A Project Made up of Music and Sustainability

A FESTIVAL THAT IS ALSO A LIFE EXPERIENCE. ON 1 JULY, TERRAFORMA WILL KICK OFF, ORGANIZED BY BOCCONI ALUMNUS NICCOLO' BONAZZON, AMONG OTHERS

"Starting a festival from scratch is an imaginative experience. Terraforma has literally cut its way through tall grass and trees. You must be flexible and ready for anything. Working in a cultural organization forces you to use both managerial and lateral thinking”. Niccolò Bonazzon completed his MSc in Economics and Management in Arts, Culture, Media and Entertainment in 2010. He begun to organize and promote concerts during his university days and gained experience working at the Milanese events MITO Settembre Musica, Piano City, and Barabitt. Today he’s the drummer of the pop-rock band L’Orso and consultant of the Terraforma music festival that takes place each Summer in the woods of Villa Arconati. “It’s the Milanese Versailles”, he says talking about the villa, an example of 18th century baroque near Milan, in Castellazzo di Bollate. The festival lasts three days (July 1-3, 2016),  offering experimental music, and it’s organized according to sustainable practices.

“It’s an experience”, Bonazzon says. “The participants become a community. They stay at a campground, they listen to world, jazz and dance music, they take part in workshops and sustainable projects”. The idea is not to simply occupy a part of the four hectares of Villa Arconati woods and then leave, but to redevelop an abandoned green area and create permanent eco-sustainable structures that host performances and workshops. In doing so, Terraforma has a positive and long-lasting impact on the territory. In 2015 a workshop area was created, in 2016 a 18th century project will be revived. The festival is a Threes production, a non profit association recently turned into an Ltd. The proceeds come from tickets selling, bar and market, private sponsors. “We don’t call them sponsors. They are partners to us: we ask them to share and support our goals, contents, and projects”.
 
 

by Claudio Todesco