While the singer Nada simply wrote ‘NO’ in 2018, reposting the date of her concert at the Leoncavallo, street artist TvBoy—one of the foremost figures in the genre, now based in Barcelona—has written a lengthy post on his Instagram page against the eviction of the historic center. His post serves as a “clear appeal: the Leoncavallo must be reopened.”
“It wasn’t just a social center: it was a workshop for creativity, a place of free expression, a meeting point for those who believed that art and culture should be accessible to everyone, not a privilege for a few,” he wrote, recalling the singers and street artists with whom he created his first works there, such as “Ivan, Pao, Bros, Sonda, Nais.”
“Today, Milan needs spaces like the Leoncavallo more than ever. Instead, there is a preference to demonize youth gatherings, extinguish the values of sharing, and suffocate what is born from the grassroots and not from profit.” From this stems his appeal to reopen the center, and more.
According to TvBoy, “the artworks inside and outside must be saved, preserved, protected. They must become collective heritage, a living museum.”
“Already in 2007, Vittorio Sgarbi, who comes from a world far from mine,” he recalled, “recognized the value of the Leoncavallo, defining it ‘the Sistine Chapel of street art’ during an exhibition at the PAC. This says a lot: the strength of that place went beyond ideologies, because it spoke the universal language of art. The Leoncavallo has been a beacon for generations of artists and young people. And Milan cannot afford to turn off such a light.”
© Copyright ANSA – All rights reserved