A MINTy Evening

November 21, 2007 · Filed Under Art · Comment

MINT is an exhibition.

Oddly enough, this exhibition, which goes by the name ‘MINT’, has nothing to do with the sweet, although you could say that it is quite refreshing. Sorry, I could not resist. And my weak attempts at associating the MINT event and the sweet have fallen on deaf ears where Italians are concerned. Not many Italians, it would seem, are able to understand the connection between ‘MINT’ and mint, or ‘menta’ as they say here in Italy.

Must be my quirky English sense of humour. Oh well.

Anyway, MINT does not stand for anything apart from MIlan INTernational, and this will most probably not help you to understand just what this event is all about. So, I’ll shed some light on this mysterious happening.

Basically, MINT is all about antiques and art, both the old stuff and that, sometimes odd, modern stuff.

Last night I was lucky enough to attend the inauguration of MINT (my other half works in the trade - such sweet luck!) and it was not at all bad. First of all, this exhibition is held in what is, to all intents and purposes, a large tent, situated to the rear of Milan’s castle. In the foggy Milanese winter evenings, this location is certainly rather atmospheric, and so it should be in a way, seeing as the items on display are just about all available for purchase, at, wait for it, atmospheric prices.

By way of example, there was a fabulous two and a half metre high portrait of a poor woman on show. This gem was on offer at around one million Euros. I was sorely tempted, but the size of the thing put me off rather, oh, and then there was the minor problem relating to finding the odd million Euros. That old cash flow problem again. Oh well, never mind. Maybe I could negotiate the price down a wee bit, by say ninety nine percent?

Although my own finances may be limited, there were plenty of well dressed Italians there, many of whom, I suspect would have been able to stump up the odd million or so. Indeed, talking of expensive paintings, there were some lovely images of Venice on display. I did not even inquire as to the price. And, no, I cannot remember the artists.

I believe that this event is open to the public from the 21 / 26 November 2007, between 12 a.m. and 9 p.m.. If you would like to know a little more, then the MINT site may interest you, and it is here (in English).

If are into art and you do manage to find your way there, then you may well like what you see. I did, and I am not really into art.

Tags: antiques, Art, evening, event, fabulous, interest, Italian, Italy, Milan, Milano, show, Venice

Zelig, Milan - Comedy Show in English TONIGHT

October 10, 2007 · Filed Under Life in Italy, Milan · 3 Comments

Whilst flicking through the pages of the Metro free newspaper on the way to work this morning, I noticed that Zelig a well know Italian cabaret venue, located at Viale Monza, 140, Milan (click on the address to go to the Platial Map), has ‘Culture Shock’, a comedy set written by English comic John Peter Sloan this evening at 9:30. The show will poke fun at the cultural differences between Italians and the English and so should be worth a look. Apparently around 75% of the show will be in English.

Alas, I won’t be there, which is a shame. Perhaps someone who reads this and does go along can say how it was.

Tags: comedy, Culture, English, evening, Events, fun, Italia, Italian, Italians, Milan, show

SMAU

October 8, 2006 · Filed Under Events · Comment

If you don’t know, SMAU is a computer and technology exhibition which is held annually here in Milan. Being a bit of a geek, I usually go.

Now, I have to say that this exhibition has been going downhill over the years and this year it just about hit rock bottom. Why? Well, it was tiny and poorly organised. Oh, it’s never been fantastic, but it has been much much more interesting. However this year it was entirely closed to the general public and has become aimed at those who work in the technology sector, in theory. In fact, there just was not much to see for that many business people and nothing new, with the possible exception of 3d tv, which looked promising, but has to undergo plenty of development before we would want to have it in our living rooms.

I went to SMAU with a friend of mine and he too was unimpressed to say the least. A shame really, because this was the first year that the event has been held in the new exhibition centre outside Milan, at a place called Pero.

I was spolit before because the exhibition centre used to be within walking distance of my house. This is no longer the case, and even though the new complex is impressive, not to mention huge, I found myself having to walk about as far from the underground station to the exhibition hall as I would have walked to get to the old exhibition centre. At least there are mobile footpaths and it is all under cover.

If you actually have to pay to get in to Smau this year, then let me say that it is not worth the 15 Euro entry cost.

There used to be so much more, and I believe that the consumer technology exhibition has been hived off into a separate event, leaving the business oriented event purely to business - in theory.

I’m not all that sure I’ll bother going to SMAU next year. SMAU seems to have lost its way.

Tags: event, Events, Italy, Milan, show, Smau, technology