“Mangia” (“Eat!”) is a video-performance created by Piero Bellotto and Antonella Cuppari, part of an Italian action-research project coordinated by Antonella Cuppari (PhD) and Silvia Luraschi (PhD) and supported by La Vecchia Quercia social cooperative (Lecco, Italy), Consolida Consortium (Lecco, Italy) and the University of Milan-Bicocca (Milano, Italy). The research investigates the transformative potential of a community approach to the stories of those who have experienced an eating disorder. The aim is to break the social stigma related to these experiences, which often leads to stories that speak only the language of pathology.
A community-based approach to eating disorders complements therapeutic care and opens spaces for collective learning, dialogue, and reflection. The video performance is inspired by narrative material drawn from books, podcasts, personal stories, and community meetings, held between February and May 2024. The second part of the video was made in a soccer field and shows a flash-mob to create awareness about eating disorders.
The project is part of the subtheme Healing Narratives - Poetry, Mental Health and Collective Trauma.
Author
Antonella Cuppari
Antonella Cuppari (1981) lives and works in Lecco, a town in northern Italy. She is a dancer in the "Osteoporosys Dance Theatre" collective of performers led by Piero Bellotto. Antonella has been complementing her dance practice with poetic writing for several years. In 2023, she published her first poetry collection, "Che fine fanno i corpi" (What happens to bodies), published by Dialoghi (Honorable Mention, Antonia Pozzi Award, 2023). She holds a PhD in Human Sciences for Education and is interested in the use of artistic and performative languages in educational and social research. “Arianna” (2022), a video performance created with Piero Bellotto as part of her doctoral research, was presented at Triennale Milano during the Milan universities’ dialogue on the theme of Unknown-Unknowns (2023). Her current research interest focuses on using artistic languages as a means to decolonize a dominant and pathologizing approach to mental health issues, particularly those faced by individuals with eating disorders. As for her poetic practice, Antonella participated in the "Arimo" artistic residency at Casa degli Artisti in Milan (September - November 2024), coordinated by Luca Mastrantonio and Mattia Bosco. The residency aimed to create an anthology of the ghosts of Milan, inspired by Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters.
Author
Piero Bellotto
Piero Bellotto lives and works in Milan. He is a choreographer and dancer of the Osteoporosys Dance Theatre collective of performers. Throughout his career as a choreographer and creative director, he has participated in various festivals, including the Women in Art Festival, Florence Dance Festival, Alert - Cultural Notifications, and Caffeine Festival. The performance Arianna, created in collaboration with Antonella Cuppari, won the VIII edition of the International Literature "Antonia Pozzi Award". As a dancer, he has worked with renowned artists such as Robert Wilson, Maureen Flemming, and Régine Chopineau. Piero is also a writer; in 2024, his first novel, "Cipria", was published by InKnot.Even before it was published, Cipria was a finalist in the Città di Castello Literary Prize 2023 and the Tre Colori Literary Competition 2024. It also received a Special Mention at the Victoria 3.0 Literary Prize 2023.
