OPEN CALL

IANCURA RESIDENCY PROJECT

selected participants are: Derek MF Di Fabio, Mia Tamme, Abhijan Toto, Maria Trabulo

April/May 2024

Santa Marina Salina (Aeolian Islands, Sicily, Italy)

DEADLINE APPLICATION 25 SEPTEMBER 2023, 23:59 CET / CLOSED

amaneï invites artists and cultural professionals legally residing in one of the 40 Creative Countries (including their Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) and Outermost Regions (ORs) of the European Union), except Italy (check" Eligibility section" for detailed information), to apply for a research-based residency project in Santa Marina Salina (Aeolian Islands) in Spring 2024. amaneï welcomes applications from candidates from different stages of their careers and backgrounds, with a focus on experimental practices in visual arts, cultural theory, performance, filmmaking, curating, literal translation, and writing.

The residency period lasts one month (April/May 2024, TBC), with four residents at a time.

THE RESIDENCY PROJECT 

Iancura is a residency research-based project led by curators Elettra Bottazzi and Marta Bandini, and hosted at amaneï, a non-profit organization and cultural center based in the volcanic Aeolian archipelago. Through this project, amaneï and its mentors foster to re-discover the local cultural and natural history of this remote area in the Mediterranean Sea, which is still poorly known. The project Iancura takes its name from a unique meteorological phenomenon known in the Aeolian dialect. It signifies a moment of temporal suspension when the sea and sky merge, creating a motionless, white, and milky landscape. Just as iancura represents a temporary suspension, where the sea and sky merge in a motionless and ethereal state, the untold stories exist as dormant narratives waiting to be unveiled. Drawing inspiration from the studies of Macrina Marilena Maffei (anthropologist who dedicates her work to collecting and preserving the oral narratives of the Aeolian Islands, mainly focusing on women, healing practices and the supernatural world) and Pietro Lo Cascio (naturalist, whose primary focus is the study of island biodiversity, manages conservation and monitoring projects in the archipelago, mainly to preserve endangered animal species) the project explores the possibilities of history-writing, cultural knowledge transmission, and memory reclamation. The residency program's structure investigates untold/unwritten stories while giving voice to silenced perspectives through territorial investigation and art practices. Iancura emphasizes critical thinking, alongside narratives not validated, interpreted, or recorded, fostering cross-cultural connections and dialogue with local organizations, communities, and scholars within the Aeolian territory.

amaneï supports a collaborative environment through a tailored program that encourages interdisciplinary exploration and engagement with the Aeolian territory and its community. The program also offers professional development activities, including mentoring sessions, lectures with researchers and scholars, access to private and public archives, expert-guided tours in local museums, and natural and archeological sites. The residency will include open studio activities and a final public restitution in amaneï spaces. Furthermore, each resident-related material will be shared through online platforms during and beyond the residency period.

Housed in a 19th-century building on the small island of Salina, amaneï will provide artists and cultural professionals with space, resources, and guidance to support four participants at the same time with a one-month research-oriented residency program. The premises consist of a three-floor building which includes: exhibition spaces, shared workspace (arrangeable according to participants' needs, with essential audio-visual equipment and crafting tools), library, shared accomodations, communal kitchen and a large panoramic terrace for public presentations and rehearsals.

Iancura Residency will offer accommodation and workspaces. It will also cover travel expenses (from the place of residence to the place of destination, and back to the place of residence - including visa expenses if needed) and living-related costs (such as food and local transportation). Traveling by land and sea (train, bus, ferry) is highly preferred.

Iancura residency project is an European-funded project under the Creative Europe program.

HOW TO APPLY

The candidates are selected by a professional committee composed by amaneï team and cultural partners. After the first round, selected candidates will be interviewed. The names of the final participants will be published on amaneï website. 

Those interested should send their application to info@amanei.com (subject OPEN CALL-IANCURA-APPLICATION) by 25 September 2023, 23:59 CET 

The application should contain:

  • CV (including contact details) and a short bio

  • Portfolio (max. 5 MB)

  • Motivational letter / brief project prosal (max. 500 words.) explaining why you wish to participate in this project

  • Proof of legal residence in one of the 40 Creative Europe countries (except Italy; see "Eligibility criteria" section).

* Please ensure all written documents are in English and in PDF format.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Participating artists and cultural professionals must be aged 18+ and legally residing in one of the 40 Creative Europe countries, except the one where the residency program is based (Italy).

