What is the best thing that I love about my work? I love the possibility of creating something that was not there before. Create a new world.
What is my idea of perfect happiness? I would like to think only of my artistic research.
What is my greatest fear? The death in the society of ideals, of dreams, of courage and of empathy.
What is the trait that I most deplore in myself? Sometimes I’m “dispersive” and this makes me waste time.
Which living persons in my profession do I most admire? I admire many artists, I mention only two but they are more: Marlene Dumas and Anselm Kiefer.
What is my greatest extravagance? My only extravagance is being myself. Sometimes you are seen as an extravagant person if you are yourself.
On what occasion would I lie? More than lying, it is better not to say some things, if necessary.
What is the thing that I dislike the most in my work? There is nothing in particular.
When and where was I the happiest, in my work? When something unexpected happens while I paint.
If I could, what would I change about myself? Having a little better memory would not be bad.
What is my greatest achievement in work? In 2017 I did three solo shows. The first at the E23 gallery of Massimiliano Cafaggi in Naples. The space is beautiful and very large. It was very inspiring for me to produce works that interact with it. I worked a lot and this was very satisfying for me.
Where would I most like to live? I do not like living in one place, after a while, I get bored. I love cities like Milan (where I live), even better London and New York because there is artistic ferment, but after a few months I need the countryside and the sea. The nature is very important to reconcile with the universe.
What is my most treasured possession? A picture of my uncle. The photos are wonderful because they are windows on our memories.
What is my most marked characteristic? The passion I put into doing things.
What is my most inspirational location, in my city? There are many. I love the Navigli because there is water and people who want to laugh and have fun.
What is my favourite place to eat and drink, in my city? I love Sushi, so a good sushi restaurant is fine.
What books influenced my life and how? The first books I found interesting are: “Alice’s adventures in Wonderland” (Lewis Carroll) is rich in concepts that have inspired many artistic researches. “The Picture of Doryan Gray” (Oscar Wilde), made me realize that a face is not just a face but a story. “Sepulchres”(Ugo Foscolo) made me reflect on the relationship between the living and the dead.
Who are my favourite writers? Vladimir Nabokov, Virginia Woolf, Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, Paolo Giordano, Banana Yoshimoto, Italo Svevo, and many more.
You Only Die Once. What music would I listen on my last day? I would listen to my favorite singers: Fabrizio De André. Francesco Guccini, Le luci della centrale elettrica, the Lali Puna, Vinicio Capossella, Franco Battiato, Nick Cave, Morphine, Nick Drake, Yann Tiersen the Marlene Kunz, and many more.
Who is my hero or heroine in fiction? Lupin III
Who are my heroes and heroines in real life? I don’t have an hero or heroine but I admire people who live with passion for an ideal like Christo or Gino Strada.
Which movie would I recommend to see once in a lifetime? I recommend these directors that I love a lot: Federico Fellini , Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch and Paolo Sorrentino.
What role plays art in my life and work? Art occupies the main role ! It is my life !
Who is my greatest fan, sponsor, partner in crime? Milena Sgambato is my greatest fan! I think it’s very important to believe in yourself if you want to achieve goals in life.
Whom would I like to work with in 2018? With people open to new things and willing to invest and risk for art.
What project, in 2018, am I looking forward to work on? I can not wait to finish a project for the University of Naples, curated by Luca Palermo, which will see one of my works permanently in the Museum.
Where can you see me or my work in 2018?
On my web site: milenasgambato.com
On Instagram: Milena Sgambato
or on Facebook: Milena Sgambato
What do the words “Passion Never Retires” mean to me? These words make me think that passion is the basis of everything ! I’m agree! It allows us to continue searching to reach new goals
Which creative heroines should Peter invite to tell their story?
Anna Caruso and Debora Garritani they are two talented artists.
How can you contact me?
