On July 9–10, 2025, Luoghi Comuni, a partner of the Sirius4All project, hosted a two-day event in Perugia. The initiative brought together professionals from diverse artistic and cultural backgrounds—many with migration experiences—to engage in a creative exchange of ideas and stories.
The event took place at Cult, a vibrant venue that hosts activities by various associations working in the cultural and social sectors.
The event started with the photographer Francesco Capponi who led the workshop Portraits from Europe. Known for his participation in the Sirius4All meeting in Berlin (May 2025), Capponi designed a unique wooden camera with 63 miniature lenses. Each of the 19 participants selected a lens and posed for a three-minute portrait. Afterwards, they wrote a short reflection on their personal idea of “home.” Capponi then developed a composite image that merged their portraits with their handwritten thoughts—a powerful visual representation of shared yet diverse identities.
In the evening, the group moved to Spazio Balena on Via Cartolari—another cornerstone of Perugia’s cultural scene—for a multi-ethnic dinner featuring African, Afghan, and Ecuadorian cuisine. The night continued in Piazza di San Giovanni del Fosso with the public concert Sounds from the World, performed by Malian musician Moustapha Dembélé (also present at the Sirius4All meeting in Copenhagen, September 2024) and Chilean artist Fuad Lues. Dembélé’s balafon rhythms blended with Latin American sounds like samba and bolero, filling the square with music and dance as hundreds of people joined the celebration.
The next day began with an itinerant performance dedicated to Suze Rotolo, the Italian-American artist who spent several months in Perugia in 1962 while attending the University for Foreigners. Known for her relationship with Bob Dylan and her contributions to visual arts, Rotolo’s story was interpreted by Perugian actress Caterina Fiocchetti and North American musician Nate Kantner. The performance unfolded across four symbolic locations tied to Rotolo’s time in Perugia:
- The garden of her first residence on Corso Garibaldi
- The terrace of the University for Foreigners
- The foyer of Teatro Morlacchi, where she once performed
- The lawn of San Francesco al Prato, in front of the Academy of Fine Arts, where she studied drawing
As part of the programme Francesco Rondolini, journalist and musician, led a workshop on the history of Umbria Jazz, Italy’s premier jazz festival. This was followed by a two-hour roundtable on Europe, involving all project partners and participating artists—hailing from Italy, Germany, Bulgaria, Denmark, and Portugal.
The two-day program concluded in the evening with the performance Tutto Vale, the outcome of a year-long intercultural theatre workshop by the 30-year-old association Human Beings. As in previous years, the workshop brought together non-professional actors from across the globe. Among them was Axel Lepper from Germany, who also took part in the Sirius4All Berlin event.
More about the event could be seen here.
Picture to this publication: Francesco Capponi
SIRIUS4all is supported by the European Union and the National Culture Fund, Bulgaria.