The School of Narrative Dance is a large-scale participatory project experienced by over 6 million participants in 24 countries to date, and centered on empowerment, inclusivity and creativity as social driving forces. In June 2022, SOND offered free workshops in Malta with choreographer Maria Fonzino ahead of the main performance, at Blitz Valletta and Casino Maltese – whose balcony also hosts Senatore’s poignant light sculpture Remember the first time you saw your name (2020).

The open call to participate was available on Blitz’s website and social media (www.blitzvalletta.com) and shared through flyers and word of mouth for three months through the valued collaboration of the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector. Today, SOND features participants of every age and background, with no previous artistic experience, as well as artists from disciplines as diverse as Capoeira, Hip Hop, Breakdance, Tango, Flamenco, Ballet, Opera, Pop music, Gymnastics, Parkour and much more. During the event on 30 June 2022, Zebbug B.P. Band (est 2016) will set the rhythm as passers-by are invited to join the artist and the artistic procession to re-activate our shared public space, from the street to the buildings, in a one-of-a-kind celebration of rebirth and community-making.

A new artwork will be developed from the performance and exhibited at Blitz as part of the finissage celebration of this ambitious project on 23 July 2022.

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Marinella Senatore is a multidisciplinary artist who delves into practices of non-hierarchical learning and participatory art. Over the years she has explored forms of resistance, vernacular and popular culture, dance, music and activism, in order to rethink the political nature of communal action and reconcile individuals and collective bodies. To do so, she experimented with radio broadcasts, street festivals, operas, musicals and processions such as The School of Narrative Dance (2012-ongoing), a participatory project free of charge – centered on the emancipative power of storytelling, agency and public action. She has also gained recognition on international stages such as the Venice Biennale (2011), the Biennale de Lyon (2015), the Sao Paolo Biennale (2021), and she will be soon celebrated with an exhibition at the prestigious Palais de Tokyo, Paris, for the 20th anniversary of the institution in September 2022.

The exhibition Something about you is a ten-year survey bringing together paintings, drawings, videos, a powerful project with Russian protest group Pussy Riot featuring a new organic site-specific sculpture, and a public artwork on the historical façade of Valletta’s Casino Maltese. Remember the first time you saw your name (2020) is a powerful phrase in a bold red light composition dominating St George Square, Valletta for the duration of the exhibition. The artwork is an enchanting blast from the past, evoking the Maltese custom of celebrating community during village festas and annual events with festoons, luminarie and light installations.

This exhibition is intended to inspire dialogue in Malta, at a time when collective action seems to be the most effective tool for new beginnings and the birth of communities. As put by bio-political philosopher Judith Butler: “Freedom does not come from me or from you; it can and does happen as a relation between us, or, indeed, among us.” While emphasizing the stories and hidden potentials of individuals, Senatore does not distinguish between so-called low and high culture, and embraces the power of decontextualization to open up conceptual windows into an ever-changing humanity represented in plural form.

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MARINELLA SENATORE (Cava de’ Tirreni, Italy, 1977; lives in Rome, Italy) is a multidisciplinary artist, trained in music, fine arts and cinema. Senatore’s work has been featured in group and solo exhibitions in Italy and around the world, including in biennals such as Biennale Gherdëina, Italy (2021); São Paulo Biennial, Brazil (2021); Sonsbeek 20-24, The Netherlands (2021); Manifesta 12, Italy (2018); Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture, Shenzhen, China (2017); Lyon Bienniale, France (2015); Thessaloniki Biennial, Greece (2015); Liverpool Biennial, UK (2014), Cuenca Biennial, Ecuador (2014), Göteborg Biennial, Sweden (2013), Athens Biennial, Greece (2013); Havana Biennial, Cuba (2012) and Venice Bienniale, Italy (2011). Her most recent solo exhibitions and performances were organized at Fondazione Stelline, Milan, Italy (2021); Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy (2020); Magazzino Italian Art, New York, U.S. (2020); Hayward Gallery, London, UK (2018); Peggy Guggenheim, Venice, Italy (2018); Kunsthaus Zurich, Switzerland (2017); Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (2017); Queens Museum, New York, U.S. (2017). Senatore’s work is represented in the collections of a wide selection of international museums including Palazzo Grassi in Venice, Italy; Centre Pompidou and Palais de Tokyo in Paris, France; Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo in Madrid, Spain; Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt, Germany; Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago, U.S.; Queens Museum and High Line in New York, U.S.; Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2023 she will have solo exhibitions at CCA Tel Aviv, Museum Villa Stuck Munich, Germany, Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Austria, and at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, France.

THE EXHIBITION AND PERFORMANCE ARE SUPPORTED BY: