The Fondazione Donnaregina for Contemporary Arts, in collaboration with Villa Lontana Records and Terraforma present La Terra Delle Sirene: a program that comprises seven workshops led by musicians and ethnomusicologists between September and November 2023.
Hosted at the Madre Museum in Naples, this program serves as one of the nine projects within Spaziale. Everyone belongs to everyone else, Italian Pavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, curated by Fosbury Architecture and promoted by the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Italian Ministry of Culture.

La Terra delle Sirene explores themes of myth, landscape, and tradition through innovative sound practices. The workshops, designed for both adults and children, feature artists such as Walter Maioli, Francesca Heart, Sara Persico, BB (Alessandro Bava and Fabrizio Ballabio), Modular on the Spot Naples (MOTSNA), and Babau. Activities include interactive sessions on acoustic mythology, experimental vocal practices, and explorations of prehistoric musical instruments, fostering a transdisciplinary approach to cultural education.

WALTER MAIOLI
24 September 2023
Children's workshop with trumpet shells and sonorous stones: in collaboration with Carmine Di Biasi

Walter Maioli is a musician, composer, flautist, paleorganologist, and experimental archaeologist born in 1950 in Milan. He lives and works in the Cilento region. His research focuses on the music of nature and ancient soundscapes. His interest lies in rediscovering the psychoacoustic powers of archetypal sounds, developing a unique approach to experimental archaeology and musicology.
In collaboration with Carmine Di Biasi, Walter Maioli conducts a workshop using trumpet shells, exclusively designed for children aged 5 to 12. The trumpet shell, derived from a conch, is a prehistoric instrument common to many cultures, historically used for communication and still employed for sacred purposes. In countries like India, Japan, and Polynesia, the trumpet shell remains a primary instrument in sacred rituals. Notably, in ancient Paestum, it was played in temples.
Participants will learn to play the trumpet shells, accompanied by sounds from some of the earliest musical instruments of prehistory and antiquity: resonant stones and woods, shell rattles, shakers, scrapers, cymbals, and drums.
The workshop comprises two sessions: the morning is dedicated to familiarizing with the instruments; the afternoon culminates in a small concert guided by Walter Maioli.

Photo credits: Serena Schettino and Amedeo Benestante

FRANCESCA HEART
September 25, 2023
Invocations: An interactive workshop for adults on acoustic mythology and the relationship between body, writing, and sound

Francesca Mariano (also known as Francesca Heart or Serpentine Dance) is an artist who experiments with sound and movement, integrating references to the volcanic and marine dimensions of Southern Italy into her practice. Her research explores hydrofeminism, electronic music, and the choreography of landscapes, considering the body as a vehicle for regeneration and transformation.

Francesca Heart's workshop stems from research into acoustic mythology and the relationship between body, writing, and sound. Drawing inspiration from choreographer Emilie Conrad's reflection that all living processes owe their origin to the movement of water, and connecting to the mythology of the siren, she will develop an interactive workshop as an instantaneous sonic photograph of the landscape, co-created by the participants. Recordings collected during the workshop will be utilized and assembled into a single chorus composed of multiple vocal pluralities. The workshop is intended for an adult audience.

Photo credits: Serena Schettino

WALTER MAIOLI – LUCE MAIOLI
October 25, 2023
Origins, Myths, and Traditions of Musical Instruments in Neapolitan Culture: in collaboration with Giovanni Saviello and Ivan Gibellini

Walter and Luce Maioli will lead a workshop dedicated to the origins, myths, and traditions of musical instruments in Neapolitan culture, tracing a path through Prehistory, Ancient Egypt, and Ancient Rome.
The artists will play a selection of prehistoric musical instruments from their musical archive, demonstrating their evolution into some of the most well-known Neapolitan folk instruments, such as the "scetavajasse" and the "tammorra."
Through attentive listening, the artists will engage the audience in perceiving the sonic development of these instruments. Walter and Luce Maioli will be accompanied by Giovanni Saviello, specialized in the construction of double flutes and "ciaramelle," and Ivan Gibellini, a member of the experimental archaeology group Synaulia.

Photo credits: Serena Schettino

SARA PERSICO
26 October 2023
Voice: Parthenope and Subversion: an educational-performance workshop on the voice within contemporary experimental practices

Sara Persico is an artist born and raised in Naples, currently based in Berlin. Part of the Neapolitan underground experimental scene, she has developed a musical approach that integrates her voice with analog electronics, field recordings, and sampling.
The artist will develop a workshop divided into three parts: theoretical introduction, listening, and practice. Starting from the story of Parthenope and exploring vocal expressions linked to the history of Naples, the workshop will continue with a critical reflection on the role of the voice in contemporary experimental practices. Participants will be invited to experiment with and apply various vocal and sonic approaches.

