ZooArt – Contemporary Arts Festival

ZooArt: when cages become spaces of creative freedom

ZooArt – Contemporary Arts Festival is one of the most original cultural experiences in Abruzzo. It takes place in Ortona, in the province of Chieti, within the reclaimed spaces of the former municipal zoo cages located beneath the Passeggiata Orientale, the famous viewpoint overlooking the Adriatic Sea. Founded in 2006 by the ZooArt Ortona Association, the project has transformed a degraded and abandoned urban area into a multicultural venue dedicated to contemporary art.

From abandonment to rebirth

The city zoo, active in the 1980s, had been closed and left to decay. The association's revolutionary idea was to return these spaces to the community: the cages, once intended for animals, have become exhibition and creative environments. Instead of bars acting as boundaries, today you will find paintings, installations, sculptures, and contemporary art projects. During the restoration work, the tracks of the old funicular were also brought to light, serving as a testament to the site's historical layering.

A multidisciplinary festival

ZooArt is not just an exhibition: it is a true widespread festival that weaves together numerous disciplines. Throughout its editions, the festival has hosted:

• Visual Arts: painting, sculpture, photography, installations, and video art;
• Live Music and DJ sets, with series such as Talk and Vinyls;
• Site-specific performances and live shows;
• Sound poetry, literature, and film forums;
• Art workshops and socio-cultural activities open to the public.

The bond with Ortona and Abruzzo

Having grown over the years, ZooArt has become one of the socio-cultural hearts of the Estate Ortonese, the rich summer calendar promoted by the Municipality of Ortona that brings together over eighty events from July to September. The festival enhances a symbolic place in the city, where contemporary art dialogues with the sea view and the industrial memory of the area. For those visiting Abruzzo, ZooArt represents an unusual way to discover Ortona: a journey through creativity and freedom, best experienced at sunset, immersed in the unique atmosphere of a regenerated urban space.