On Sunday July 14, the Sicilian Arts Collective Australia (SACA) will host its Winter Sicilian Salottu – Cuntami na storia at Ragtime Tavern, Preston Victoria from, 3pm to 6pm.

As the days draw shorter, join the Sicilian Arts Collective Australia in its second Sicilian Salottu, as we unearth and celebrate ancient and contemporary forms of Sicilian-Australian storytelling.

Long before social media and across the globe, the oral tradition has taken form in drama, poetry, chant, puppetry and song, bonding communities across the millennia.

In Sicily too, cùntisti breathed life into epic tales, entertaining communities on street corners, in parks or town squares. The word Cùntu means an account, statement or novella. But its true cultural meaning, goes much deeper, conjuring the fables, and anecdotes that make us.

Sicilian Salottu Session #2 – Cùntami na storia continues this tradition. Come along to an afternoon of Sicilian-Australian storytelling at Ragtime Tavern, Preston, featuring the songs of Sicilian folk musician, Rosa Balistreri performed by Elvira Andreoli (The Rustica Project).

This is an open mic event. Whether you are finding your voice or a seasoned storyteller, we invite you to cantari e cùntari! Performers, writers and everyday philosophers with a connection to Sicily are invited to sign up. Sing and recount the stories that make us – the stories we left behind, we came with and the stories we are in the process of creating. The event will be recorded and podcasted.

The Sicilian Salottu Sessions are the seasonal flagship event series, curated by the SACA collective. Bringing together artists, writers, performers, poets and academics in intimate venues across Melbourne, in a celebration of Sicilian-Australian creativity. The events build our SACA community and offer a warm and rambunctious introduction a distinctly Sicilian-Australian way of thinking, feeling and being.

Event: Sicilian Salottu Session #2 – CÙNTAMI NA STORIA       

Date:   Sunday 14 July 2024

Venue: Ragtime Tavern, 206 Tyler Street, Preston VIC 3072      

Time: 2.30 for 3pm start until 6pm

Entry:  FREE              

To participate as a storyteller, contact:
Cristina Neri on 0425 811 748 or Rosanna Morales on 0477 222 287
For more information or to arrange an interview, contact:
Katrina Lolicato on 0431 529 403