Festival internazionale degli aeroplanini di carta

2014-2015, Workshop, sport event. Bibliotheque National du Royame du Maroc, Rabat; Lazzaretto, Cagliari. Ph: Baptiste de Ville d’Avray

The International Festival of Paper Plane is a collaboration project in situ realized by the Italian artist Matteo Rubbi and the Moroccan artist Yassine Balbzioui, for the project Côte à Côte, curated by Cherimus and La Companya (Madrid).

The first phase took place in Rabat, afterwards in Perdaxius, Sardinia, where the artists dealt with the social and subjective process that unfolds between these southern coastal cities.

Côte à Côte’s aim is to make two artists from different areas of the Mediterranean work together, inviting them to realize a common project at the end of a period of residence.

The project takes its cue from the observation of the night sky, as an ideal place where the Arabic coast meets the European one (hence Cote à cote, coast to coast). The night sky is one of the most interesting examples of an exchange between different cultures, a wonderful mix of civilizations along the history.

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The artists invited, Yassine Balbzioui (Marocco) and Matteo Rubbi (Italy), lived and worked together for three weeks at Le Cube Independent Art Room, in Rabat’s city centre, and for another three weeks in Perdaxius, interacting daily with these places.

Côte à Côte started in October 2014 with a public performance at the National Library of Rabat. Here, the artists organized the First International Festival of Paper Airplanes, where they invited the public to realize paper airplanes with old newspapers found in the Medina of Rabat.

The performance began with the painting of a big canvas announcing the event. This canvas, which was about four meters long, was created together by the two artists and rapresented some of the constellations in the night sky between Rabat and Perdaxius. Constellations are often represented as animals: this is why the banner is populated by bears, whales, eagles, turtles, fishes, snakes, scorpions, etc.

In December 2015, the two artists met again in Sardinia, between Perdaxius and Cagliari and at the Lazzaretto di Sant’Elia, they organized the Second International Festival of Paper Airplanes, to which participated a school class and another group of kids from the neighborhood of Sant’Elia in Cagliari. The event ended with a musical performance by Francesco Medda/ Arrogalla featuring Carlo Spiga (voice and guitar) and a Vjset by Yassine Balbzioui and Matteo Rubbi. Côte à Côte is a project conceived and realized by Cherimus and the association La Companyìa from Madrid.

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1er Festival International des Avions en Papier / 1st Paper Planes International Festival. 12 November 2014, Performance. With Yassine Balbzioui. Bibliotheque National du Royame du Maroc, Rabat. Ph: Baptiste de Ville d’Avray

Exhibition at Le Cube, Independent Art Room, Rabat

Côte à Côte. 2014-15. Installation view. Festival International des Avions en Papier, acrylic on canvas, 4mt x 2mt approx. Le Cube, Independent Art Room, Rabat. Ph: Baptiste de Ville d’Avray

Côte à Côte. 2014-15. Detail of Festival International des Avions en Papier, acrylic on canvas, 4mt x 2mt approx. Le Cube, Independent Art Room, Rabat. Ph: Baptiste de Ville d’Avray

Côte à Côte. 2014-15. Installation view. Trophies room, installation, mixed material. Le Cube, Independent Art Room, Rabat. Ph: Baptiste de Ville d’Avray

Côte à Côte. 2014-15. Installation view. Portraits, acrylic on canvas, two pieces 50 cm x 70 cm approx. each. Le Cube, Independent Art Room, Rabat. Ph: Baptiste de Ville d’Avray

II Festival internazionale degli aeroplanini di carta

II Festival internazionale degli aeroplanini di carta / II Paper Planes International Festival. 6 December 2015, Performance. With Yassine Balbzioui, Lazzaretto, Cagliari, Italy. Ph: Sara Deidda