an unrelenting cascade of perseverance, empathy, and empowerment

ARTISTS ENGAGED
A long-term project chronicling artists responding to the needs of their communities and the dynamics of the world today. ACVilla and Thollem McDonas have documented experiences over two decades to create this series of artist profiles, collaborative music, and vibrant video montages of murals-with-a-message.

Episode 4

Artists Engaged Episode 4: Tutti Per Lelio is a story about how one man’s singular vision widened and deepened the meaning of collaboration, activism, and community in his city of Palermo and throughout Sicily. In this flowing 45-minute documentary, we hear from artists and organizers across this island, the mainland of Italy, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and the U.S. about Lelio Giannetto (1961–2020). They share not only a deep appreciation for him as a bass player but also as an organizer of the internationally renowned Curva Minore and discuss his lasting influence across continents, disciplines, and generations. Larger than life, Lelio defied the boundaries of any one language. Director and visual artist ACVilla has gathered an array of concert footage, photos, music, and 55 interviews – not to define him or Curva Minore, but to shift our own narrative as we continue to become who we really are, as individuals and in community.  

This fourth episode in the Artists Engaged series debuted on February 21st, 2026, in Palermo, Sicily, at the Curva Minore headquarters and performance space, Sala Michele Perriera, located in the Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa.

Artists, in order of interview: Maria Merlino, Giuseppe Greco, Francesco Cusa, Edoardo Marraffa, Fred Frith, Fabrizio Puglisi, Jean-Marc Montera, Fabrizio Spera, Giuseppe Guarrella, Alessandro Librio, Ernst Reijseger, Sebastian Gramss, Valerio Mirone, Giuseppe Viola, Alessandra Fazzino, Dario Lo Cicero, Valeria Cuffaro, Massimo Simonini, Gunda Gottschalk, Silvia Bolognesi, Paola Palazzotto, Amy Denio, Mike Cooper, Doudou Diouf, Alessandro Panicola, Gianni Gebbia, Marcello Faletra, Heidi Sciacchitano, Preziosa Salatino, Francesco Murana, Giuseppe Lomeo, Francesco Gallea, Emilia Guarino, Marco Colonna, Benedetto Basile, Marcello Cinà, Dario Compagna, Domenico Sabella, Thollem McDonas, Gaetano Pennino, Alessandra Pipitone, Luciano Mazziota, Luciano Troja, Luca Giannetto, Giovanni Damiani, Eva Geraci, Alessandro Lo Giudice, Gabriele Sutera, Marco Crescimanno, gabby fluke-mogul, Simone Mancuso, Valeria Fazzi, Ava Mendoza, Simone Sfameli, and Tommaso Miranda.

Episode 1

Cheryl E. Leonard, Napoleon Maddox, Jordan Dykstra, Mary Prescott, Rent Romus, Jasmine Nicole Williams, Carmina Escobar, Dereck Higgins, Ken Freedman, Francis Wong, Cynthia Oliver, and ACVilla’s documentation of murals around the U.S.

Episode 2

Marc Masters, Sage Bond, Merlin Coleman, Christina Calderon, Cynthia Oliver, and Jason Finkelman, plus more of ACVilla’s documentation of murals around the U.S. and a street performance, Baile en la Calle, in San Francisco’s famous Balmy Alley.

Episode 3

Artists Engaged Episode 3 focuses on New Mexico based artists and organizations dedicated to their communities both near and far. The first installment features America Meredith (Cherokee Nation, Artist, Editor: First American Art Magazine), Scott Moore (Director: Beautiful Midden), Norma Chairez-Hartell (Founder: Murals of Las Cruces) and Miranda Viscoli (Co-Director: New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence). Upcoming are Madalena Salazar (Director: Working Classroom), Roger Montoya (Co-Director and Founder: Moving Arts Española), and Dylan Tenorio (Kewa, Artist, Co-Director: Little Globe). Dylan was profiled in First American Art Magazine. Below he talks about Only A Dream, his newest album on Bandcamp. Woven into this third episode are murals-with-a-message that ACVilla has gathered on their travels around the state.

Dylan Tenorio for a profile in First American Art Magazine

Dylan Tenorio (Kewa), who goes by the name acbo as a musician, talks about his newest album ‘Only A Dream’ that he self-released on his Bandcamp site, www.acbo.bandcamp.com.

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