... or Rather, Speak

The second part of the title of the call "... Or rather, speak" is the antithesis and development of the first. In fact, “Speaking” was the conscious means by which many women broke their previous condition of silence, giving rise to a manifestation not only verbal, but also artistic, political or social.

For Carla Lonzi, this means a return to public space and human relationships through an authentic expression of herself, which can only be achieved after rejecting the constraints of pre-established roles. “Now I exist: this certainty justifies me and grants me the freedom which I alone believed in” she wrote in 1977 at the end of her diary.

Every conscience, every intention or thought that abandoned itself to make a mark in the world should imply a reflection on its own authenticity. This is mainly achievable when one moves from a starting condition of deprivation: thus, throughout the history of women, of the different and of the excluded, the search for authenticity has often coincided with the discovery of freedom.

Compared to the current situation, at the time, the call was intended to be an opportunity to encourage this type of reflection through the tale and the image, and in a space that is itself authentic, free from the pressures of platforms where we are used to showing ourselves in the manifest illusion of obtaining a clear free authenticity, when in reality these continue to be based on the juxtaposition, expectation, judgment, in a few words on the perpetration of roles.

During the twenty-four days of the event, 198 participants answered the call with their videos. Two thirds of these are women.