On the Pistoia Apennines – inside the the wonderful Oasi Dynamo – OCA Oasy Contemporary Art was born, a place that fully encapsulates, in the name it bears, both of its souls: that of a natural oasis and that of a space for contemporary art.
This year, artist David Svensson and photographer Massimo Vitali were invited to launch the project, with two works specially conceived for OCA and for the idea that the place wants to convey. It’s the idea that protecting nature does not mean prohibiting its enjoyment, but living it according to the culture of respect and knowledge.
Oasi Dynamo –which stretches for approximately a thousand hectares (about 2500 acres), reaching up to 1100 meters above sea level– was once the hunting ground of the Orlando family, who, in 1911 founded the SMI factory (società metallurgica Italiana – the Italian metallurgical company) on the Pistoia mountains. Recovered in 2006, the reserve is now mostly tree-covered, home to rare plant species and a wide variety of wildlife. Partly devoted to the traditional activities of agriculture and raising livestock, through the years the oasis has also opened up to hospitality, eco tourism, and the dissemination of a sustainable environmental culture. And today, with OCA Oasy Contemporary Art, art also arrives to high altitude, always with the utmost respect for the place.
La Grande Oasi. The way we live, now August 5th – Novmber 5th – OCA Oasy Contemporary Art, San Marcello Piteglio, Pistoia.
Curated by Giovanna Calvenzi, Art Direction Emanuele Montibeller.
