Naples Queer Festival: A Celebration of Diversity and Performance Arts

On March 19th, from the Spanish Quarters, the Naples Queer Festival begins, the first Neapolitan theater festival dedicated to exploring the culture and performative arts of the queer world, in the broadest and most inclusive sense possible. The event, created by Enzo Moscato Theater Company and Casa del Contemporaneo, with the artistic care of Giuseppe Affinito, until March 24th, will transform Sala Assoli, the Spanish Quarters, and other spaces in the heart of Naples, into open, colorful, welcoming, and inclusive places, that, by detaching from any identity link, will truly speak to everyone. A multitude of viewpoints will contribute to outlining a dynamic and original vision of the different identities and infinite sexual orientations, fostering the encounter of numerous expressive languages, ranging from theater to dance, through photography, music, cinema, design, and literature to art performance. The opening and dialogue will guide the entire project: important cultural allies such as the Teatro Nuovo di Napoli, the Quartiere Intelligente, and the Center for Studies on Neapolitan, Southern, and European Theater will enter the discourse of this extraordinary journey into queer culture. Performance, as an open and polyphonic expressive form, is the privileged medium of the Naples Queer Festival, which places at the center of its path the dialogue between the arts as between the different possibilities of being. "In imagining the first edition of the festival - explains Giuseppe Affinito - I referred to my experience as a young person living in this city but who has also confronted numerous European spaces. The idea that I carry inside, first of all from Naples and then from the different experiences abroad, is that of absolute openness. I had the opportunity to confront places where there was really room for everyone and mutual solidarity is a cornerstone of the vision of this project. The other, on the other hand, is desire: in contacting the artists I asked them if it was possible to intercept a mutual desire for participation, which was not individual but collective. I welcomed proposals freely, trying to understand together with them what value they could have for the community". Six days of events - therefore - with the involvement of about 40 artists called to give their contribution. The festival consists of 25 moments of cultural sharing. Furthermore, five performative events are planned, which will bring to Naples artists from the national and international scene, presenting some of the most daring experiments An idea of the festival, that of Affinito, which reconnects to the idea of celebration inherent in the root of the word and which will see the rich days of events culminate with dance evenings and dj-sets. Three proposals in Sala Assoli: Serata Spaccatacchi by Nina’s dj-set; Cocomero, dj-set by Silvia Calderoni; and the dj-set Zum-Zum Queer. While on Saturday evening, the celebration will be at Quartiere Intelligente with È queer la festa?, which will host the dj-sets of Nziria and Benedetto Sicca. With the contribution of numerous artists, the Naples Queer Festival aims to explore artistic practices and nuances that tell of queer as a hybrid and intergenerational cultural and political space. A neutral place of care and inclusive awareness, where relationships are increasingly fluid and seek to escape any form of categorization and confinement. Libreria Tamu - Middle East, North Africa, and other souths, RossoCarminioCreazioni by Carmine Russo, and Capri Moonlight a brand of Wine Capri srl contributed as partners to the initiative. The cost of tickets for the shows is 10 euros for full price and 8 euros for reduced (reserved for under 35.