Europe doesn't fall from the sky. Reflections through contemporary art

The exhibition Europe doesn’t fall from the sky, and of the public program that will accompany it, aims to reflect what it means to be European today and what idea of ​​democracy, social and civic life Europe embodies. The title of the exhibition is a direct reference to the book that collects various interventions by Altiero Spinelli, considered the father of European federalism, in which he exposes his reflections on the vicissitudes and evolutions of what will later become the European Union. The exhibition does not claim to define what future Europe or the European Union may have, but to address, through contemporary art, important issues such as borders, identity, sense of belonging, shared values, which reflect on the multiplicity of cultures, languages ​​and traditions, or show the result of dissonances and conflicts.

Each of the 4 sections of the exhibition, exhibited in 4 cultural spaces in the historic center of Treviso, seeks to shed light on different aspects of European current affairs, through:

20 contemporary artists: Matthew Attard, Gabriele Basilico, Maurizio Cattelan, Jasmina Cibic, Braco Dimitrijević, Claire Fontaine, Olexa Furdiyak, Marco Godinho, Dan Halter, Emilio Isgrò, Yurii Ivantsyk, Annette Lemieux, Richard Mudariki, Santiago Sierra, Arcangelo Sassolino , Giulio Squillacciotti, Slavs & Tatars, Giuseppe Stampone, Paolo Ventura, Dominique White

42 sections of the Imago Mundi Collection, one for each European country

4 exhibition spaces in Treviso: Gallerie delle Prigioni, Ca’ Scarpa, Casa Robegan, Museo Bailo

Curatorial board: Mattia Solari, Lucia Longhi, Nicolas Ballario

FIRST SECTION: "IN THE NORTH" AT CA' SCARPA, WITH MAURIZIO CATTELAN

At Ca’ Scarpa, in Via Antonio Canova 11 (Treviso), you will find “In the north”, one of the 4 sections of the contemporary art exhibition Europe doesn’t fall from the sky.

Here you will find:

• Maurizio Cattelan‘s work “Stadium” (1991), with a curatorial text written by Nicolas Ballario. This installation is a football table for 11 players per team, with which in 1991 Cattelan had played a team made up entirely of North African migrants against a team of Italian white men, addressing an issue unfortunately still relevant nowadays: racism and fear of the different.
• 16 collections from the Imago Mundi Collection, representing contemporary art from Northern Europe: Belgium, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Sami, Scotland, Sweden, Wales

Issues addressed in this part of the exhibition: racism, migration crisis, integration and community

SECOND SECTION: "ON THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA" AT CASA ROBEGAN

At Casa Robegan, in via Antonio Canova 38 (Treviso), you will find “On the Mediterranean Sea”, the second of the 4 sections of the contemporary art exhibition Europe doesn’t fall from the sky.

Here you will find:

• the works of 6 contemporary artists: Matthew Attard, Gabriele Basilico, Braco Dimitrijević, Santiago Sierra, Giuseppe Stampone, Dominique White
• 11 collections from the Imago Mundi Collection, representing contemporary art from Europen countries on the Mediterranean sea: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey

Issues addressed in this part of exhibition: migration-mobility, dissonance, colonialism, racism, capitalism, borders-ports-perimeters

THIRD SECTION: "EAST" AT GALLERIE DELLE PRIGIONI, THE EXHIBITION VENUE OF FONDAZIONE IMAGO MUNDI

At the Gallerie delle Prigioni, in Piazza Duomo 20 (Treviso), you will find “Est”, the third of the 4 sections of the contemporary art exhibition Europe doesn’t fall from the sky.

Here you will find:

• the works of 13 contemporary artists: Jasmina Cibic, Claire Fontaine, Olexa Furdiyak, Marco Godinho, Dan Halter, Emilio Isgrò, Yurii Ivantsyk, Annette Lemieux, Richard Mudariki, Arcangelo Sassolino, Giulio Squillacciotti, Slavs & Tatars, Paolo Ventura
• 13 collections from the Imago Mundi Collection, representing contemporary art from Eastern Europe: Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Ukraine

Issues addressed in this part of the exhibition: the senselessness of war, the search for meaning, breaking the status quo, polyphony-multiplicity, languages, identity and identity crisis, inclusion-exclusion, union-disunion, overcoming borders and divisions

FOURTH SECTION: "IN ITALY" AT MUSEO LUIGI BAILO

At Museo Luigi Bailo, located in Borgo Camillo Benso Conte di Cavour 24 (Treviso), you will find “In Italy”, the fourth of the 4 sections of the contemporary art exhibition Europe doesn’t fall from the sky.

Here you will find the 2 Italian collections of the Imago Mundi Collection, which can be visited for a fee: Praestigium Italia I and Praestigium Italia II