Feb. 19 – Istanbul, on 25 February, will host the main activities of the “World Day of Commedia dell’Arte”, an event that every year – since 2010 – is promoted by SAT, the NGO consultant for Unesco’s Convention on Intangible Heritage. The event brings together the most important Italian and foreign representatives of the contemporary Commedia dell’Arte, very much alive and practiced throughout the world, as evidenced by the rich program of events, performances, workshops and conferences. For each edition, an international figure transmits a message of greetings, as Dario Fo did in the first edition. This year the message will be delivered by the art critic Üstün Akmen. Many artists from Italy, Portugal, England and Turkey will also contribute to the program through artistic and professional shows, short performances, lectures-show and meetings with the students of the universities and schools of Istanbul. Of particular importance will be the conference “Between East and West: theater tradition from the Commedia dell’Arte” coordinated by Professor Roberto Tessari of the University of Turin, and the Commedia’s mask exhibition, organized in collaboration with the Italian Institute of Culture in Istanbul.
