International Performing Arts project

2006 - 2019

direction: Anna Dora Dorno
Co direction: Nicola Pianzola
Artists involved in the project
Leandro Alvarenga, Nicoletta Casali, Luana Filippi,
Francesca Pianzola, Salvatore Valeo.
Performer: Anna Dora Dorno, Nicola Pianzola
Video maker: Salvatore Laurenzana, Gerardo Marmo
Musician: Riccardo Nanni, Daniele Bove.

In collaboration with:
Bauhaus Foundation, Dessau (2007) Grotowski Institute, Wroclaw (2008) Hooyong Performing Arts Centre, Wonju (2009) Armenian theatre workers union, Yerevan (2010) Escuela nacional de arte teatral, Mexico City (2011)
Supported by:
Youth in action EU – Region Emilia – Romagna ,
Province of Bologna, Bologna city council, IIC Kracow,
IIC Stockholm, IIC Wien.
With the patronage of:
University of Bologna

Rags, pieces of mind, of flesh, of thoughts, of memories.
Elements of a fragmented world struggling in vain to find a unity.
A world seeking unity in the totality of the arts, but clashing continuously with the rules of power and economy, slipping into countless fragments.
Photographic, performing, artistic fragments, scattered everywhere. bouncing in their creator’ s mind. A mind that holds and preserves what the memory transfigures.
The aim is the reunion.
Sensations crossing a body that suffers through its own flesh, that experiences the pain of living in disagreement with what the ancient myths hold. 

Rags of memory is an international project of theatre and performing arts research which explores the new possibilities of the performer and the theatrical communication through the interaction with other disciplines such as cultural anthropology, visual arts and media, ritual dances and songs belonging to different holy and profane cultural traditions. The main theme is “the memory”, memory as integral part of an human being, biological and anthropological condition for his existence, the memory of that humanity that have understood thorough suffering atrocities such as war and slaughters, the fragility of the human body, his substance of flesh, reducing in shreds in absence of life. Starting from these suggestions, the group has began to reflect and create physical actions, songs, texts, photos, videos, artistic installations, music, developing these fragments, these “rags”, thanks to the interaction with different spaces, places and cultures, met in the countries in which the project has been developed since 2006 (Armenia – Austria – Germany – Italy – Kosovo – Mexico – Poland – Romania – Sweden – S.Korea – UK). Thanks to the artistic residencies and the international work sessions organized within the project, many perfomers, video maker, photographers, visual artists of different nationalities have been involved in the steps of research and in the creation process of Rags of memory. The project has produced the performance Rags of memory (2009) and The bride’s dream (2006), the site specific performances The memory of the stones (2010) and Rags on river (2008), the artistic installation Rags of memories (2009), the video trilogy of the memory (2008), the exhibition Stracci di memorie (2010), the lecture – work demonstration Working with the rags of memory (2012), the workshop on traditional songs and ritual steps The memory of the body and the song of absence (2009) and 3 international work sessions (2009 – 2010 – 2011) the project of mask performance The song of absence (Armenia 2010) and the photographic performing project Migrazioni (Lapland 2011).