Carnivals, festive parades and the carnivalesque in political demonstrations: Italy (Viareggio, Genova), France (Marseille, Nice)
The principal investigator and a PhD student analyse artivist actions within carnivals and festive parades as well as the way artivists refer to carnivalesque tools within political demonstrations. On the French and Italian Mediterranean coast from Nice to Viareggio, a certain number of established carnivals express political viewpoints aesthetically, while alternative carnivals have been invented as revivals of the satirical essence of carnival. Moreover, carnivalesque elements and style figures such as masquerades, dérision, détournement and the inversion of power and roles are increasingly used in contemporary political demonstrations in the same region, namely in Genova. How is the political expressed in carnivalesque events and actions, and how is the carnivalesque used in political events and actions?
Taking the role of apprentices, two researchers participate in the organisation and planning in order to observe the emergence of artistic action from the inside in the Mediterranean region, ranging from Marseille to Viareggio.
