Non Chiamateci Muse was born as a space of welcome and representation where art becomes both a connective thread and a political act. Through collective practices, the project reclaims cultural spaces long denied to people socialized as women and to marginalized subjectivities. Music is central, but so are exhibitions by local artisans, photographers and poets.
One of the most distinctive formats developed by NCM is the choral live set, a shared performance that changes each time according to the artists involved. Songwriters, musicians and writers from the collective take turns leading the stage with their own songs, published or unreleased, while the others accompany them. Acoustic guitars, keyboards, cajón and synthesizers build shifting soundscapes. Interwoven voices amplify individual styles and turn difference into a collective force.
These concerts function as more than shows. They are public statements. The art of women and marginalized subjectivities does not ask for space. It reshapes it.
Alongside the music, each event hosts a hybrid exhibition area where jewelry, handmade clothing, poems, photographs and illustrations coexist. The aim is to support both collaboration among artists and individual projects, with creators working side by side rather than in separate scenes.
Workshops are another core element. Led by the same artists involved in the project, they invite active participation and experimentation. Past sessions have focused on loom weaving, textile screen printing that produced the NCM tote bags and the building of small synthesizers. They are open to everyone, regardless of gender or background.
NCM also addresses the structural side of inequality in cultural production. The collective challenges the persistent stereotype that women are less competent in artistic and musical environments and looks beyond the stage to backstage power dynamics. For this reason, every event includes public talks that tackle self production, gender gaps and the redesign of festival models in a truly inclusive way. Dialogue extends to allies who recognize their own privilege and choose to support shared change.
As the collective puts it, there will not be only music. Discussions will focus on self production, gender disparity and reclaiming cultural spaces through a transfeminist lens. The starting point is their own territory, Southern Italy.
Non Chiamateci Muse is building something rare in the Italian live circuit. A format where performance, craft, education and political reflection move together without hierarchy. It feels grounded, local and replicable. A reminder that alternative scenes grow when space is created collectively rather than granted from above.
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