Frieze Masters will host a 'Culture of Italian Olive Oil' event, featuring Italian producers who are passionate about art and agriculture in equal measure.
“This project has been created to highlight the age-old connection between agriculture and art, which nowadays regains its social relevance,” said Domitilla Calamai.
Not only is Calamai an olive oil sommelier and producer of the award-winning Osti olive oil, she is also writer of essays and novels like Blame it on Fidel, which was made into a movie.
We met her to talk about an exclusive event where extra virgin olive oil will meet art in one of the world’s most influential contemporary art fairs.
Frieze Masters will host its Culture of Italian Olive Oil event, featuring Italian producers who are passionate about art and agriculture in equal measure.
On October, 7 at Locanda Locatelli, the Italian restaurant in London awarded a Michelin star, a tasting of Italian extra virgin olive oils will underscore the close relationship between art and the world of agriculture.
Witnesses to this deep connection will be sixteen Italian manufacturers who are also collectors, artists, publishers, writers, architects, political scientists, filmmakers and landowners.
They include: Domitilla Calamai and Mattia Falchetto Osti, Giovanni and Patricia Aldobrandini, Matteo Boetti, Valentina Bruschi, Giuseppe Catalano di Melilli, Anna Federici and Roberto D’Agostino, Nina zu Fürstenberg and Giancarlo Bosetti, Giuseppe Gallo and Cristina Leonardi Gallo, Noëma and Klio Kosuth, Piervittorio Leopardi and Livia Berlingeri Leopardi, Peter Sartogo and Martina Mondadori Sartogo, Laura Einaudi and Bartolomeo Pietromarchi, Remo and Sally Salvadori, Bernardo and Costanza Scammacca del Murgo, Oliviero Toscani, and the host, the Chef Giorgio Locatelli.
The event, curated by the independent curator Cornelia Lauf, proposes a selection of excellent products that will be disclosed and expounded by Calamai and by the olive oil sommelier, biodynamic farmer and art collector, Anna Federici. They will reveal the characteristics and history of each producer, while introducing the participants to the secrets of a real tasting session, during which Murano glasses and ceramics made by artists, including Alan Belcher, Roberto Caracciolo, Manuel Gorkiewicz, Nicoletta Gualdi, Coralla Maiuri, Tristano di Robilant, will be used.
It will be a journey across Italy, the country with the largest number of olive varieties, which their peculiar flavors and aromas. Producers share the common mission to produce extra virgin olive oils of the highest quality, following sustainable practices, respecting and nurturing the territory, preserving a unique biodiversity in a mosaic where tradition and modernity coexist to enhance the beauty and uniqueness of Italian landscapes.
Cornelia Lauf proposed the union between EVOO and art “to emphasize the close link between the millennial culture of olive oil and the role of the producer, also a cultural protagonist.” All manufacturers present at the event are, in fact, cultural figures. Moreover, some adorn their labels with images created by artists like Alighiero Boetti, Emilio Corti, Giuseppe Gallo, William Kentridge, Joseph Kosuth, Ignazio Mortellaro, Remo Salvadori and others.
“The relationship with our land may be the last frontier of contemporary art,” the curatorial presentation reads, and then it quotes Joseph Beuys, who declared that “the defense of nature is anthropological action.”
“In effect, we have the social commitment of taking care of the world we live in,” Domitilla Calamai pointed out. “Managing my olive grove is a source of pride for me. At the core of the union between EVOO and art is the idea that art has also a function useful to convey a message of care and quality.”
More articles on: art, culture, Italian olive oil
Jan. 3, 2024
Promoting the Role of Women in the Olive Sector
Jill Myers founded the Women in Olive Oil network to connect women across the sector while promoting their voices and highlighting their contributions.
Dec. 11, 2023
Making Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Sicily’s Tree of Peace
Volunteers harvested olives to produce oil from the tree in Palermo that commemorates anti-mafia prosecutor Paolo Borsellino.
May. 4, 2023
Consecrated Oil for King Charles III Coronation Arrives in London
Olive oil used in the coronation was produced from handpicked olives and blessed by religious officials in Jerusalem.
Feb. 28, 2024
Córdoba Festival Promotes Local Olive Oil Against Backdrop of Harvest Challenges
Organizers hailed the event as an opportunity for local producers to promote their products after a demanding harvest.
Sep. 11, 2023
Award-Winning EVOO, Local Cuisine Delight the Senses on Hvar
Eva Marija Čurin challenged guests at a dinner to decide which extra virgin olive oils paired best with local dishes.
Jul. 10, 2023
Yusuf Can Zeybek Triumphant at Kırkpınar
The first-time Kırkpınar winner overcame two-time champion İsmail Balaban to win the title of head wrestler at the world’s oldest sporting event.
Jun. 19, 2023
Pandolea Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary in Rome
The non-profit focused on women’s health and sustainability celebrated the anniversary with an award ceremony and launched a new project.
Aug. 7, 2023
Olive Oil Production Returns to Pompeii 2,000 Years After Volcanic Eruption
Ministers and farming organizations tasted local extra virgin olive oil and table olives while promoting a UNESCO nomination for Italian cuisines.