Miu Miu has announced its new arts event, called the Literary Club, Writing Life.
Miu Miu SS24
The two-day event will bring into focus the work of Sibilla Aleramo and Alba De Céspedes, alongside conversations, live performances and entertainment.
Inspired by Europe’s rich heritage of literary salons and artist collectives, and a reflection of the lives of women past and present through the written word, the fabulous literary gathering will take place at Circolo Filologico in Milan on April 17 and 18 from 3pm to 9pm.
The inaugural event champions two landmark titles: Aleramo’s “A Woman”, first published in 1906, and De Céspedes’s “Forbidden Notebook”, published almost half a century later in 1952. Both works demonstrate the power of writing as a creative medium which, for centuries, has allowed women to express their thoughts, desires and ideologies, asserting their independence and inspiring their own and future generations to do the same.
According to the house, Miu Miu Literary Club, Writing Life, is conceived to further promote such discourse as well as an understanding of history and education, central both to Miu Miu’s identity and to the lives of women today.
In a series of panel discussions and performances curated by Olga Campofreda – writer and researcher in Italian culture, language and literature – ideas focusing on women’s position in society, including family, motherhood and work, will be shared and opened up for conversation, springing from the words of these ground-breaking authors.
Speaking about their everyday and creative lives, the thoughts of contemporary authors and commentators will interact with those of the great literary teachers of the past allowing their legacies to enrich the future. Panelists include 2000 Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri, Italian writer and Strega prize finalist Claudia Durastanti, critically acclaimed writer Sheila Heti, Italian writer and 2011 Campiello Opera Prima winner Viola Di Grado, Booker prize long-listed author Selby Wynn Schwartz and Xiaolu Guo, a Chinese-born British novelist, memoirist and film-maker (National Book Critics Circle Award 2017). Panels will be moderated by writer and curator Lou Stoppard and by author, presenter and journalist Zing Tsjeng.
Similarly evocative poetry and readings will be performed in the afternoon of both days, together with live music performances.
Miu Miu Literary Club is the latest in a series of cultural experiences, devised and supported by Miu Miu, to promote the arts. These include Women’s Tales, an initiative designed to facilitate female film directors, now in its 27th iteration, and collaborations with multi-disciplinary artists for collections and fashion show presentations. Both “A Woman” and “Forbidden Notebook” will be available for the occasion, wrapped in special Miu Miu packaging.
The full two-day programme will be available online on the Miu Miu website.
