80th anniversary of “Centro d’Arte” of Padua University 💫💎💫

 

Edgard Varèse – Jazz Workshop graphic chart (1957)

Saturday, November 29, 2025, 3:30 PM

University of Padua, Palazzo Bo, Aula Nievo

THE ART OF THE ART CENTER

A panel discussion with

Massimo De Carlo, Ugo Fadini, Luciano Linzi,

Stefano Merighi, Nicola Negri, Veniero Rizzardi, Monica Salvadori

On the occasion of its 80th anniversary, the Art Center of the University of Padua brings together the main artistic leaders who have succeeded one another over the past decades, almost always collaborating with each other and passing the baton at the helm of the Association.

The meeting aims to be an opportunity for a collective historical narrative addressed to today's audience, to speak of a project that has had and continues to have a profound impact on the cultural life of Padua, albeit without ever having truly articulated its principles, its directions, its thinking, which nevertheless appear clear and coherent from a historical perspective.

The Art Center was born as a student association and, in effect, a true external research center of the University of Padua. As such, it demonstrated a marked exploratory attitude from the very beginning in the programming of its musical seasons. But it was precisely in the late 1970s that it began to present itself, with its reviews and festivals, primarily as a forum for the development of contemporary musical culture, promoting the circulation of international experiences ahead of its time. At the time, there was no place or curatorial style that brought together new composition, improvisation, transmedia performance, and electroacoustic research: different languages, practices, and cultures that were beginning to dialogue with each other, yet which institutions and concert organizations kept separate.

Time has proven the Art Center right; today, this pluralistic musical culture is a reality. The decisive and ongoing support of the University, which had promoted its founding in 1945, has guaranteed the Association freedom of research and initiative; The originality and even radicality of the programming has opened up new avenues and conquered niche markets. This is also confirmed by the audience's success, which is constantly growing and now consolidated; a largely young and student audience, but also encompassing different generations of listeners who have grown fond of the program over time.

The event is also an opportunity to explore a gallery of images and sounds drawn from the Art Center's extensive archive, with mostly previously unreleased material.

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