The Social Promotion Association In Habitat APS proposes for the third year in a row the project Da quassù.Residenza d’artista sul Monte Stivo. An idea that stems from the desire to host contemporary visual artists in an unconventional environment for a month-long residency experience in a refuge at 2012 m above sea level. 

The title is inspired by the famous phrase of Soviet cosmonaut Jurij Alekseevič Gagarin on April 12, 1961: “From up here the Earth is beautiful, without borders or boundaries,” to highlight how the broadening of perspective, thanks in part to a privileged view from above, can then be reflected in the mindset and attitudes of the individual and society. 

The particular position of the refuge, which overlooks Lake Garda from the north, allows a triple view of the Lombardia, Veneto and Trentino territories as well as a wide perspective and a close and privileged relationship with the natural elements. The mountain in this case wants to turn into a formative experience to stimulate the discovery and research of those “essential” elements and deep values, eliminating as much as possible the superfluous and the accessory. Refuge life becomes a welcoming experience full of opportunities, from close relationship with nature to life without shortcuts and artifices. The conditions of isolation and shared space necessitate structuring a coexistence based on empathy and respect. The facility is almost energy self-sufficient, with photovoltaic panels on the roof and rainwater collection tanks.

Awareness of the resources available on a daily basis, however, requires careful and virtuous management for shelter life. The experience is much like a family experience, that is, of a group ready to help each other by structuring a supportive bond among its members. This experience communicated through artistic expressions is intended to spread a message of change, a critique of our way of life, a broadening of perspectives and a fundamental return to a life of community.

The residency, due to logistical difficulties, related to reaching the shelter that does not ensure accessibility to all that potentially interested public, will be documented with photo and video services that can be consulted on related social channels and updated almost daily. In addition to communication via social networks, it is planned to create high resolution video and photographic content to spread the project through other avenues as well. A documentary of the initiative will also be made to narrate the unfolding of each edition. 

The artists are assured of food, lodging and coverage of all expenses.

Halfway through the residency, a guided tour of MART is scheduled together with a museum curator.

The residency will end with a closing event at the shelter during which the project will be recounted and the works created during the month-long residency will be set up. 

A documentary of the project will be made at the end of the residency.

• To provide artists with a space for work, research and reflection in a mountain environment.
• To raise awareness of the finite nature of energy and water resources.
• To raise awareness of the issue of energy sustainability. 
• Foster a vision detached from city reality.
• Activate relationships between artists in residence and on the territory in order to develop new opportunities with the art system.
• To reason about a reality in which the values of inclusiveness, wholeness, mutual aid and support have become fundamental.
• To develop research for a new representation of reality that can respond to new social, health, political and environmental urgencies.
• Trigger mechanisms for alternative enhancement and promotion of the country and its culture.

The selection of artists is based mainly on portfolios and CVs giving priority to those whose research is consistent with the points included in the call, particularly the last three.

The residency is open to all visual artists over the age of 18 with no limits of gender or nationality and without distinction of language and technique. 

The artists will be selected by the jury chosen by the social promotion association In Habitat APS with the support of Denis Isaia, curator of MART, and Alberto Bighellini, manager of the refuge.

Selected artists will be guaranteed room and board at the Marchetti refuge on Monte Stivo for the duration of July 2024. Production of the work, on the other hand, will be the responsibility of the artists themselves. 

The works created will remain on display for the entire summer inside the refuge or nearby and then, provided transportation is possible, will be exhibited at Habitat83 a cultural center in Verona. In June 2025, on the occasion of the press conference for the fourth edition of the residency, the works will be exhibited at Galleria Segantini in the City of Arco. For all those works that are site-specific, perishable or in the case of artistic actions, the exhibition and intervention modalities will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis according to the specifics.

The works remain the exclusive property of the artists who produced them.

The shelter can only be reached on foot. For any transportation of heavy materials needed for the stay and the realization of one’s work, a request should be made directly in the registration email. However, the organizing secretariat is always ready to support artists in residence should they need support, materials and specific needs. 

The residency, due to the difficulties related to reaching the refuge that does not ensure accessibility to all that potentially interested public, will be documented with photo and video services that can be consulted on the related social channels and updated weekly. 

Life in the refuge is punctuated by the weather situation and characterized by basic services that are not always efficient.

The project was born in collaboration with Rifugio Marchetti Stivo, which offers hospitality to the artists, collaborating with the artistic direction in researching stakeholders, sharing content and disseminating the call. The visual proximity of the refuge to the  MART Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto and the artistic nature of the project meant that a collaboration between the museum and the In Habitat association was structured. During the residency, in fact, the artists will have the opportunity to participate in a free guided tour of the museum, and a member of MART’s curatorial staff will be present in the selection jury.

The project is feasible thanks to the support and contribution of the Autonomous Province of Trento, Trentino Marketing and the Municipality of Arco.

The Galleria Civica G. Segantini in Arco will host an exhibition featuring the works created by the artists-in-residence in 2023 and the presentation of the 2024 edition through a press conference. 

APT Alto Garda collaborates as a media partner.

To participate in the competition, please send the required materials to info@inhabitataps.com respecting the timelines, under penalty of exclusion from the competition. 

The object of the email should include “Application for participation – Stivo 2024 – artist last name/collective name.” 

List of material to be attached to the application

• Single PDF document containing portfolio including statement and CV of the artist or collective and letter explaining the motivations behind the application.
• Project you intend to create complete with description, materials used, dimensions (optional).
• Accounting copy of the payment

Registration fee

The registration fee is € 20.00 including membership to the association In Habitat APS to be paid by bank transfer.

Bank: Banca Etica 

Causale: Residenza Monte Stivo

IBAN: IT06J0501811700000017159807

Application Deadline 

Applications complete with all required materials must be submitted no later than May 20 at 12 noon, under penalty of exclusion.

The information and data collected will be used in accordance with the provisions of the new European Regulation GDPR No. 679/2016. Their use is allowed only to the recipient of the message, for the purposes indicated in the message itself.