«Embracing the world, dismantling it, rebuilding it»
A vibrant stroke, a mark that embodies memory and movement, poetry and politics. The poster for Spoleto68 bears the signature of William Kentridge, one of the most influential artists of our time. Born in Johannesburg in 1955, Kentridge has crafted a rich, multifaceted, revelatory language that weaves together drawing, theatre, cinema, and music into a narrative that probes both collective and personal histories. His works are sites of layering and resonance, where the past rewrites the present and is in turn rewritten by it: art, in short, as a playground for thought.
Raised in apartheid-era South Africa, Kentridge studied art before moving to Paris, where he trained at Jacques Lecoq’s mime school, deepening his understanding of acting and stage direction. From the intersection of visual and performing arts, a unique and unmistakable expressive path began to take shape as early as the 1970s. Dominated by black and white, his work explores complex themes such as apartheid, colonialism, and totalitarianism, often interwoven with dreamlike imagery, lyrical nuances, or comic interludes.
This year, the Festival embraces his creative universe in its entirety, presenting The Great Yes, The Great No at the Teatro Nuovo Gian Carlo Menotti—an allegory of exile that blends theatre, oratorio, and chamber opera, drawing inspiration from the avant-garde. Moving between surrealism and irrationality, Greek chorus, projections, dancers, and shadow play, the production becomes a multidimensional artwork that celebrates the unconventional, embraces the revolutionary, and imagines a future that is more authentic and free.
The Carla Fendi Foundation and Mahler & LeWitt Studios present The Centre for the Less Good Idea, a project founded by William Kentridge and Bronwyn Lace to foster experimentation and collaboration among artists from different disciplines. In particular, the exhibition Unhappen Unhappen Unhappen – Pepper’s Ghost Dioramas, held at the former Baptistery of the Manna d’Oro, offers a preview of four animated dioramas created using the Pepper’s Ghost technique by Anathi Conjwa, William Kentridge, Micca Manganye, and Sabine Theunissen. Enhancing the program is a rich schedule of related events, including a hands-on introduction to the Pepper’s Ghost technique, a live composition workshop using silent film archives, and conversations with the artists.
Lastly, Palazzo Collicola hosts a solo exhibition of Kentridge’s work, curated by Saverio Verini in collaboration with the Kentridge Studio and the Lia Rumma Gallery. The South African artist’s works enter into dialogue with the rooms of the palace and its preexisting elements—furnishings, paintings, and decorations—creating an exhibition path that unfolds through the noble floor’s spaces.
