communicating and promoting contemporary artistic heritage between France and Italy, CONTEMPORALIS supports this initiative through two events organized with the valuable support of the Italian Cultural Institute in Paris, presenting the work of Pippa Bacca – pseudonym of Giuseppina Pasqualino di Marineo – an Italian artist whose story has deeply influenced the imagination of many musicians, writers, and visual artists fascinated by the message conveyed through her project Brides on Tour.
22/11: Screening of the documentary – Sono innamorato di Pippa Bacca
In anticipation of the International Day against Violence against Women, CONTEMPORALIS organized, in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute in Paris, an evening screening of the documentary Sono innamorato di Pippa Bacca, directed by Simone Manetti. The film retraces, stage by stage, the poetic and final project of Pippa Bacca, Brides on Tour: a performance that departed from Milan with her friend Silvia Moro on March 8, 2008, bearing witness to hope and trust between human beings. The project took the form of a hitchhiking journey in which the artist, dressed as a bride, set out to cross eleven countries—recently marked by conflict—before eventually reaching Jerusalem. At each stop, she washed the feet of midwives as a sign of gratitude toward those who bring life into the world. Pippa Bacca would never reach her final destination: she was raped and murdered shortly after Istanbul. The journey juxtaposed a positive symbol of joy, the wedding dress, with the devastation caused by wars, whose traces remain deeply visible in the countries she crossed. Drawing directly from the original footage filmed by the two artists and returning with his camera to the places they traveled through, the director leads the viewer to relive and identify with this journey.
24/11: Vernissage – Pippa Bacca: Milan – Jerusalem – Paris
CONTEMPORALIS inaugurated the exhibition Pippa Bacca: Milan – Jerusalem – Paris at its venue, curated by Emma Pasqualino di Marineo. Through a selection of the artist’s works, the exhibition offered an opportunity to discover Pippa Bacca’s practice. In the words of the curator:
“Although Pippa’s journey ended because of an act of violence, this series of works demonstrates that trust in others should not diminish. The artist’s final encounter was certainly unfortunate, but the many people she met throughout her life remain a valid testimony to the positive power of meeting the other.”