The Many Lives of Dory Zard

An experiment in shared memory, art and live relationships

As part of Rome Art Week – Open Studios, Dory Zard’s Atelier and the Relazioni Elementari

Association open their doors to a series of seven gatherings curated by Francesca Aloise.

This is neither an exhibition nor a retrospective. It is an experiment in applying the Relazioni

Elementari Method (“Elementary Relations”): collecting, assembling and presenting fragments of

shared memories, experiences and emotions. Each day Dory Zard meets one of the communities

that have crossed and nourished his human, artistic and cultural path: his family, friends from his

Tripoli and Roman roots, his companions from the great productions, the Fregene community, the

theatre, the atelier. Live testimonies, archival finds, artworks, actions and improvised pieces come

together, day after day, into a living mosaic that the public is invited to observe up close.

Each gathering includes:

 a round table between Dory Zard and the witnesses and protagonists of the day;

 an exhibition of documents, photographs, instruments and paintings related to the theme;

 opening to the public, who watch the experiment unfold live.

The programme (Monday to Saturday from 5:00 pm, Sunday from 4:00 pm)

Monday 19 October – TRIPOLI IN ROME

Memories, laughter and good wine with friends old and new. Identity, diasporas and lifelong bonds.

Tuesday 20 October – THE DANCE OF THE BRUSHES

Action painting set to music, with readings from Fosco Maraini’s Nonsense poems, together with

the Susy Monteverde Theatre Workshop directed by Danilo De Santis. Body, painting and stage.

Wednesday 21 October – THE DODI AND YVETTE GANG

A full family reunion: roots, affections and earliest memories.

Thursday 22 October – THE LA SCOSSA CREW

A meeting with the technicians, musicians and co-workers from the productions of the ’70s, ’80s

and ’90s: from La Scossa, the sound and lighting company founded by the Zards when such

companies barely existed in Italy, to Don Quijote, the company with which Dory Zard designed and

produced major events. A journey against the current, through music and productions.

Friday 23 October – FREGENE FOREVER!

A meeting with the local cultural organisations: community, conviviality and play.

Saturday 24 October – DORY’S ATELIER AND SURROUNDINGS

The return to art: material, space and visual creation.

Sunday 25 October – RELAZIONI ELEMENTARI. Work in progress

Synthesis, method and future prospects: launch of the association’s website, review of the series,

members’ meeting.

�� Dory Zard’s Atelier, Via Ildebrando della Giovanna 61F, Rome

Every day from 4:00 pm. Free admission.