Photo credits: Sara Schettino

MODULAR ON THE SPOT NAPLES
17 November 2023
Sound evolutions and integrated workshop dedicated to modular synthesizers

Modular on the Spot Naples (MOTSNA) is an underground collective from Naples founded by Cristiano De Petrillo and Alessandro Pascolo. It is part of the global Modular on the Spot community, which organizes sound experiences in natural and urban settings to foster new forms of communal coexistence. Modular on the Spot Naples serves as a gathering point for the modular and synesthetic community in Southern Italy.
MOTSNA will conduct a music workshop focused on modular synthesizers. The session will explore various sonic evolutions and offer an integrated workshop on modular music production, inviting the audience to try out some modules to demonstrate their sounds.

Photo Credits: Amedeo Benestante

BB
18 November 2023
Guided walk through the industrial settlement of Bagnoli

BB (Alessandro Bava and Fabrizio Ballabio) are among the nine designers of Spaziale: Everyone Belongs to Everyone Else, the Italian Pavilion at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, promoted by the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture.

For the workshop at the Madre Museum, BB will organize a visit to Bagnoli, a district on the western outskirts of Naples. During the walk, they will present a vision for the future development of the area. The name Bagnoli likely derives from "balneolis", as before the establishment of industrial settlements, it hosted several thermal baths.
Bagnoli later became inextricably linked to the working-class tradition: it was home to one of the most important industrial settlements in southern Italy, particularly the Ilva steelworks, formerly Italsider, active from the early 20th century and decommissioned in the 1990s. The establishment of the industrial hub profoundly altered the structure of the area, which is located in the Gulf of Pozzuoli, at the foot of the Posillipo hill.

Photo Credits: Serena Schettino

Presentation of AI visions for Bagnoli with BB and Lucia Tozzi, and collaborative drawing workshop

The second part of the workshop led by BB (Alessandro Bava and Fabrizio Ballabio) will take place in the early afternoon of Saturday, November 18, at the Madre Museum, with the participation of Lucia Tozzi, urban policy scholar and journalist. The session focuses on the urban history of two places in the Gulf of Naples, linked by a shared industrial past but experiencing radically different presents: the Bay of Ieranto, a nature reserve managed by FAI, and Bagnoli, where traces of heavy industry have so far hindered future development.

The project La Terra delle Sirene, presented at the Italian Pavilion of the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale in collaboration with Villa Lontana Records and Terraforma, offers a landscape and mythological reading of the Bay of Ieranto through an architectural installation by BB and a musical performance by Walter Maioli. The workshop at the Madre shifts the focus to Bagnoli, presenting two visions conceived by BB in collaboration with Lucia Tozzi, illustrated through AI-generated images created by Vittorio Dal Maso. The final part of the event is dedicated to a large-scale participatory drawing workshop. The workshop is primarily intended for students and architects.

Photo Credits: Amedeo Benestante

BABAU
18 November 2023
Can One Hear the Shape of a Frog?: workshop on acoustemology and listening session

Babau is a project by Artetetra founders Matteo Pennesi and Luigi Monteanni, where a fascination with exotica, world music 2.0, and field recordings intersects with compositional and improvisational techniques from computer music, and the imagined landscapes of digital folklore. Acoustemology is a concept theorized by ethnomusicologist Steven Feld, who, during his research among the Kaluli people of Papua New Guinea, applied field recording practices to explore how sounds and audio materials influence both artistic practices and people's worldviews: analyzing sound as a way of knowing.

For the workshop at the Madre Museum, Babau will expand on acoustemology by collecting recordings made in West Java, developed using their own computer music and audio manipulation techniques to construct a listening session. The session will begin with an explanation of the importance of sounds for ecosystems and local audio cultures, leading to a practice of creative and conscious sound processing. This session will help participants understand not only how and which sounds can be collected for personal application but also to reflect on what types of aesthetics can respect the role that sounds play in their place of origin.

Photo Credits: Amedeo Benestante

WALTER MAIOLI
24 September 2023
Children's workshop with trumpet shells and sonorous stones: in collaboration with Carmine Di Biasi

Photo credits: Serena Schettino

Photo credits: Sara Schettino

Photo Credits: Amedeo Benestante

Photo Credits: Serena Schettino

Photo Credits: Amedeo Benestante