f a n Navigli Acqua Festival

AGENDA

Navigli Lombardi

Expo 2015

Water

The Festival

The Cube and other ideas

The Darsena dock, the project

The Navigli

Navigli Lombardi Navigli Lombardi is the company in the Regional System responsible for promotion and heritage and tourism initiatives for the Navigli System, a network of five historic canals dating back to the 12th century. The Company operates on behalf of its Members (the Regional, Provincial and Municipal Authorities, Chambers of Commerce), in order to: •create services for the development of tourism in the area; •plan and carry out development projects for the area through public-private partnerships in a teamwork context;

•plan and organise events and occasions for sport, leisure, art, design, music, performances also obtaining funding from European, state and regional bodies.

Navigli Lombardi

The Darsena dock project

The Darsena dock project

Navigli Lombardi works alongside and supports the Milan Municipal Authority in the development and execution of the recovery project for the Milan Darsena dock in view of EXPO 2015. When work is completed (end of 2014), the city will have its old commercial dock back, with spaces devoted to a market, restaurants, bars, shops and services and a new harbour where tourists can enjoy the canals on the water or strolling along boardwalks. In the heart of Milan, the outsideEXPO 2015.

Expo 2015

Expo 2015

108 paesi partecipanti, 9 aree tematiche , spazi riservati alla società civile

Water incubator of life

A primordial element which throughout its cycle of transformation is an essential condition for life. Water forms and transforms matter, modelling it, and renews itself over time as it changes state. A force nature and natural resource in a thriving and diversified environment which needs it as food, to grow and in order to evolve. Man finds, tames, and harnesses water to regenerate himself and in turn to give new shape to matter, life.

Water

The Navigli

Navigli, vectors of material, social and spiritual progress Milan arose in the centre of the Po Valley and had no access to water. But the ingenuity of 12th century engineers drew water from the Ticino and Adda rivers, channelling it into a complex system of waterways completed in the 19th century which comprises the five canals of Lombardy. The water flowing through these canals was the life blood of the countryside, irrigating, flooding. It fed, washed and provided for the basic necessities of the peoples of many areas. It generated energy for mills and later, for factories, and even later, for hydroelectric stations. It created links between individuals and towns, stimulating tangible and intangible exchange with the transport of goods and people, fostering the development of cultures and traditions... Over the centuries the canals have spurred progress among the local populations and given shape to the works of man.

The Festival Everyone involved in making the most of the area will be meeting up on the Navigli for a festival to celebrate the historic Milanese canals and the element of which they are made: water. FAN - Navigli Acqua Festival is a series of events and initiatives on the Navigli, where the creativity and productivity of the area, fed by the water, translates into services, leisure amenities, culture, entertainment. The PROJECT is developed over 3 years starting in 2013 and reaching a climax in May 2015, to coincide with the opening of the World Fair. 2013 will be a year of preparation and will feature a series of micro events on the Navigli and around the city (from 5 to 21 April 2013). 2014 is “year zero” with a calendar of events on in Milan and on the Navigli focusing on the local specialities in Milan and Lombardy in terms of quality produce, innovation and cultural traditions (April – May 2014).

The Festival 2013 The 2013 edition will take place from 5 April 2013 to 21 April 2013 (salon from 9 to 14) The festival will feature two main events: •Art parade: an open air exhibition in the inner circle of the city, along the marble route, in order to promote FAN. In order to promote the exhibition, it has been decided to use a symbol, a sort of marker which immediately brings to mind water and therefore the Navigli. The element chosen for the 2013 edition is a boat (e.g. an origami boat), with a meaning that is simple and immediate as well as evocative and rich in emotional connotations. The objective is to “invade” the city with boats which will be represented by means of simple gadgets or flyers but also through actual art installations.

•Calendar of events, activities and performances along the Navigli during the period of reference. The Navigli will be transformed into a workshop of ideas and initiatives which will bring together all kinds of different forms of creative expression under a single umbrella.

The Festival 2013 The 2013 edition of “FAN”, which is intended to be an experiment to demonstrate the potential of the Navigli System and the Darsena dock as its hub, and will feature a series of micro events (exhibitions, workshops, installations and artistic performances) in collaboration with a number of subjects operating in the arts and academia (NABA, Politecnico, Columbia University, Cracking Art Group and other professional artists).

As far as the logistics are concerned, floating structures will be constructed which, together with courtyards and some of the most picturesque locations along the Navigli will host the various events.

The aim is to create an art park, restoring vitality and stimulus to an area which is a symbol of the city, improving the quality of life of the residents as well as the level of services on offer.

The Festival 2013 ART PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP “Navigli Station: …from another side” In collaboration with NABA, organised by Stefano Boccalini 15 selected students will undertake a voyage along the Navigli and use photography to produce unique interpretations of the water as it is filtered through the poetic sensibility of these young artists. The images will be collected and exhibited in a show during the festival. Apart from displaying the photos, the exhibition will feature a multimedia show and corollary events such as seminars and presentations/projections in the presence of the students and teachers who carried out the project.

The Festival 2013 NAVIGLI STATION … from another side The project, organised by Stefano Boccalini, an artist and teacher at NABA, aims to investigate the area of the Lombardy Navigli canal system. Together with his students in the Public Art course and the Master in Landscape Design, Boccalini will try to use the publication of a “tourist guide” in order to present an image of the navigli and its area that goes beyond the conventional stereotypes. The experience of the young artists taking part in the project will be used to highlight certain aspects of the landscape starting with the waterways and the surrounding places. The landscape, in this case, will be understood as a physical place, but also as an anthropological place. This means that besides looking at the architecture and natural landscape, the area will also be considered from the point of view of those who inhabit it and the consequent social context. Throughout the festival an exhibition will be organised with some of the materials produced during the workshop. At the same time, there will be collateral events which generate interaction with the public and promote the canals and surrounding areas.

The Festival 2013 Architecture and Design WORKSHOP “(Un) Taming The Navigli” Liberating the hidden potentialities of the canals’ system Spring 2013 Workshop

8 April – 13 April 2013 (in parallel with the Furniture Salon) In collaboration with: •Frederic Levrat - Columbia University GSAPP, New York; •Oliviero Godi – Polytechnic of Milan, Department of Architecture. 24 selected students will work for 6 days in a floating workshop specially built on the Navigli.

The Festival 2013

(UN)TAMING THE NAVIGLI Theme: Looking at the Navigli as a system stretching from the upper Ticino and Adda rivers, entering Milano to arrive in Pavia. Re-enabling the perception of the Navigli as a place for events, that can only take place thanks of its body of water. Body of water - shared space for the community. Extension of the perception through the physical extensions pedestrian, boat, bicycle. Extension of the perception through the digital realm.

Lectures: Every evening a lecture will be held at the Greentainer Lounge in relation to the theme of the workshop, with participants from Italy and abroad. The project’s sites are located along the Navigli. The workshop will attempt to reconcile the diverse layers of: the build environment, the waterways and the digital environment, with the design of public spaces, spaces for events, performances and leisure on and around the Navigli. Unexpected encounters will be explored through the prism of these multi dimensional layers, evaluating their impact on the design of a contemporary, yet unusual,public space.

The Festival 2013 CRACKING ART GROUP Frogs invasion In collaboration with Cracking Art Group. Thousands of frogs will invade the Navigli and the Darsena dock for the duration of the festival. Performances will also be organised to set the frogs floating down the Navigli. Once the festival is over, the frogs will be put on sale and the money raised will go towards the restoration of a heritage site along the Navigli selected in collaboration with FAI, the Italian National Trust.

The Festival 2013 CONTAINER LOUNGE – Greentainer In collaboration with Oliviero Godi & Dorit Mizrahi Exposure Architects. During the days of the festival a floating container will be positioned along the Navigli. A location 60mq (12x5m) comprising a closed space with glass walls (2,45 x 12m) for small-scale events (exhibitions, concerts, readings, creative workshops), as well as workshops and relaxation areas for visitors. A free WiFi area will also be set up during the festival for all the visitors to the event.

The Festival 2013 THE LONG SCARF FOR THE NAVIGLIO GRANDE There will be an event during the Festival to promote an initiative by Associazione Culturale Coinvolgente. A scarf will be made for the Naviglio Grande, to wrap around it and protect it, made by those who love it. The scarf, which to date is 2 km long and has been worked on by hundreds of people, will be displayed along the banks of the first section of Naviglio Grande. There will also be a space along the Naviglio where visitors can use the facilities and contribute to the initiative by making their own piece of scarf 30 cm wide and at least 40 cm long from fabric remnants.

The Festival 2013 BOOK BARGE EXHIBITION There will be a space on the water devoted to books and publications focusing on the Navigli. To coincide with the inauguration of the archive, the Centro Documentale Navigli, there will be an exhibition on board a boat so that in the course of the normal ferry schedule, passengers can take a look at old navigation log books and maps. A wealth of precious books will be on display in the company head offices along the Navigli together with other publications on the Navigli canal system. These can be consulted in special reading areas set up in the exhibition spaces.

The Festival 2013

BOAT PARADE In collaboration with major Milanese and Italian street artists, the art parade for the 2013 edition of FAN features an object which can immediately be identified with the Navigli: a boat. A “floating” art performance will comprise about 50 2-metre long installations made of plastic or aluminium, personalised by street artists and scattered around the Navigli area and the inner circle of the city (where the Navigli are still present, albeit invisible, being underground). Boat-shaped flyers (made like origami) will be distributed all over Milan to promote the calendar of events on the Navigli. Boat-shaped gadgets made of plastic will be made and sold to promote the event and the proceeds will go to charity.

The Festival (wip)

f a n Navigli Acqua Festival

Rosalia Russo rosalia.russo@naviglilombardi.it Vittorio Gargaglione Vittorio.gargaglione@naviglilombardi.it 3356700200