It includes: Albania, Austria, Armenia, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, and Ukraine. Including their Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) and Outermost Regions (ORs) of the European Union: Greenland (Denmark), French Polynesia (France), New Caledonia (France), Saint Barthelemy (France), St. Pierre and Miquelon (France), Wallis and Futuna Islands (France), Aruba (The Netherlands), Bonaire (The Netherlands), Curaçao (The Netherlands), Saba (The Netherlands), Sint Maarten (The Netherlands), Sint Eustatius (The Netherlands) French Guiana (France), Guadeloupe (France), Martinique (France), Mayotte (France), Reunion Island (France), Saint- Martin (France), Azores (Portugal), Madeira (Portugal), Canary Islands (Spain).

Applicants can have the same nationality in which the residency project is implemented as long as they legally reside in a different country.

Each selected participant must be present for the entire duration of the residency project.

* Should you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@amanei.com



Amaneï is a non-profit organization and cultural center based on the island of Salina (Aeolian archipelago, Italy). Amaneï is located in a 19th-century building of Santa Marina Salina, where the native Oliva family lived until 1918 before being exterminated by the Spanish flu epidemic. In 2005, Oliva's descendants, Elisabetta di Mambro (president) and Elettra Bottazzi (artistic director and residency curator), restored their ancestors' house and activated the amaneï project. In 2016, Elettra Bottazzi and Marta Bandini (art and project manager) started the amaneï residency program. As a cultural center in the Aeolian archipelago, it promotes territorially related research practices through residency programs, community engagement activities, and international exchange initiatives. Amaneï encourages on-site theoretical and practical research studies and projects related to its islands and islanders, fostering collaborative projects, exhibitions, talks, and workshops (among other activities) with a network of affiliated national and international partners and institutions. It collaborates actively and continuously with the Municipalities of Santa Marina Salina and Malfa. To facilitate the synergy between multidisciplinary practices and cross-cultural interactions, the organization activated a worldwide residency exchange program (with Indonesia in 2022/2024 and Portugal in 2023). In 2023, as mediator for territorial practices, amaneï hosted the DAI-Ducth Art Institute and the Appel Curatorial Program for the AEOLIAN DAI WEEK 2023.

Elettra Bottazzi (1989) is an Italian curator, art historian, researcher, and archivist. Focusing on an interdisciplinary approach of anthropology, history, archival methodology, and linguistic studies, her curatorial practice reflects upon themes such as memory and identity in the visible and invisible worlds. She curates contemporary art exhibitions and projects in Italy and abroad, and her writings have been published by Mondadori, Electa, Maurizio Corraini, and Skira. She is the co-founder and artistic director of Amaneï, a non-profit organization and cultural center based in Salina (Aeolian Islands, Italy). Elettra has been Giosetta Fioroni’s curator and archivist for the Parise-Fioroni Foundation (2014-2019), for whom she curated “Sentimental Journey” retrospective at Museo del Novecento (Milan 2018). For several years, Elettra participated in Robert Wilson’s International Program at The Watermill Center (NY, USA) as a performer and artist coordinator. Alongside her curatorial practices, she collaborates worldwide as an artistic production coordinator with artists and filmmakers, including Peter Greenaway (Last Supper, Park Avenue Armory, New York, 2010), Jan Fabre (“The man who measures the clouds,” Venice Biennale, 2019), and Robert Wilson (“Living Rooms,” Louvre Museum, 2013; “Daydream” and “Palace of light,” Noor Festival, Riyadh, 2021). 

Marta Bandini (1990) is an independent Italian curator, art historian, and teacher. She is  the gallerist and the artist residency manager of Amaneï, a non-profit and cultural center based in Salina (Aeolian Islands, Italy). Through national and international institutions, she specialized in promoting and supporting research, interdisciplinary projects, and new contemporary art languages. Between 2014 and 2018, she co-founded Parione9 gallery in Rome, where she curated emerging artists’ exhibitions. She was the archive assistant and communication manager at the Parise-Fioroni Foundation (2019-2021). Moreover, she collaborated with public and private partners for urban redevelopment projects and exhibitions, including Fondazione Marco Besso (Rome, 2017-2019), ANAS, Stadio di Domiziano (Rome, 2021), and Museo Diocesano (Caltagirone, 2022).