Lord of the Rings Art Collection On Tour
Staff Reporter

Last January, Arteventi organised the first collection of work by the most important Italian artists on "The Lord of the Rings", which was put on show at the splendid fourteenth century castle in Riolo Terme, Italy. Due to the huge public interest in the event, as well as the extremely positive reaction from the media and public administration, we are now in the process of arranging, in conjunction with the Italian Tolkien Society, the first ever touring exhibition based on "The Lord of the Rings". The exhibition is to include the very best international artwork on this theme.

The exhibition will last three years and will be held in many different areas - in fact there are no particular geographical limits as the subject matter appeals to such a wide section of the public, from children to adults and serious art lovers.

As the exhibition is a travelling one, it will be on show in the various locations selected for periods of not more than two months.

The official opening of the exhibition is already set to take place next August in Riccione, a well-known tourist spot on the Adriatic coast, at the picturesque "Rocca degli Agolanti" castle, which has hosted several other international exhibitions in the past.

Arteventi has already initiated important contacts (for example, in France and Switzerland) with a view to displaying the artwork in other locations. These will be determined more precisely when we have a better idea of exactly how large the exhibition will be.

Given the importance that the project seems to be taking on, even at the organisational stage, the Italian Tolkien Society has already approached the Italian "Consiglio dei Ministri" (cabinet) for official patronage and indications have already been given that this should be granted in the near future. Arteventi and the Italian Tolkien Society are also concluding agreements with other international partners.

A further indication of the weight this project has gained is the fact that a sculptor of the calibre of Luigi Enzo Mattei has already agreed to participate. Mattei will prepare a unique work depicting the Middle Earth exclusively for this occasion.

On a national level, thanks to the intervention of the Italian Tolkien Society, we can confirm that the paintings of all the major Italian artists of the Tolkien saga will be present in the exhibition.

In order to give the exhibition a social purpose and not just an artistic one, we have also decided to contribute to the setting up of a fund entitled “All children need to dream” (to manage this fund discussions are already underway with UNICEF and other important international organisations who work to defend children's rights). Arte20 has created this fund specifically for this occasion and 10% of the entire takings deriving from the sale of tickets to the exhibition will be donated to the fund on the 1st August for each year the show runs.

A dedicated website, which will contain all the relevant information concerning this initiative, has been activated and is currently being designed. The name of the site is www.childrenmustdream.org.

The exhibition itself will be set up so that, as the visitor walks past the images on display, it is as if he or she is “leafing through” the pages of Tolkien's masterpiece. In fact, panels printed with extracts from “The Lord of the Rings”, corresponding to the images reproduced in the paintings, will be provided next to each of them.

Overall, the exhibition will include more than 100 original works of art having a minimum size of 30 cm x 50 cm, in colour and executed using traditional painting techniques (not made solely through computer-art).

As this will therefore be an exhibition of true art we will also be printing a proper catalogue, divided artist by artist, which has been designed with a smart and attractive layout and will include photographs of the works on display.

Finally, we would like to emphasise the fact that, at a time of enormous interest in the works of Tolkien, this is the first exhibition on the theme of "The Lord of the Rings" to be as well thought out and organised or to be created as a touring exhibition.