A new neon installation by Lia Cecchin in Genoa is giving us a message of hope

The artist Lia Cecchin (Feltre, Belluno, 1987) has given new shape and message to the historical sign by Ansaldo’s factory which has been saved and recovered by Renzo Piano from the dismantlement of the former Nira building.
The sign, designed by Ettore Sottas in 1980s, has found new meaning and location thanks to the intervention of artist Lia Cecchin who named it “E’ un momentaccio” [this is a bad moment] and to Museo di Villa Croce, new home of the installation.

The initiative was born from the Associazione AMIXI per l’Arte Contemporanea together with the public art project Fondamenta1:  for the realization of the artwork the three contributors has launched a call that saw the participation of ten Italian artists: Francesco Arena, Massimo Bartolini, Luca Vitone, Lia Cecchin, Danilo Correale, Gaia De Megni, Francesco Jodice, Margherita Moscardini, Riccardo Previdi e Patrick Tuttofuoco.

Winner of the project Lia Cecchin was inspired by a writing on a Turin’s wall dated 1976, a critical moment for the history of the country. Conceived before the pandemic outbreak, the work has an extraordinary affinity to the current times we are living and, in a certain way, it aims at playing down the tension by using an informal font and a gentle wording. Curator Luca Cerizza stated: ” The work can now acquire further new meanings: in addition to being a tribute to the communicative power of the ‘street’, it suggests an awareness of times socially and economically complex, becoming an invitation to hope “.