A Project Endorsed and Supported by The Orwell Society

It is with great honor and pride that I can finally announce the support and patronage of The Orwell Society, the UK-based charity organization dedicated to the understanding and appreciation of the life and work of George Orwell, also aiming to keep the study of Orwell alive through several educational activities, including a student dystopian fiction prize, grants to literature students, and support to cultural initiative that help spread the knowledge about George Orwell and his work. The Society’s patron is Richard Blair, Orwell’s adopted son, and The Society’ Committee includes among its members Quentin Kopp, the son of Orwell’s Commanding Officer during the Spanish Civil War.

The Orwell Society is very connected to The Monegros; its Committee organizes visits in the region every two years to retrace Orwell’s steps as he fought in the Spanish Civil War, and participates to special commemorative events such as the recent photographic exhibition “Orwell toma café en Huesca”, that opened at the Huesca Museum a couple of months ago.

Since Homenaje a Los Monegros is more than just an art installation, being a true tribute to the inspirational figure of George Orwell, I thought it would have been “nice” to have the endorsement from The Orwell Society. It turned out to be great, in fact.

I got in touch with The Orwell Society via email, presenting the project and asking for their patronage, thanks to the Ayuntamiento of Alcubierre, which has met its Committee members during their previous visits to the trenches of the Ruta Orwell. I was hoping for a “basic” endorsement, such as the possibility to communicate The Society’s support to the art project by using their logo and such, so I was positively surprised when I received a very positive feedback.

Not only I got granted the patronage of The Orwell Society to the project following a nice email exchange with Richard Blair and Quentin Kopp. In the following days, I also had a very pleasant Skype conversation with Quentin Kopp, during which I expressed my gratitude for the support received, and also got more great news. The Orwell Society not only will be happy support the initiative on the communication front, also willing to spend a few words in support of the initiative, but will also offer it support in presence, as the entire Committee of The Society will attend the opening of the Homenaje a Los Monegros project on May 20th, in the Sierra of Alcubierre.

I wasn’t expecting so much, but who could have said that The Society had their biennial trip to The Monegros planned exactly on the same days of the installation opening? What a coincidence, what were the odds?

During our Skype chat with Quentin Kopp it has been discussed also the involvement of The Orwell Society on other “collateral” events that we are currently planning with the Ayuntamiento of Alcubierre and other Aragon institutions. More on this pretty soon, no spoilers for now. But I gladly share here a picture, or better said a screenshot, taken during the Skype meeting with Mr. Kopp, that I publish here with his permission – as you can see, we had a great time and our chat was certainly not “a formal meeting”.

Overwhelmed by so much support, I decided to “give back” to The Orwell Society by joining the association as a member, offering my contribution in support of the many initiatives organized by The Society, and connecting me even more to the Maestro.

I will write more blog articles soon about The Orwell Society’s support to Homenage a Los Monegros, with the announcement of the collateral initiatives currently under consideration by The Society, and further news about the presence of Richard Blair, Quentin Kopp and the rest of The Society’s Committee to the art opening in The Monegros.