Project Description
“The Milky Way” is the name we gave to a series of art exhibitions – held in 2014 in Naples, 2015 in Rome, and 2016 in Milan – that raised funds to support the work of Pianoterra Association.
The name “Milky Way” was inspired by Pianoterra’s first project in Naples, Vital Nutrition: From Birth to Age One, which promotes breastfeeding – mother’s milk – and distributes powdered milk when breastfeeding is not possible.
The series was curated by Damiana Leoni, who invited accomplished artists from Italy and abroad to create and donate original artworks inspired by a theme related to our mission. The artists’ work was exhibited and offered for sale to the general public at gala events.
The series not only raised funds for us; it served as an outreach tool for strengthening and expanding the community of people who are committed to our mission. (And, each gala was socially a delight!)
Below are descriptions of each event.
The Milky Way 1 | Lia Rumma Gallery | Naples, 2014
The first Milky Way event was held on October 11, 2014, in Naples. Hosted by Lia Rumma Gallery, it took as its theme the powerful metaphor of milk as vital nutrition for infants.
Twenty-four artists donated work to support our mission in Naples:
Marina Abramovic, Stefano Arienti, Jeannette Montgomery Barron, Elisabetta Benassi, Antonio Biasiucci, Francesco Clemente, Gabriele De Santis, Alberto Di Fabio, Giuseppe Ducrot, Tracey Emin, Lino Fiorito, May Hands, Avish Khebrehzadeh, Fabrice Langlade, Claudia Losi, Gianluca Malgeri, Marzia Migliora, Alek O., Luigi Ontani, Gabriele Porta, Gabriele Silli, Kiki Smith, Paolo W. Tamburella, Vedovamazzei.
See the complete Photo Gallery of artworks displayed.
See the exhibition’s video teaser
The Milky Way 2 | Studio SALES di Norberto Ruggeri Gallery | Rome, 2015
Our second Milky Way event was held on November, 21 and 22, 2015, in Rome. Hosted by Studio SALES di Norberto Ruggeri Gallery, its theme was galaxies as symbols of complex interconnections.
The funds we raised helped launch our 1000 Days project, an array of services and activities for disadvantaged pregnant women, new parents, babies, and little children up to 3 years of age.
Thirty-one artists contributed to the exhibition:
Charles Avery, Angelo Bellobono, Alessandro Cicoria, Mat Collishaw, Stanislao Di Giugno, Rä di Martino, Flavio Favelli, Goldschmied & Chiari, Norma Jeane, Tobias Kaspar, William Kentridge, Michaela-Maria Langenstein,Emiliano Maggi, Domenico Mangano, Doris Maninger, Davide Monaldi, Olaf Nicolai, Grear Patterson, Nicola Pecoraro, Alessandro Piangiamore, Giuseppe Pietroniro, Gianni Politi, Marco Raparelli, Max Renkel, Sterling Ruby, Pietro Ruffo, Andrea Salvino, Lorenzo Scotto di Luzio, Giuseppe Stampone, Mari Sunna, Gian Maria Tosatti.
See the complete Photo Gallery of artworks displayed
See the exhibition’s video teaser
The Milky Way 3 | Giò Marconi Gallery | Milan, 2016
Our third Milky Way event was held on November, 10, 2016, in Milan. Hosted by Giò Marconi Gallery, it raised funds to help support full implementation of our 1000 Days project in Rome and Naples.
The theme for this event was the symbol of our 1000 Days project: the Maternity Suitcases donated to all women who participate in that project. The suitcases hold items essential to giving newborns a good start in life.
Artists were invited to contribute artwork expressing what they deem essential to themselves, tangible items and intangibles, too – what they’d pack in a hypothetical suitcase to be taken on a life journey.
The first contribution came from the Roman artist Marco Raparelli, who had also participated in our second Milky Way event. For the third, he designed the charming graphics for our entire Maternity Suitcase communication and fundraising campaign.
Thirty-eight artists “packed suitcases” for us:
Alfredo Aceto, Luigi Anastasio, Francesco Arena, Micol Assael, Darren Bader, Rosa Barba, Manfredi Beninati, Monica Bonvicini, Giorgio Andreotta Calò, Roberto Coda Zabetta, Benny Chirco, Liz Craft, Lara Favaretto, Linda Fregni Nagler, Fabio Giorgi Alberti, Piero Golia, Hilario Isola, Allison Katz, Heinz Peter Knes, Adriana Lara, Deborah Ligorio, Diego Marcon, Matteo Nasini, Caterina Nelli e Saam Schlamminger, Nunzio, Giorgio Orbi, Oliver Osborne, Adrian Paci, Charlemagne Palestine, Jorge Peris, Tomas Saraceno, Francesco Simeti, Spencer Sweeney, Santo Tolone, Alessandro Twombly, Nico Vascellari, Francesco Vezzoli, Sislej Xhafa.
The Milky Way Foto | Galleria Lia Rumma | Napoli, 2018
The Milky Way, the fund raising exhibition curated by Damiana Leoni for Pianoterra onlus, returns to Naples, at Lia Rumma Gallery, in May 24th-26th. The fourth edition of the event is dedicated to photography and contributes to the expansion of our little galaxy thanks to the theme we chose: Your Love/Amore Tuo. A simple theme apparently, but at the same time mysterious, looking at the artworks donated to Pianoterra by 57 artists. “What moves you? What crushes, beats and grinds you, and takes your breath away, then brings you (back) to life?” We asked them to answer with their photos to these questions, inviting them to take all the freedom they need, to explore them and shape them without given boundaries.
The Milky Way’s mission (where the “Milky Way” stands also as a metaphor for a plurality of voices and sights) has always been to give voice to a good cause with a big project focused on contemporary creativity. As with previous editions, all proceeds form the sales will support and reinforce our promise to those who, pressed by everyday troubles, find at Pianoterra a safe place to stop by and catch their breath.
The 57 artists who participates to The Milky Way 5 are: Marina Abramović, Miles Aldridge, Andreco, Ciro Battiloro, Priscilla Benedetti, Jasmine Bertusi, Tommaso Borgstrom, Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin, Francesco Cabras, Simona Caleo, Juno Calypso, Paolo Canevari, Monica Carocci, Lorenzo Castore, Talia Chetrit, Maisie Cousins, Alessandra D’Urso, Siân Davey, Veronica della Porta, Marco Delogu, Vittoria Di Giovanniello, Alfred Drago Rens, Martin Errichiello, Gabriele Galimberti, Simona Ghizzoni, Manfredi Gioacchini, Francesco Jodice, Philip Jones Griffiths, Mohamed Keita, Irene Kung, Luigi Leoni, Alex Majoli, Emanuele Mascioni, Lorenzo Meloni, Gideon Mendel, Oskar Metsavaht, Landon Metz, Domingo Milella, Davide Monteleone, Marina Paris, Francesca Pasquali, Beatrice Pediconi, Massimo Piersanti, Leonardo Pucci, Carolina Sandretto, Corrado Sassi, Marco Schifano, Alice Schivardi, Johnnie Shand Kydd, Elisa Sighicelli, Massimo Siragusa, John Stezaker, Ornella Tiberi, Riccardo Venturi, Stephen Waddell, Francesco Zizola.
