Ten Years of OnStage APS: The Story of an Association Born in Botrugno

A decade of local history

On September 15, 2015, in a small room at the Botrugno Town Hall, the founders of what would become OnStage APS met for the first time. None of them knew they were beginning a journey that, ten years later, would transform the cultural landscape of Salento.

The beginnings: when OnStage was just a dream

At first, OnStage wasn't even an official association. It was the WhatsApp group of four friends who believed their town, Botrugno (1,600 residents), deserved to have an authentic cultural voice.

The original founders:
- Marco Ferreri, today the association's president
- Sara Quarta, head of artistic programming
- Luigi Manca, workshop coordinator
- Franz Donato, head of visual arts

What united them wasn't experience (none of them had a background in the field), but the gut-level conviction that culture didn't have to wait for public investment or initiatives from big cities. It could be created from the ground up, by people, by the community.

> "We asked ourselves: why shouldn't a 15-year-old in Botrugno be able to hear live freestyle rap the same way a kid in Milan could? What's stopping us? Only ourselves," Marco recalls in the anniversary presentation.

2015-2017: The experimental phase

OnStage's first two years were marked by equal parts hesitation and courage. The association had no budget, no headquarters, not even a clear identity. What it had was enthusiasm.

The first improvised initiatives:

In November 2015, the first event: a hip-hop jam in the piazza with three local beatboxers and an audience of about 40 people (mostly friends and family).

In February 2016, the first freestyle rap workshop for teenagers. Seven kids signed up. No one paid (it was free out of economic necessity). One of those seven has since become an established producer in the regional scene.

In June 2016, the crazy idea: organize a three-day festival. The total budget was €800, raised through fundraising among local residents. RestArt "zero" happened in Piazza San Pietro, with two improvised writers and an atmosphere more reminiscent of a party among friends than a true cultural event.

> "We had no money for posters. We asked residents to share the flyer on Facebook. Pure word of mouth," recalls Sara, laughing during an interview.

2017-2020: Consolidation and crisis

2017 was the turning point: the Puglia Region officially recognized OnStage APS as a cultural association, complete with a registration number and legal status.

With official status came opportunities and responsibilities. The association received its first public funding, its first real event budget, but also its first real failure.

The numbers from this phase:
- 2017: 5 events, ~500 total visitors, budget €3,200
- 2018: 8 events, ~1,200 visitors, budget €8,500
- 2019: 12 events, ~2,800 visitors, budget €15,000
- 2020: 1 event (due to COVID-19), online community as a lifeline

2020 was the hardest year. All annual events had to be canceled. The piazza, which for five years had been the community's stage, became deserted.

It was at that moment that OnStage made a brave choice: turning the crisis into innovation. The association launched the "OnStage Radio" project — a weekly live hip-hop show on Instagram, with virtual freestyle battles, interviews with local producers, and a community that gathered digitally when it couldn't do so in person.

2021-2023: Expansion and regional visibility

With the post-pandemic recovery, OnStage didn't go back. It moved forward.

RestArt 2021 was a declaration of rebirth: 18 writers from all over Italy, a piazza transformed into an urban art gallery, 3,000 visitors. The event received regional media coverage for the first time.

At the same time, OnStage began creating portable formats:
- "Salento Block Battle" — a freestyle and breaking competition that became the season's most anticipated hip-hop event
- "Open Mic Estate" — a showcase of young talent that brought new voices into the community
- "Freestyle 101" Workshop — training for teenagers funded by local grants

Growth figures:
- 2021: 18 events, ~8,200 visitors, budget €45,000
- 2022: 24 events, ~14,500 visitors, budget €78,000
- 2023: 28 events, ~19,300 visitors, budget €125,000

2024-2025: The crowning achievement

If 2023 was the year of growth, 2024-2025 was the year of cultural consecration.

RestArt 2024 exceeded every expectation: 8,200 visitors (more than triple 2023's figure), national coverage, international artists, major commercial partners. It was no longer "the local event," it was a genuine cultural phenomenon.

The number of association members grew from 45 in 2020 to 187 in 2025. Botrugno's piazza became the reference point for Salento's hip-hop scene, what the Lecce coastline is to tourism or the provincial road is to trade.

The decade in numbers

| Metric | 2015 | 2019 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual events | 1 | 12 | 31 |
| Annual visitors | 40 | 2,800 | 25,600 |
| Members | N/A | ~20 | 187 |
| Annual budget | €800 | €15,000 | €165,000 |
| Municipalities reached | 1 | 3 | 18 |

The pillars of success

What made OnStage a sustainable association, when thousands of similar organizations dissolve after three years?

1. Inclusive leadership: It's not a one-man show. The four founders have always delegated, creating a team of coordinators who today number 12 people. This built organizational resilience.

2. A format that scales: OnStage doesn't create one event and stop. It creates systems that can be replicated (Open Mic in different piazzas, Workshops in different seasons). A tested, repeatable, improvable format.

3. Roots in the community: Despite its growth, OnStage has maintained a strong bond with Botrugno. The events never became "by tourists, for tourists." They remain "of the people, for the people."

4. Diversification: Over the years, OnStage hasn't limited itself to a single art form. It kept its hip-hop base, but welcomed street art, acoustic music, theater, cinema. This multiplied the potential participants.

> "If OnStage were just freestyle, today it would have 2,000 people. Because it's freestyle + art + education + community, it has 10 times that," says Sara, analyzing the growth.

The moments we'll remember

Among the 10 years, some moments remain etched in collective memory:

- February 2016: The first workshop with 7 teenagers who didn't know what freestyle was. One of them is now a well-known producer.
- June 2018: The first time an OnStage event received regional coverage. The joy on the team was uncontainable.
- March 2020: When lockdown arrived and OnStage had to put an end to all scheduled events. The pain was real, like for a family.
- July 2021: The moment RestArt resumed, with the first big post-pandemic event. The piazza was packed, and the audience cried during the performances.
- April 2024: When the first national sponsor contacted OnStage not on the community's request, but out of genuine opportunity.

The records of history

Over these 10 years, OnStage documented everything: 240+ photos of events and performances, 15+ highlight videos of the most important events, 8 detailed reports on each RestArt edition. All of this material has been catalogued.

What the founders say after 10 years

Marco: "If you'd told me in 2015 that we'd have 187 members, 25,600 annual visitors and €165,000 in public budget, I wouldn't have believed you. I didn't know it was possible to build something this big from nothing."

Sara: "The hardest part isn't organizing a big event. It's keeping OnStage's soul while you grow. I keep asking myself: how do we preserve the genuineness of 2015?"

Luigi: "The kids who did the first workshop in 2016 are today the mentors for the 2025 workshops. That's the real victory."

Franz: "The walls painted in 2016 are still there, untouched. Seeing them 10 years later, you understand our work wasn't fleeting."

The decade of second places

If there's a theme that runs through OnStage's whole story, it's the idea that you don't have to be the biggest, the richest, the most connected to matter. OnStage started in Botrugno, a Salento town of 1,600 residents. Not from Milan, not from Rome. Not with major funding, but with enthusiasm and hard work.

The next 10 years

During the anniversary celebration, the founders announced "Project 2035": creating a permanent cultural hub in Botrugno, expanding to 50+ annual events, launching a school of performing arts.

Conclusion

Ten years of OnStage is not a "success from nothing" story. It's a story of persistence, adaptation and trust in the community. OnStage has stayed standing because it has stayed rooted, authentic and accessible. It hasn't been a story of people who got rich or gained national fame. It's been a story of a community that decided to say "our voice matters."