The La Mercè Cultural Center and the Vila Casas Foundation “Et Elissa devint Didon”, by Anna Ill

The La Mercè Cultural Center (Girona) and the Vila Casas Foundation present the exhibition “Et Elissa devint Didon”, by Anna Ill, which can be visited until 27 May.

Te Elissa devint Didon is an unpublished proposal, which is presented in Girona for the first time, and in which the artist reinterprets in a contemporary key the story of Elissa - Dido, founding Phoenician princess of the city of Carthage and who appears in the first book of the "Aeneid", by the poet Virgil. In the summer of 2019, Anna Ill made a residency for young creators (Jiser) on the same site where the brave princess built the city. It was in Tunis where he conceived the Entrelacé project, a set of works that evoke the journey carried out by the young Dido in his desire to take root and be constituted and that have led him to reinterpret history. of this key figure in classical mythology. It is in this context that Ill constructed a series of artifacts from the manipulation of found objects and that now, giving them a new meaning, he shows them to Et Elissa becoming Didon.

“From Girona Cultura we want to be a reference in cultural proposals for the people of Girona and we are very proud that our city welcomes an unprecedented proposal like this. Because with the city's cultural offer we want to promote a critical, active and cohesive citizenship and, for this reason, we need to promote new expressions of art "said the Deputy Mayor and Councilor for Culture of Girona City Council, Quim Ayats , who added that, "apart from being an exhibition open to all citizens, we believe that it is in the right place as a reference for students of the Municipal School of Art."

Anna Ill (1990, Vilanova i la Geltrú) began her artistic studies at the Escola Massana in Barcelona and, in 2017, graduated with a Master's degree in Art and Spaces from Kingston University in London. In 2018 she was selected for the XXI Biennial of Catalan Art, by the Contemporary Art Prize of the Reddis Foundation, and won the <35Art prize with an exhibition in the Sala Parés. A year later he won the Art Jove 2020 artistic production prize and the 1st Art Pertot prize with a traveling exhibition in Perpignan, Palma de Mallorca and Girona. In 2021, she was chosen as a finalist by the jury of the seventh edition of the Sculpture Prize convened by the Vila Casas Foundation with the work Desaparecer cap endins . He has participated in artistic residencies in Paris, Leipzig and London. He currently lives and works in London.

As an activity linked to the exhibition, on Tuesday 19 April, at 7.30 pm, the artist Anna III will take part in a round table where the curator of the exhibition, Natàlia Chocarro, and Saray Espinosa will also take part. The proposal requires prior registration through the La Mercè website.