We took the opportunity of a world-class event such as the Olympics to raise the bar, to dispel the stereotype of craftsmanship as something tied to the past, to tell the whole world about modern craftsmanship that is linked to tradition but knows how to embrace innovation and the future, thanks to the spirit and strength of artisan intelligence. To do this, we thought of a universal language such as that of sounds and images, without the filter of words.
Claudia Scarzanella, president of Confartigianato Imprese Belluno, who as regional vice president personally coordinated the project as a whole, presented The Sound of Artisans at Casa Veneto in Cortina d’Ampezzo – Il Suono degli Artigiani (The Sound of Artisans), a cultural and sensory project unique in the Olympic landscape, which transforms artisan know-how into an immersive experience designed for journalists and the international audience of the Games.
At Casa delle Regole, craftsmanship has become a universal language thanks to a format that combines documentary film, three-dimensional sound, and guided narration through headphones. It is not an exhibition or a screening, but a true act of listening.
With sounds and images, the video allows viewers to enter the workshops of seven artisans representing typical products from the provinces of Veneto (for Belluno, the history of Toffoli eyewear in Calalzo) – explains Scarzanella – to feel part of the creation of the products, discovering and experiencing the emotions, professionalism, excellence, beauty, history, and tradition of the artisans and our Veneto and Belluno region. It is an immersive, total, almost sacred experience in the workshops, to promote Veneto craftsmanship throughout the world.
A project that comes exactly 40 years after the documentary “Artigiani Veneti” (Venetian Artisans) made by maestro Ermanno Olmi based on an idea by the Veneto Region and Confartigianato del Veneto. Today, as then, it is a journey into our artisan world, which has managed to maintain its uniqueness and history, while adapting to changing times and the latest technologies, moving from the prevailing manual skills of those years to the technology that characterizes us today. Master Olmi said that all artisans trust in the skill of their hands and each one is wise in their craft: without them, no city can be built, inhabited, or frequented. Well, today, as then, what surrounds us conveys the soul and professionalism of artisans.
Great credit must be given today to director Alessandro Carlozzo, who, as an “image craftsman,” has excellently interpreted artisan know-how, transferring our art into his film.
The premiere of Sound of Artisans was presented by singer and presenter Giada Valenti, who has been living and working in the United States for years (the sound of hands creating comes before music: without them, even I would not be able to play musical instruments and sing – she said), proud of her Venetian origins and ready to take on this promotional challenge for her Veneto region.
