The twenty-seventh edition of the Dromos Festival opens in the name of visual art, preceding by a week the start of the rich musical (and not only) programme which will continue until 14 August, winding its way, as per tradition, between Oristano and the various towns in the province which are part of its circuit: Cabras, Fordongianus, Marrubiu, Masullas, Neoneli, Nureci and Tadasuni.
Always attentive to cultural contaminations and hybrid artistic languages, this year's Dromos has chosen the title "Hope. Hope is a choice," ideally continuing the festival's two previous editions under the banner of "Change" (2023) and "People" (2024), emphasizing the theme of hope as a driving force for addressing the present and imagining the future. In keeping with this theme, the important exhibition "Hope Around. New York Graffiti" opens tomorrow, Friday, July 18, in Oristano at 7 pm at the Foro Boario (in Piazza Giorgio Luigi Pintus) and will remain open until October 25.
Curated by art critic and professor Fabiola Naldi, the exhibition represents an exceptional event, because for the first time, the personal collection of Pietro Molinas Balata is being presented to the public . He is a great connoisseur of American graffiti, dating back to the earliest pioneering works. A "collector par excellence," as visual artist Salvatore Garau defines him, "a man who loves contemporary art so much that he has dedicated most of his life to it, silently weaving his collection with a passion that today, more than a true story, seems like a fairy tale."
The exhibition features forty-two canvases by some of New York's most influential graffiti artists, which not only recount an era of intense urban creativity but also testify to the cultural and artistic impact of a visual language that transformed the aesthetics of cities.
The artists on display include names such as Rammellzee, recently celebrated at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris; Phase 2, a key figure in Aerosol Art; Fab 5 Freddy, a visual artist, filmmaker, and hip-hop pioneer; Futura 2000, known for his collaborations with international brands such as Nike, Levi's, and Vans, among others; and Crash, Daze, Toxic, Kool Koor, Blade, Lee, and the Bronx-based artist group Tats Cru, which also includes the twins How & Nosm, demonstrating an evolutionary line that unites the phenomenon's origins with its contemporary expressions. These artists, as curator Fabiola Naldi states, "have significantly contributed to defining graffiti writing as an expressive and visual communication phenomenon, influencing generations of writers and enthusiasts around the world and elevating the stylistic level of the entire discipline to an unprecedented level of expressive sophistication." In addition to the paintings, three photographs by Martha Cooper, Robert Herman and Sophie Bramly, dedicated respectively to Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Dondi White.
Pietro Molinas Balata, who donated his collection to the initiative, emphasizes how graffiti art has distinguished itself for its formal uniqueness and cultural impact, evolving from a clandestine act to a recognized art form without losing its original momentum: "Graffiti art possesses the essence of an institutionally recognized artistic movement, endowed with an original and recognizable aesthetic. It emerged without resembling anything else, distancing itself from previous 20th-century artistic movements, with a very specific radical methodology, initially expressed through the contribution of 'non-artist' artists, tied primarily to their social status."
As the festival's artistic director, Salvatore Corona , states, there's a profound connection between the expressive urgency of graffiti writing and the philosophy of Dromos: both arise from the desire to transform the margins into places of culture, encounter, and meaning. "There's something about Hope Around that I recognize as familiar," he states. Corona: "That direct force, born on the streets, capable of transforming marginal spaces into places of free and authentic expression. Ultimately, even Dromos, whose name evokes the idea of a journey, was born from the same urgent need for research and the encounter between cultures. Thanks to everyone who made this exhibition possible, and to the Municipality of Oristano for their ongoing support of our work."