Ten years of performing arts: a cultural project spread across territories, communities and the international scene
The tenth edition of the Art Festival was presented during the press conference in the Council Room of the Municipality of Recanati, in the presence of the authorities involved.
Scheduled from 26 June to 12 July 2026, the Festival celebrates ten years of art as a shared space, consolidating its role as a reference cultural project for contemporary performing arts. Conceived and promoted by Whats Art APS, the Festival is configured as a traveling cultural system, capable of connecting international artists, territories and communities through widespread and completely free programming.
Five cities in the Marche region – Montefano (26 June), Porto Recanati (27 June), Grottammare (28 June), Numana (4 July) and Recanati (11 and 12 July) – will welcome the Festival, each according to a format designed for the specific host location. 2026 marks a significant territorial extension with the entry of Grottammare (AP), as well as Montefano, strengthening the inter-provincial character of the Festival. Other cities have also expressed their willingness to join for further summer dates.
«Art Festival is never repeated: each edition offers new and diversified artists and shows, attracting a large audience and helping to enhance the territory and all the structures involved» declared the mayor of Recanati, Emanuela Pepa, underlining the value of continuity and shared work. «We will continue to support it with conviction, also thanks to the support of the sponsors, and we are curious to discover the news of this tenth edition created by Gian Luigi Mandolini».
The Councilor for Culture Ettore Pelati echoed these words, highlighting how the Festival has represented a model for other cultural initiatives in the area: «Art Festival has also been a source of inspiration for other events because it manages to focus on the relationship with the exhibitors and the valorisation of the historic centre. The two-day formula, with the center transformed into a large stage, proved to be successful.” Among the most important innovations of the 2026 edition, the entry of the Municipality of Montefano, represented by the deputy mayor Mirco Monina, who underlined the importance of the initiative for the territory: «Art Festival represents a significant opportunity for our city, which will be able to join forces with tourist vocations by enhancing its beauties. The event will involve the historic center, from Piazza Bracaccini to the Gardens, and is designed above all for families and young people. Thanks also to the Teatro della Rondinella association which collaborates on the initiative.”
Great enthusiasm also for the participation of Grottammare, as highlighted by Simone Calvaresi, president of the Vecchio Incasato di Grottammare Association, which has been active for years in the promotion of one of the most beautiful villages in Italy and which actively collaborates in the event: «Also on behalf of the municipal administration of Grottammare, we are pleased to host two dates of the Festival and to have started a collaboration with WhatsArt and with Gian Luigi, with whom we found ourselves in harmony right from the start. The setting of the village and the food and wine offer in a street food version will help make the experience even more engaging. We strongly believe in the value of art in all its forms and we aim to further develop the cultural offering, also from an annual perspective.”
Closing the presentation, the artistic director Gian Luigi Mandolini, who, after thanking the administrations of Numana and Porto Recanati, not present due to unavoidable commitments, retraced the ten-year path of the project: «Art Festival works because it is the result of the shared work of institutions, volunteers, artists and citizens. The Festival has grown thanks to constant collaboration with the territories, regardless of administrative changes, a sign of the value recognized to the event. Behind it there is an intense selection work which every year guarantees a completely renewed offer: all the artists and shows of the edition are new and international”. Among the special events, Mandolini announced the evening of July 11th at Palazzo Venieri, in collaboration with Surfin’ Love, reiterating how the Festival continues to be “a shared celebration” destined to continue also in the September events signed by Whats Art.
PROGRAMS IN THE TERRITORIES
MONTEFANO – 26 JUNE
For the presence of the Art Festival in Montefano, the collaboration born between Whats Art and the La Rondinella Theater Association is fundamental, which over the years has transformed the theater of the same name into a true artistic laboratory, a point of reference for multiple expressive forms and a place of experimentation and creative courage. A truly precious communion of artistic intent which is a balm for civil coexistence and the promotion of quality art.
For the historic center of Montefano, a widespread opening was designed with five show stations with local and international artists.
The protagonists will be: the Revolé Company (Italy) with Carnival, an ecological circus and aerial acrobatics show; Anima Company with The Simon Show, puppet theatre, Camila Fernández with Tangueando: The Journey of Tita, Brunitus with Giróstatus show that revolves around an object, the devil, and Torpeza Ritmika, with the performance on the Cyr wheel; Ermelinda Coccia with Life, Sand Art show.
Another summer date of the Festival will be added in Montefano, Saturday 25 July.
An itinerant artistic device designed for an intergenerational audience.
PORTO RECANATI – 27 JUNE
The Festival returns to Porto Recanati with great pleasure, now welcomed as a fixed event of the summer season. Saturday 27 June will offer a concentrated and high-intensity performance evening, which will see three shows alternating in the Largo Porto Giulio location: The Rose of Sand by Torpeza Ritmika; the Ècolore capillary suspension by the duo Las Birdies (Italy/Belgium); theatre, dance and fire with Back to Life 2.0 by Pyrovaghi.
A path that intertwines artistic research and contemporary social contents.
GROTTAMMARE – 28 JUNE / 5 JULY
In exporting the format to the province of Ascoli Piceno, the meeting between Whats Art and the Consorzio Vecchio Incasato Grottammare, born in 2022 to give new life to the Upper Country, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, is invaluable. A fusion of intentions based on the common belief that the promotion of the territory passes through the promotion of contemporary art. A union of forces that produced two immersive days in the village of Grottammare Alta, in two consecutive weekends, with five show points throughout the charming historic center of the city.
For June 28th the following are scheduled: the performance of capillary suspension Ècolore by the duo Las Birdies (Italy/Belgium); physical theater with Tangueando, el viaje de Tita by Camila Fernández; the animated theater and puppet show of the Compagnia Ánima; the suggestions of fire with Back to Life 2.0 by Pyrovaghi; Marumba&Playmore’s reggae/latin live set.
On July 5th the protagonists will be: Tony Clown (Santiago Foresi) with clowning and magic; Lisa Bencivenni with Unbreakable lambe-lambe theater (miniature theater for one person at a time); Gabriel Bubbles with “Peace and Bubbles”, a hallucinating journey through time between bubbles, love and brotherhood; Humberto Kalambres with Cadxiga,
juggling and clown show; Sasha B Terzofirechista and his fire show Adrag.
A format that integrates languages and spaces, enhancing the urban heritage.
NUMANA – 4 JULY
The Numana Art Festival also returns to open the summer events of the Queen of Conero with a non-stop evening, right in the heart of the historic centre. A unique event right in the suggestive Piazza del Santuario, an evening with a dramaturgical structure in three acts with Humberto Kalambres with El Aletreo, a balancing act on a soft rope: the Eccentrici Dadarò with Incomica, circus-theatre, clowning and transformism; Sascia B Terzofuochista with Adrag, visual show.
A crescendo between imagination, comedy and spectacularity of fire.
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