, 29 May 2008

With the intention of making contemporary art and its values more and more accessible, from this year onwards the Fondazione is promoting a major project, ALL’APERTO (‘OUTDOORS’).

Curated by Andrea Zegna and Barbara Casavecchia, ALL’APERTO aims to disclose new ways of seeing the area around Trivero, and therefore of living in it. Not by promoting yet another sculpture park, but by developing interventions by artists of international standing, with a low impact on the environment, that are aimed at the town, its inhabitants and the community in general, focusing attention on that particular territory once again.

The project, sponsored by the of Trivero, the Province of and the Region, is supported by an Advisory Board made up of Catia Riccaboni (Fondation de France), Tom van Gestel (SKOR, Amsterdam), Michelangelo Pistoletto (Cittadellarte) and Salvatore Lacagnina (Galleria Civica di Montevergini).

The decision to introduce contemporary art into these localities is linked to the history of Ermenegildo Zegna, who saw no conflict between a commitment to quality in business and efforts to improve the natural, social and cultural setting in which we live.

As far back as the 1930s the group’s founder carried out a series of social projects at Trivero, location of the Lanificio Ermenegildo Zegna, including the setting up of a hospital, a school, recreational and sports facilities and a public swimming pool. He also funded and constructed the Panoramica Zegna, the road that still links Trivero with Andrate, turning the mountain into a means for the promotion of industriousness, well-being and development.

Building on this important legacy, Trivero over the years has represented a crossroads of local and global projects, culminating last July in the inauguration of Casa Zegna, housing the company’s historical archives as well as a multifunctional space for community activities.

The ALL’APERTO project is a further stage in this process; creating site-specific interventions of a permanent character focused on the concept of visibility and perception on an annual basis, it invites visitors to carry out their own explorations, in harmony with the territory.

The artist who has been asked to carry out the first intervention of ALL’APERTO is Daniel Buren (Boulogne-Billancourt, 1938).

The artist to whom the next intervention, scheduled for 2009, has been entrusted is Alberto Garutti (Galbiate, Como, 1948), who is already busy on the preparation of a series of works to be located in different parts of the municipality. With the support of the Commune and the fundamental assistance of the pupils and teachers of a class at the Trivero primary school, Garutti will carry out an unprecedented mapping of the territory, with the aim of creating a type of public work that can be ‘adopted’ (and utilized) by everyone.

A special thanks to Tucci Russo – Studio per l’Arte Contemporanea and to Mrs Sara Pizzi, deputy headmistress of Trivero School.

Project ALL’APERTO (‘OUTDOORS’) Artist Daniel Buren Title Le banderuole colorate, lavoro in situ, 2007, Trivero (‘The Coloured Weather Vanes, Work in Situ, 2007, Trivero’) Permanent installation Curated by Andrea Zegna and Barbara Casavecchia Location Lanificio Ermenegildo Zegna, Trivero (Biella) Preview 29 May 2008, 11 am Opening 7 June 2008, 3-6 pm With the patronage of Piedmont Region, , Commune of Trivero

Graphic design Alessandra Ricotti Installation technical unit Art’s Marine Communication Photos Luca Fregoso Video Mookie by Alessandro Garella

Educational workshops Elena Taverna Workshop photos Demian Dupuis Mounting of exhibition Morris Immagine & Diffusione

Casa Zegna will be open on Sunday from June 8th until August 31st, from 11 am to 6 pm. Free entrance. Information: +39 015 7591463 [email protected] www.casazegna.org

Thanks to - B&O Biella for the technical sponsorship

Information www.fondazionezegna.org/allaperto [email protected]

ALL’APERTO press office Cristiana Rota +39 347 5258440 [email protected] THE FONDAZIONE ZEGNA

Ermenegildo Zegna’s commitment to the protection and promotion of the region, its land and its people has not faded over time but been handed down from generation to generation, forming the core values of the members of the family and of the Gruppo Ermenegildo Zegna. Trivero has remained not just the company’s headquarters but also the base of the family, which maintains and cultivates its ties with its place of origin through a relationship with the natural environment and the local society.

The Zegna Group now operates in a globalized context. The values that inspired its founder find concrete expression in international philanthropic activities that no longer focus exclusively on the environment and the community of its original base in Trivero but reach out to other people, with projects aimed at conservation and social development in communities located in various parts of the world.

The Fondazione Zegna, set up in 2000, responds to these needs through the conception and coordination of initiatives in four different areas, as laid down in its charter: conservation and enhancement of environmental and cultural assets; support for the sustainable development of local communities, in and elsewhere; support for medical and scientific research; promotion of education and training initiatives for young people

The projects funded by the foundation are intended to pursue a model of self-sustainable development, in other words one that is capable of using the support provided to come up with the means needed for independent growth, without creating dependency. Improvement in the quality of life, understood not just in a material but also an ethical and cultural sense, is the goal to be achieved. Development of the potential of all individuals translates into a strong commitment on the behalf of future generations, an aspect to which the foundation devotes particular attention.

For more information:

Federico Amato +39 02 89077394 [email protected] Magda de Santis +39 02 422091 [email protected] www.fondazionezegna.org/allaperto