ASK PARTENOPE

ASK PARTENOPE

opening

22 October 2024
6.30 p.m.
C/O SuperOtium
via Santa Teresa degli Scalzi, 8 – 80135 Napoli

“Ask Partenope” is a project that aims to tell the story of Naples collectively through questions rather than answers, involving individuals connected to the world of SuperOtium who have much to say about the city from diverse perspectives.

We chose Partenope, the siren who founded the city, as the ideal figure to address these questions. She embodies the eternal, elusive, and multifaceted allure of Naples, which in 2025 will celebrate 2,500 years since its founding. This milestone invites reflection on its history, transformations, and identities, inspiring new ways of looking at Naples and its complexity.

Seven curators, journalists, and thinkers—each with experience of life in Naples as well as insights from beyond the city—accepted our invitation to share a brief question. This question, addressed to Naples as if Partenope herself were listening, becomes part of a collective mosaic of visions and reflections about the city. Rather than providing certainties, these questions offer openings, inspiration, and fresh perspectives.

The collected questions will be printed on a large poster displayed at SuperOtium and officially presented on December 10.

The contributors who accepted our invitation are:
Domitilla Dardi, Pietro Gaglianò, Adriana Rispoli, Paolo Ferrarini, Susanna Ravelli, Donatella Bernabò Silorata, and Lorenzo Xiques.

The project is part of the cultural program curated by Nicola Ciancio for SuperOtium (a project realized by Nicola Ciancio and Vincenzo Falcione), which aims to offer guests new perspectives on Naples through residencies, exhibitions, meetings, and events, fostering connections between travelers and the local creative and cultural communities. The theme Look Closer, proposed for the 2024 season, serves as an invitation to observe closely, allowing the discovery of details, depth, and imperfections.

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SuperOtium is a house in the heart of Naples, founded by Nicola Ciancio and Vincenzo Falcione, designed to welcome tourists, artists, travelers, and creatives. A meeting place where artist residencies, events, exhibitions, and accommodation coexist to inspire artists and creatives and challenge the assumptions of travelers, proposing new perspectives through which to view the city. The SuperOtium residency program has hosted, among others, Kensuke Koike, Pietro Gaglianò, Massimo Uberti, Hypereden, Bianca Felicori (Forgotten Architecture), Paz Ortùzar (in collaboration with the Cervantes Institute of Naples), Giovanna Silva (in collaboration with Lorenzo Xiques), Nuvola Ravera (in collaboration with Made in Cloister), Blase (in collaboration with ShowDesk), Yasser Almaamoun (in collaboration with the Goethe Institut), Khaled El Mays (in collaboration with Edit Napoli).