Richard Demarco, the Italian Connection | Exchanges between Scotland and Italy through Richard Demarco in the European context

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Richard Demarco is one of the most relevant and influential figures in the world of visual arts and theatre in Scotland, and Europe since the 60s.Since the beginning of his career, through the foundation of the Traverse Theatre (1963), the Richard Demarco Gallery (1966-1998), and later with the Demarco European Art Foundation, his involvement in the Edinburgh Festival and Fringe Festival, Demarco has been a key player in promoting the European Avant-garde in Scotland and fostering cultural exchanges in Europe. Most relevant collaborations include Beuys, Abramovic, Neagu and Kantor.Although some studies have been conducted regarding the relationships between Demarco and the European Avant-garde (see for example E. McArthur & A. Watson 2010) the Italian connection has not yet been uncovered, and seminal productions, exhibitions and exchanges with Italian partners have not been researched and re-assessed in a wider context. This partial investigation of Demarco's activity is possibly due to the sheer volume of events of differing nature that he has organised, promoted and participated in over the years, including exhibitions, performances, plays, conferences, travels, workshops Furthermore Demarco's archives are composed of an imposing amount of documents, photographs, books, artworks and ephemera.Demarco has produced and shown work from some of the most relevant Italian or Italian based artists of the 20th century: Alberto Burri, Baj, Chiari, Pascali, Paolini, Kounellis, Scialoja, Mimmo Rotella, Merz, Plessi, Sartorelli, Mulas, Quartucci and Tato'. Collaborations and exchanges include Italian cultural key figures such as Palma Bucarelli, the Count Panza di Biumo, Maria Gloria Conti Bicocchi, Achille Bonito Oliva.Part of the photographic archive has been digitised and became available online with the Demarco Digital Archive thanks to a project conducted at University of Dundee by Watson/MacArthur/Shemilt initially funded by the AHRB/AHRC (2002-2008), with a Resource Enhancement Award 'The Demarco Archives: Accessing a 40-Year Dialogue between Richard Demarco and the European Avant-Garde'. The previous involvement in the Team of the PI (Shemilt) and the Archivist (Lockhart) who collaborated in several projects related to Demarco would be a key facilitating element in the new proposal. Richard Demarco: the Italian Connection will capitalise on the recovered Demarco Digital Archive (around 10,000 records) and will give the opportunity to uncover the fundamental exchanges between Scotland and Italy through Richard Demarco in the European context.The project will make available for the first time through translations, seminal historical Italian materials to the larger audience of English speakers.This project aims to retrace the key exhibitions, theatre productions, events, programs and exchanges between Scotland and Italy organised by Demarco and assess their impact on the cultural community in both countries and provide useful sources for art and theatre historians, scholars, critics, curators, researchers and practitioners based in universities, archives, museums and cultural institutions internationally.Research will be undertaken by:1) Archival and bibliographical research2) accessing the extensive records of the Demarco European Art Foundation collection 3) Interviews with Demarco and the surviving artists, curators, performers, directors and animateurs involved4) Analysis & Reassessment of events, performances and artworks5) Rediscovery and occasional recovery of video and film artworks and documentation 6) Workshops and screening with artists7) Drafting of a Chronology of exchanges between Italy and Demarco in the European context.The research findings will be published in an edited, peer-reviewed book with an international call for papers to stimulate contributions from different methodologies and perspectives including Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Curatorial and Media Studies.