About us
OnStage APS - a social promotion association founded in Botrugno (LE) on 10 February 2016: a platform for young people in Salento who want to put on the events they love.
Our mission
Since 2016 our mission has been the same: to give young people in the area a platform to create the events they love, the ones they want to see in their own community.
OnStage APS is a social promotion association established under the Third Sector Code (D.Lgs. 117/2017), based in Botrugno (LE) and operating in the province of Lecce. It is non-partisan and non-denominational, and bases its activity on the constitutional principles of democracy, social participation and volunteering.
Non-profit, it pursues civic, solidarity-based and socially useful purposes for the benefit of its members, their families and the community: from cultural promotion to the culture of legality, from combating bullying and educational poverty to the redevelopment of public assets and assets confiscated from organized crime.
Every project stems from the belief that culture - when it is truly accessible - becomes a tool for emancipation, inclusion and growth for the regions of Southern Italy.
Bylaws · Art. 3, para. 4
Our values
- Empowering peopleWe put people's personal abilities at the center, so that every story can flourish.
- Accessible cultureWe promote art, education and recreational activities as a common good, breaking down economic and geographic barriers.
- Legality and nonviolenceWe spread the culture of legality and peace among peoples, and oppose mafias, illegality and all forms of violence.
- Combating educational povertyWe fight school dropout, bullying and cyberbullying with extracurricular educational programs.
- Local heritageWe promote Salento's cultural and traditional heritage, both tangible and intangible, and protect the environment.
- Volunteering and democracyWe operate as a non-partisan and non-denominational association, respecting the principles of participation and equal opportunity.
Our areas of action
OnStage APS's activities cover the areas of general interest defined by the Third Sector Code.
Cultural events
Festivals, showcases, concerts, music and freestyle contests, exhibitions, screenings and debates.
Urban regeneration
Initiatives on unused public assets and assets confiscated from organized crime, street art and place regeneration.
Environmental protection
Planting trees and native crops, waste collection drives, landscape conservation and climate change action.
Sport and movement
Organization and management of amateur sports activities open to the whole community.
Our story
OnStage was born on 10 February 2016 in Botrugno, in the province of Lecce, from twenty friends tired of hearing that there was nothing for young people in town. The idea was simple: to create a platform that let young people put on the events they loved. From there came ten years of cultural initiatives, from reggae to street art to freestyle.
2016-2019 · The beginning and the first formats
On 10 February 2016 twenty founding members signed the articles of association in Botrugno, with the aim of promoting music culture in the area. A few weeks later the statute was amended so as not to tie the association only to events in town, and the name of the first event was born: the Salento Summerclash.
On 29 July 2016 the first edition brought four reggae sound systems on stage, with free entry and about 160 local sponsors: an unexpected success, even for those in the business. The Summerclash returned in 2017, in 2018 in an international edition, and in 2019.
Alongside the Summerclash came Giovedì Ciak, a weekly art-house film series at the Cinema Aurora in Botrugno, and RestArt - Suburban StreetArt Fest, which debuted on 5 May 2018 in via XX Settembre with a mural, a murals contest, a freestyle contest and a hip hop night, under the patronage of the Municipality of Botrugno.
2020-2021 · The pandemic and the generational change
With the pandemic, activity came to a halt and many longtime members, by now adults, left the group. This brought the realization that OnStage had to remain a young association, able to renew itself rather than grow older together with the same members. New young people joined from Botrugno, Minervino and the neighbouring towns, already active in the area's hip hop events. In 2020 Enrico Vergari succeeded Alessandro Leucci as president.
2021-2025 · The restart
In autumn 2021 the new group started again with small, low-cost events: Urban Connection was born, reggae and hip hop DJ sets every Friday together with local venues. On 18 June 2022 RestArt returned with Restart, its second edition: a challenge between street writers, a new mural and a live show in via XX Settembre, a milestone in our journey.
In 2023 the Salento Block Battle, our freestyle competition, debuted in Botrugno; it came back on 16 August 2024 and again in 2025. On 18 April 2025 Restart reached its third edition, with live painting and DJ sets in via Paolo VI. From 2025 the presidency passed to Guglielmo Leucci.
2025-2026 · A new organization
On 30 December 2025 we opened a new Members' Register: 40 registrations between 30 and 31 December and a renewed board. At the start of 2026 the Crew Handbook was born, bringing the Scrum method and project management tools into the association to give the volunteers' work more structure.
On 12 August 2026 the fourth edition of the Salento Block Battle was also the first run with an app for food and drink orders. In the same year we prepared a winter programming proposal for the venue, with weekly events from November to March, and submitted our first applications for national grants.
Ten years on, OnStage remains faithful to its original mission: to give young people in the area a platform to create the events they want to see in their own community.
Our territory
Botrugno is a small municipality in the province of Lecce, nestled in the Salento countryside just a few kilometers from the sea. A place where time seems to flow more slowly, but where cultural life is lively and deeply rooted.
Salento - land of taranta, Lecce baroque, centuries-old olive trees and sunsets over the sea - is our natural stage. The squares and streets of its towns are the backdrop for our events.
We believe in community closeness: building culture locally is both a political and a poetic act.