Ten artists, two countries and one evocative theme: it all adds up to an extraordinary art exhibit that will go on display this September in Perugia, Italy.
Known as the Migration Project, the international exhibition brings together a mix of exceptional talent, hard work and artistic vision. The exhibit showcases ten artists from Italy and the US who will display their work at the Civic Museum in Perugia.
The juried-art project, announced last year, invited artists in Seattle and Perugia to create work based on their artistic interpretation of the concept of migration. Last month, five US artists were selected to participate: Humaira Abid, Iole Alessandrini, Mary Coss, Paul Goldstein and Malayka Gormally. The five artists from Perugia are: Paolo Lattaioli, Sandford & Gosti, Tonina Cecchetti, Vilma Lok and Kim Hee Jin.
In September, the Seattle artists will travel to Italy where their work will be shown alongside that of the five Perugini artists; the exhibit will be curated by Antonio Carlo Ponti. The Seattle contingent will hold a preview exhibit locally before heading to Italy, details to be announced.
Sponsoring organizations for the Migration Project are the Seattle-Perugia Sister City Association and its cohort, the Perugia-Seattle Sister City Association, City of Perugia, and the Palazzo della Penna Museum. The sister city organizations have been raising funds to cover the $20,000 needed for shipping, travel and installation. About 80% has been secured to date.
Here is a brief look at five of the artists selected for the Migration Project. Others will be spotlighted in a future issue.
Mary Coss is a visual artist whose haunting projects explore issues of identity, memory and social justice. Born in Detroit, Mich., she received an MFA from Syracuse University before moving to the Pacific Northwest. Her public art installations are in public housing projects, parks and schools. One of her recent projects was the critically acclaimed Layers of the Hijab, a three-year social engagement project funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the city of Seattle. Another award-winning project focused on women suffrage.
Malayka Gormally is a figurative painter, curator and commission portrait artist. Raised in Berkeley, Calif., Gormally earned a BA from The Evergreen State College. Her earlier works were based on racial justice and immigration themes. “I’m interested in exploring connection and conflict between people of disparate races, generations and political beliefs,” she said. “I’m also interested in the immigrant experience. I’m currently painting ink and watercolor portraits of immigrant and women refugees affiliated with the Ethiopian Center of Seattle and the Tukwila office of the International Rescue Committee.”
Seattle-based artist Humaira Abid, born in Pakistan, explores the idea of relationships and their after-effects. Some of her work is humorous, some ironical, but her themes are always timeless. She carves and constructs in wood, combining that material with different media, blending the discipline of traditional Mughal miniature painting with sculpture in wood. Her first solo show, Searching for Home, was a look at the worldwide refugee situation. It was organized and staged by the Bellevue Arts Museum and also appeared at the Center for Art in Wood in Philadelphia.
On the other side of the Atlantic, one of the Italian artists selected for the Migration Project is well-known architect and urban planner Paolo Lattaioli. Lattaioli uses detailed hand drawings to represent the complexity of urban locations. He has worked on projects and studies for many Italian cities, including Perugia, Rome, Todi, Agrigento, Assisi and Milan, as well as projects in Sarajevo and Washington DC. Lattaioli received his training from La Sapienza University in Rome and currently lives in Perugia.
The team of Sandford and Gosti is also representing Italy for the Migration Project. Jodi Sandford and Valter Gosti combine their interests in color and architecture to create their distinctive artistic expression. A couple both in life and in art — Sandford is from San Jose and Gosti from Perugia – the duo has worked as a team since 1976. Their artistic form ranges from installation to performance to digital photography and video. The team has exhibited in Argentina, Australia, Croatia, Cyprus, England, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Scotland, Spain and the US.
The Migration Project will be on display in the civic museum of Perugia, which is located in the Palazzo della Penna, in the heart of the city. Famous for its architecture and historic connection to the vibrant center of Perugia, the palazzo was once the home of Ascanio della Penna, a 17th century nobleman who was passionate about collecting fine art. His hobby was made infinitely easier by his years of service to the Grand Duke of Tuscany.
The building was constructed on top of the ruins of a Roman amphitheater and ancient road, discovered during restoration work. The southern side of the foundation incorporates part of the medieval city wall, sections of which can be seen in the interior hallways. Some of the museum’s galleries are adorned with stunning frescoed ceilings that display both mythological and pastoral Umbrian themes. The permanent collection includes works by the futurist painter and Umbrian artist Gerardo Dottori.
The Migration Project is just one of the many cultural and education projects undertaken by the Seattle-Perugia Sister City Association, one of Seattle’s 21 official sister cities. The sister city program was founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to increase friendship and understanding between pairs of cities in different corners of the world.
To learn more about the Migration Project: https://seattle-perugia.org/migration-project/
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