Mingling and Art are matching words, as far as Italians are concerned.
This past week the Business Association Italy America (BAIA) gathered friends and associates for its 2010 Winter Mix at the Cain Schulte Contemporary Art Gallery of San Francisco.
Silvia Girardi, a private art dealer and longtime BAIA collaborator, hosted the event together with Marina Cain, founder and director of the gallery.
The context was the ongoing exhibition "Magna Carta", a collection of international pieces of art related both to the concept of paper and to that of the Magna Carta itself.
The Magna Carta was the first written document which limited the King of England's powers over his subjects.
Among the international artist lineup, Italy was represented by Matteo Bergamasco and Daniele Girardi.
A wide range of people attended the event and only some of them were Italians. "In my 15 years in San Francisco, I've seen the Italian community change so much," said Ottavia Bassetti, the US liaison for Italian FAI (Italian Fund for the Environment) and a journalist. "Now it's about what I call 'Italici', people who like our lifestyle, and want to have fun."
Although the artistic context always fits well with Italian businessmen, BAIA executive director and communication consultant Elisabetta Ghisini pointed out (see the video here on this page) that the main goal of these events is networking itself, a "sport" which Italian businessmen don't typically do very well.
"BAIA organizes all sorts of events to bring Italian professionals together, events that are always rich in content," said Ms. Ghisini. "But content is not everything. Relationships are everything," she concluded.
Comments
Looks like a good event, you should start an online calendar for italian events in the Bay Area!
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