An event at the Vernon Towne Theatre will raise funds to support a project that’s brought the works of Sveva Caetani back home to Vernon.
Wanda Fisher has organized an evening of entertainment in support of the Bring Sveva Home project, which in 2021 transported artworks by Sveva Caetani from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts back home to Vernon’s Caetani Centre, the former home of the late Vernon artist, which is now a museum and artist-in-residency space.
“What they need funds for is to protect the art, show the art … and they need special conditions to be stored in and special areas to hang them in,” said Fisher, who has had a passion for the Caetani property for 30 years.
On Wednesday, Nov. 16, people can come to the Towne Theatre to watch a screening of the documentary Sveva Imprisoned. The doors open at 5:30 p.m., with live music on the stage by Neil Fraser, Gus Hansen and Tanya Lipscomb starting around 6 p.m. and the movie starting around 7 p.m.
The Italian Kitchen is also chipping in, offering a 10 per cent discount to people who can show proof of their movie ticket purchase.
In the theatre lobby, patrons will find an art show and sale. Seventeen local artists have their works on display, and a portion of the proceeds from purchased artworks will support the Bring Sveva Home project. The artworks will be on display throughout the month of November.
Written, filmed and produced by local filmmaker Jim Elderton, Sveva Imprisoned follows the story of Sveva Caetani’s emergence as a respected teacher, mentor and artist despite the hardships she endured after her father died in 1935.
Brought to Vernon from Italy by her parents when she was three years old, Sveva eventually withdrew herself from society due to her mother’s grief and mental illness. Secluded from the world, she was not allowed to leave her Vernon home unaccompanied for 25 years.
When her mother died in 1960, Sveva was 43 years old and had to find a way to re-enter society. Having not finished high school she had little prospects and also little money. However, she was able to find herself a job as a teacher and also began painting again — something her mother had discouraged her to do while they were in seclusion.
Sveva Imprisoned premiered in 2005, setting an attendance record at the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre. It was later accepted into the Miami Women’s International Film Festival. Several versions of the film have since been shown, featuring interviews with community members that knew Sveva and the addition of Caetani family film footage shot in Vernon in the 1930s.
Sveva Caetani’s Recapitulation Series consists of 47 separate works comprised of 60 unique watercolour paintings that she took 11 years to complete in the late 1970s and through the 1980s. The paintings depict the late Vernon artist’s inspiring and challenging life story and are loosely based on Dante Alighieri’s narrative poem The Divine Comedy. Only part of the series is currently on display in the Caetani Centre’s gallery.
Tickets for the might of music, art viewing and movie are $30 and can be purchased at the Towne Theatre or online. Patrons may also bring cash to purchase tickets for a chance to win door prizes.
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