The second round kicked off super early, with a talk between dawn-breaker Luke Von Der Gratch and Swiss contemporary art curator
Hans Ulrich Obrist in a brand new format called
Brutally Early Conversation. Later,
On presented
Gallery Run, a guided tour of some of the most fascinating galleries of the weekend. It was still early when
Eddie Vero immersed the audience with his meditation and left us ready to go home or walk around for a while to come back around 4 pm.
By then it was time to discover
StyleNotCom’s exhibition of two tailor made and supersized posts to go viral IRL and
Amesh, who rather than presenting his new collection, gave an insight into his world and his Sri Lankan background to give visibility to the country. A new meditation prepared us for what was to follow:
Jon Aro's live performance, exclusive screenings of
Nico Vascellari's video works and
Kanucia's venerable closing.
As if the stimulations weren't enough to keep our eyes open for two days,
Insomnia also included
Added Value, an upcycling workshop run by
Live From Earth,
The Rug Riders auction in support of the
UNHRC. In addition to The French second-hand platform
Vestiaire Collective which exhibited some its most iconic pieces, including collaborations by Louis Vuitton with Yayoi Kusama, as well as Alexander McQueen and Damien Hirst. An exclusive preview of
Domingo x Sita's collaborative collection of NFTs, which continues at
Reference Realities until its official launch on 9 May.
Sure enough, the festival exercised its subjects from all perspectives, realities and the multitude of reasons for a universal discomfort. Discomfort means change. And while change is inevitable, Reference Festival points to the positive. Unsettled times stimulate creativity, giving rise to new solutions for the future.