By mail: milena.sgambato@libero.it
Here follows a message of Peter de Kuster, founder of The Heroine’s Journey
Spring Journey
Wednesday 14th March – Sunday 18th March
The best of The Heroine’s Journey condensed into a single, unforgettable week.
The Heroine’s Journey is a global organisation dedicated to teaching skills not covered by the regular education system – skills that develop storytelling intelligence and encourage psychological well-being for creative professionals. The Spring Journey brings together the very best in our storytelling.
We will cover such themes as how to make money doing what you love, how to promote your business, which is you, how to choose our partners more wisely, how to make relationships last, how to find and create your dreamjob by meeting your rolemodels and making testdrives, how to manage your time and organize yourself creativitely, how to focus on our creative goals, how to have the financial freedom to create and how to more regularly experience creative flow and happiness.
You’ll embark on a rich and enlightening voyage, discovering how to make lasting, meaningful change across every aspect of your creative life. By working within a fixed group led by Peter de Kuster over the week, you’ll dive deeper than would be possible in any single daytrip. You’ll be challenged to think deeply about the issues that matter most, and provided with a space to share your thoughts, ideas and experiences.
The Journey is ideal for those seeking a more meaningful, transformative vacation; for attendees of our daytrips who now wish to take a structured journey through our expertly curated material; and for those wishing to save time in the long run by working through the dilemmas of creative life, business, passion, and your own story in a single, high intensity week.
Blending tuition, exercises, meeting with stories of rolemodels, and discussion in journeys in a world city, each day of the Spring Journey will equip you with tools and strategies to help you find answers for your creative life’s big questions.
Join us for a truly transformational vacation for the mind in Rome
Ticket costs Euro 1250 excluding VAT per person, includes all teaching, materials, light refreshments & additional activities.
You can reach Peter for a skype meeting about questions you have by mailing him at peterdekuster@hotmail.nl
DAILY TIMETABLE
09.40 Tea & Coffee on arrival
10.00 Morning Session
13.00 Lunch Break
14.00 Afternoon Session
17.00 Drinks
Read on for a detailed breakdown of the Spring Journey itinerary.
“You are the Storyteller of Your Own Creative Life. You can Create Your Own Legend – Or Not” – Peter de Kuster
Spring Journey Itinerary
Day One: The first day of the Spring Journey is designed to equip us with the core skills of The Heroine’s Journey and Storytelling. We will learn the power of the story we tell ourselves, why our minds have a hard time understanding themselves, how to map and understand our passions, and how and why we characteristically respond to them.
Day Two: The second day of the Spring Journey takes us on a structured journey around the power of your story as creative professional. Creative flow is always in essence a mental phenomenon, it is a result of ideas- and a story you tell yourself therefore relies on having to hand a raft of enriching stories about your business, your money management, your self promotion and your time management that can be called upon in moments of truth. The day begins with a Heroine’s Journey Breakfast – considering what three of the greatest creative heroines of all time have as story about the art of creative living wisely and well.
Day Three: The third day of the Spring Journey teaches us how to choose our clients and business partners wisely and make our relationships last. One of the gravest errors we make around business relationships is to imagine that they aren’t things we can get wiser or better at. On this day we will learn to practise and rehearse our skills at working with the people who can help you further your creative business (clients and business partners like agents, publishers, marketing professionals etcera). In the evening, we will attend a Storytelling Dinner in a local restaurant – learning to overturn small talk and master the art of opening up our deepest stories.
Day Four: The fourth day of the Spring Journey teaches us how to achieve our creative career potential. We will employ storytelling tools to be better able to understand our creative talents and to move forward using the opportunities that are open to us.
Day Five: The final day of the Spring Journey explores new business opportunities and markets for you to as creative professional. Many of the challenges we encounter in modern life require us to develop creative solutions to complex problems. And even when we’re not tackling big problems, continuously improving the way we live using invention and imaginative strategy is deeply important.
You can reach Peter for a skype meeting about questions you have by mailing him at peterdekuster@hotmail.nl
The Heroine's Journey 