The success of the 18th SEGNI New Generations Festival

Yesterday afternoon saw the end of the 18th SEGNI New Generations Festival, an art and theatre event that involved more than 15,000 spectators with shows, workshops, masterclasses and special projects. The festival, promoted by the association Segni d’infanzia, the Municipality of Mantua / YOUTH Mantua Youth Policies, whose central theme has always been the approach to culture for the new generations, this year amazed with unique proposals coming from more and more foreign countries.

SEGNI New Generations Festival is sponsored by Unicef Italia, Regione Lombardia, Provincia di Mantova, Confindustria Mantova and Camera di Commercio Mantova.

The festival was realised thanks to the valuable support of the sponsors Gruppo Tea, Farmo, Maregiglio, Global Informatica, ConfoCity Mantova, Bper Banca, Coop Alleanza 3.0, Levoni, Bernardelli Kids&Teen.

The festival kicked off with four concerts by the Nuova Scuola di Musica in the Sala delle Capriate and creative workshops related to the Animal Symbol that delighted audiences of young and old, in pure transgenerational SEGNI Festival style.

The Loggia del grano, the beating heart of the festival, where artists from the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Belgium and Italy and local teenagers ate, talked with the public and with the workers thanks to Hortus who provided the meals, together with Fragoletta, GRUPPO TEA who provided a water refreshment point, Global Informatica who took care of the digital support together with Mynet, and last but not least Farmo, Levoni and San Martino.

A new and highly successful space, thanks to the Disconnessi ad Arte project supported by Banca Agricola Mantovana and Fondazione Comunità Mantovana, the Sensory Playroom created by Giulia Casari, where children explored the five senses led by Annalisa Nicoletti and Francesco Testi.

A new and highly successful format resulting from the cooperation between the partners of the ForesTEEN project supported by Fondazione Cariplo, the Treasure Hunt, Urban Game “Luna Calante”, co-produced by Segni d’infanzia Associazione, Hike, Alce Nero, Fondazione Palazzo Te and with content by Bag Magazine and Strongvilla. More than 120 boys and girls, curious adults and boys and girls, raced through the city through the five stages in different locations. The prize, the participation and fun of the treasure hunt, which saw parents and children together, but above all the SUPERCARD Cultura to be used throughout the year. “We signed up and extended the invitation to our classmates, contrary to the usual they all joined in, a real success!” says one father; “My 12-year-old son and I decided to participate together, he was sceptical I was curious but we will definitely do it again!” Surely this is a format that SEGNI 2024 will not miss.

Confirmed the success of the ‘Padiglione MZ’ proposal curated by Monica Colella, who this year proposed ‘Plantasia’, an exceptional concert of electronic music in the Bonini Garden centre.

The last day ended with a bang: two replicas of CartaSìa, by the Milanese Drogheria Rebelot, filled the hall with children and their laughter for Bruno, an artist in crisis, and a paper giant who came to life from all his works, thrown into the bin, shocking the audience with the ‘special effects’ that let body parts fly in the dark.

At Spazio Gradaro, on the other hand, the Swedish company Claire Parsons co. enchanted adults and children alike with a special Swan Lake dance: in a delightful mix of music and movement celebrating individuality and diversity, instead of the majestic swans of the famous ballet, a small, bizarre flock of birds appeared on stage, ready to search for the right steps, spread their wings and dance on a silver lake.

Not only shows took place on the second and last Sunday of the SEGNI New Generations festival: the Fuochi di Musica in Piazza Mantegna entertained passers-by with various classical, pop and contemporary pieces played by the students of the Nuova Scuola di Musica. In the afternoon, the second and final ‘Dolce ad Arte’ cooking workshop was held, led by chef Gianfranco Allari for boys and girls aged 6 and over, in collaboration with Farmo.

The festival ended at the Loggia del Grano, where at 5 p.m. the prize-giving ceremony took place for the three winning schools and families of the competition “Colora (e racconta) il Fenicottero” (Colour (and tell) the Flamingo), handing over the parchment to each class and each boy or girl. Finally, the reward was also handed over to the young artist creator of the Animal Symbol “Magro Magrino” chosen for this edition through the Open Call for Artists launched this summer for anyone between 10 and 25 years of age who wished to participate. Iris Lidia Accini, this is the name of the young girl, received the €500.00 reward with a cheque in the shape of a Unicorn with Pegasus Wings, in the full magical style of the new generations festival.