THE ART OF SELF-EXPRESSION
An interview with Massimiliano Pani
by Christine K. Zarb
 THE WEBSITE
Why a website?
 Although we started late on the Web, we had a specific purpose in mind: to create a meeting place for an existing community. We also wanted the website to embody the characteristics of quality, elegance and good taste, therefore, we needed Mina's personal input. Many unofficial websites of Mina already exist, however, Internet offers artists great opportunities for self expression. If we assumed that we already had an audience, the creation of the official website proved us right. From the very beginning we had noteworthy visits with a high loyalty rate.
I believe the Web will develop more and more towards the niche markets, addressing audiences with specific topics of interest. Therefore, no longer attempting to widen its public, but focusing instead on specialized forums that are relevant to existing communities. That is exactly what we set out to do. Currently, we're developing the complete Spanish version of the site to address the Hispanic communities amongst which Mina is much loved.
CREATIVE FREEDOM
You said that Internet offers great creative opportunities?
Internet is a place that's open and free, it allows the artist to create things that truly represent her without a care for the program managers, the sponsors or the marketing people. What better place, for an artist who in the 60s and 70s, was one of the pioneers of Italian television because it must'ít be forgotten that Mina-RAI was an association of enormous success, chiefly due to the programís originality. Today we still favor an innovative approach to communication, as a matter of fact, this year weíve won a prize for it.
The website is a space where Mina articulates her ideas, which dont necessarily relate to her work. For example, she might discuss things she likes such as music or cinema, in the same way that she contributes her thoughts to the written press. These writings are also included in the website. In the end, the website becomes a creative tool that Mina uses to create new sections, which she directs artistically.
THE TEAM
Who are your collaborators?
The website is updated weekly and runs just like a newspaper. The editorial team is made up of Mina's crew who work on her record productions, as well as a group of Web people including Alessio Gianni our Webmaster. The editor in chief is Lele Cerri. Mauro Balletti is the artistic director. Stefano Anselmo runs a stage make up school in Milan and, in our fashion section, discusses make up. There's Luigi Nava who's in charge of the notice board and Platinette, founder of the first Mina fan club, who is responsible for Mina's Café.
CONTENT
The contents are exhaustive, which ones do you think are the most important?
The website contains a large section that is both comprehensive and exhaustive. It includes: all the material from RAI TV (to which all foreign TV material will be added), the complete discography as well as advertising, film and fashion segments. The album section recounts part of the history of Italian costume, through articles about Mina. This perhaps isn't the newest or most spectacular thing weíve done on the project, however, it is of great significance in terms of content. There are articles by Visconti and other greats of Italian culture who discuss Mina. For someone in Venezuela for example, it can be fascinating to be able to look at 30 years of a phenomenon, which is'ít reported through a biographers'point of view, but is described by those who narrated the events as they took place.
Behind all of this, of course, there's a monumental amount of research. Locating the originals, scanning them and obtaining all the permissions was'ít an easy task. The website contains 2600 pages of which 300 are dynamic. Additionally, there are one thousand audio files of a minute each as well as advertising spots and film excerpts. The project contains a massive amount of material. And there are many partners: all the owners of the master copies of all the record productions in nearly 40 years, RAI TV, Barilla and all the other advertising companies that have associated their brand name with Mina. Then there are the owners of the copyrights and the publishing rights, the producers of all the films that she's made, the photographic agencies and so on... In other words, gathering all the material was arduous! Fortunately, everyone participated in the project with great enthusiasm.
THE COMMUNITY
How do you interact with fans?
In the section Mina's Café there's a forum that is having and enormous success and has already clocked up to 60 thousand messages. Users vary from Mina experts to those who's knowledge is scant and come here to inquire and learn. We have witnessed the emergence of a community that has come about spontaneously.
Inside Mina' s Café we're adding new fun sections such as the Mina Box, which contains a selection of shorts, videos, photos and other files that have Mina as their subject, and which have been created by the fans. It's an open window where fans send in their contribution, some of the things we've received are beautiful: there are paintings, compilations, poems, drawings, musical scores and even films.
THE VIRTUAL TOUR
How did you get the idea for a VT?
Another section we planned is the VT. We believe that it's interesting, for visitors to the Mina website, to be able to explore the space in which the artist works.
THE MINA MARKET
Do you have e-commerce?
Mina's complete musical catalogue that is distributed in Italy, is available through e-commerce as well as the collectables. Here one can find a selection of products that Mina has created and developed personally. The idea is to offer a restricted number of high-quality products that are beautiful and rare. For example thereís the book, Disegnata Fotografata Mina, it's the only book about Mina, made by her. It consists of a photographic album that has been carefully assembled and contains a collection of photographs by Mauro Balletti and Roberto Bertolini, and is illustrated by Gianni Ronco.
As there are no posters of Mina on the market, she has selected four limited-edition posters, of which 500 numbered copies have been printed. Then there's the vinyl version of the album, Dalla Terra. There are other initiatives as well. We are producing a VHS, Mina Nei Caroselli Barilla. These ads, which were directed by some of the most important directors of the time such as Zurlini, Gherardi and Falqui, are part of Italian advertising history. They are wonderful documents. For example, the art director was Fellini's costume designer and Mr. Barilla, who was a contemporary-art lover, commissioned a series of sculptures to be used as backdrops in the advertising spots.
Mina's new DVD Mina In Studio, launched on 9 November, will be available exclusively through the Mina Market.
THE FUTURE
What's in store?
Earlier on I spoke of the encyclopedic section of the website, which will be completed by the material that is available outside of Italy, while Mina was on promotional tours and making TV appearances abroad. This comprises the next part of the research, including a foreign discography, which is going to be another colossal project.
There's also a development program that is reviewed yearly. It's purpose is to seek out those new ideas that will add value to the website. An example of such a project is the new DVD that we produced and that will be out on 9 November.
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