Milan, Italy 12-14 July 2008
Map | Chinatown | Isola | Corso ComoThe IGVFest inaugurates its first Milan edition, the festival will be located in three areas of this creative and financial center.
The area around Via Paolo Sarpi has recently been settled by the Chinese immigrant community of Milan. The main trade has been in wholesale distribution, with many of the small storefronts brimming with fashion and other imported goods. The influx of foreigners and the constant traffic due to the shops has created friction with the other residents of the neighborhood. Appealing to the city, an obscure traffic law regarding the loading and unloading of goods began to be enforced angering the merchants. In April 2007 a riot broke out after police had fined a local Chinese shop owner culminating in a number of injuries, arrests, and destruction of property as the group of Chinese immigrants attempted to march to the city center to protest the discrimination.
This area is indicative of migration trends elsewhere and the consequences of the confrontation with the other that can oscillate between hybridity and conflict.
tags: immigration, diaspora, cultural hybrids, marginalization, siege, racial conflict
Separated from the center of Milan by railroad tracks this area was nicknamed island due to its relative isolation. Traditionally a working class neighborhood, reflected in the community centers and union offices that dot the urban landscape, it is also home to a number of craft and artisan workshops. Recently the city administration of Milan has desired to transform this area into an upscale enclave due to its close proximity to the city center. One of the plans was to demolition a large community and art center to make way for a commercial complex. The residents protested and would not leave the building causing the police to forcibly evict the premises before the destruction began.
tags: gentrification, occupation, urban planning, community, class struggle
A small street situated between near Isola and Chinatown, became well known for a single boutique whose influence soon brought other high-end fashion stores and a slew of restaurants that serve customers in outdoor seating occupying public space in the middle of the pedestrian street.
tags: fashion, consumer culture, shopping, social gathering nexuses, public/private boundaries