cvtà street fest | alice pasquini
alice pasquini and her studio manager, Jessica Stewart, founded cvtà street fest in a tiny town called civitacampomarano (say that three times fast!) in southern Italy three years ago. the duo was first drawn to the area when pasquini was invited to paint a mural in the village to help attract visitors. civitacampomarano was a town of 400 and facing the threat of extinction as residents vacated toward larger areas that held the promise of jobs. in true cosmic fashion, pasquini’s grandfather also happened to be a resident of civitacampomarano, and so she accepted the offer to paint in the village.
many of the residents that remain in the village are elderly. there are very few children and the village lacks a school for them to attend. while there, alice and jessica were perplexed by the idea that depopulation would soon cause the village to disappear. a vision was born: cvtà street fest, an annual gathering of five artists from four countries, united in the bestowal of art upon this small village in the region of molise. alice and jess hope that the festival will make the area a more desirable place to live by catalyzing opportunities for industry.
despite civitacampomarano only having 400 residents, 3,500 people attended the festival last year. artists were welcomed by inhabitants of the villages and assisted by the youth. each piece was erected with an emphasis placed on the work relating to an aspect of the area. the festival will enter into its 4th year this year, and already civitacampomarano has seen an influx of commerce, restaurants and lodging open in anticipation of the visitors who will come to the village to view the art.
related links: cvtà street fest, my modern met