Art Destinations Sarah Rhodes and Sicily Art Residency Program (SARP)

Lorenzo Barbasetti di Prun is a chef who challenges Italy’s culinary traditions by responding to climate change. Lorenzo trained in Fine Arts, at IUAV University of Venice, and is now pursuing gastronomy with a focus on foraging in diverse landscapes like London, the Dolomites, and the Venetian lagoon.
In this last episode of the Venice season, Lorenzo discusses foraging's role in adapting to climate change by reintroducing edible, salt-loving plants to abandoned farmlands, as part of his project The Tidal Garden.
 
In this episode we cover:

The Tidal Garden: Lorenzo's initiative with colleagues Filippo Grassi and Lodovica Guarnieri. It aims to revitalise saline soils by planting sea fennel and similar plants.


Cultural Adaptation: Educating chefs and the public about these plants to reconnect them with their local landscapes.


Tradition vs. Innovation: Lorenzo argues that rigid culinary traditions can stifle cultural and biological diversity. He emphasises the need for tradition to adapt and evolve.


Personal Journey: Lorenzo's background in visual arts and gastronomy. His experiences foraging in the Dolomites, Australia, and London have shaped his approach to food and ecology.


Challenges and Future Plans: Expanding the Tidal Garden project, increasing community involvement, and promoting sustainable agriculture in the Venetian lagoon and beyond.

 

Photographic artist Davide Degano started to question what it means to be Italian while studying photography at The Hague. Davide started a project focusing on the people living in Friuli, where he grew up in  northern Italy, near the border of Slovenia.
In the project 'Sclavanie' (2021), Davide started to investigate how people living in this border town see themselves and how they are perceived. The word sclavanie is a derogatory term for Italian people with Slovenian descent. His work expanded into the project 'Romanzo Meticcio' (2024) which means ‘mixed novel’ to look at what does it mean to be Italian against the backdrop of Italy’s fascist history.
As someone who was born in Sicily, with Columbian and Slovenian grandparents, identity has always been multi-dimensional. His grandmother Olga was born in Slovenia. By the time she was 20, the same land had become Italy. One hundred and fifty years ago, Sicily was part of the Spanish Empire, and not long before that it was part of the Ottoman Empire. Through his work, Davide started to reflect on his ancestry what that means in a post-colonial world.

Nuvola Ravera examines how human emotions can influence the environment through her project, If I Cry A Lot, Will the Lagoon Become a Sea?' (2016). In this project, Nuvola collaborates with gestalt psychotherapist Laura Castellani to view Venice as a patient in a psychotherapy session. Nuvola uses 3D sculptures, frottages, and sound recordings to capture the essence of Venice, alongside the verbatim transcript between Laura, Nuvola and the city.
 
In this episode of Art Destinations, Sarah and Nuvola discuss the themes of collaboration, fluid boundaries, and site-specific work, emphasising the importance of listening as we move through the world. Nuvola shares her experiences working with various professionals and how these collaborations shape her artistic practice.

Carolina Mazzolari, an acclaimed Italian textile and video artist, honours the legacy of women who ran public laundries in the project Alone Together. Collaborating with Royal Ballet dancer and choreographer Kristen McNally and Royal Opera House senior costume manager Ilaria Martello, Carolina connects viewers to the invisible world of domestic labour through stunning video projections and tapestries on Venice's streets and in the Domus Civica Gallery, San Polo.
Growing up as the youngest daughter of a Milanese perfumer, Carolina's art is deeply influenced by the magic of illusion and connection, to make her artwork a sensory experience.
I met Carolina through Alfio Puglisi, co-producer of Art Destinations and director of the Sicily Art Residency Program, who helped bring this extraordinary exhibition, Alone Together, to Venice, in July last year.
 
 
 
In this episode we cover:

how Alone Together uses dance, video and tapestry to share the story of the women who worked in public laundries in Venice’s rivulets, and in canals across Italy,
 


the video was projected onto sheets hanging in the streets of Venice, outside, as well as inside the Domus Civica Gallery, San Polo, Venice,
 


themes of collaboration and womanhood emphasise the collective power and energy generated when women work together,
 


the historical significance of washerwomen in Italy and their communal labour,
 


Carolina’s artistic journey from working in factories as a fashion designer to becoming an artist working with tapestry, embroidery, video, dance, and site-specific installations, and
 


Carolina’s personal influences growing up surrounded by women and being inspired by their stories and strength, and the influence of her father's work as a perfumer on her appreciation for illusion and sensory experiences in art.

 
BIOGRAPHY
Carolina Mazzolari (b. 1981 Milan/London) uses psychoanalysis and intuition to reveal emotional experience. Her artistic practice spans textiles, printing, painting, photography, video, and performance. Carolina’s hand-embroidery and painted maps are characterised by distinctive silver-grey stitchwork that interacts with light, creating shifting depths and luminous illusions. 
Each map exudes an intimate quality, as the artist has spent countless hours physically interacting with the fabrics. The resulting maps resemble mandalas, conveying love, hesitation, awe, and struggle through a personal language, alluding to deeper human motifs.
Carolina collaborates with 'Fine Cell Work,' a UK-based registered charity that employs and rehabilitates long-sentenced inmates through embroidery, to create the largest hand-sewn works.
Carolina's video and textile work are part of the permanent collection at MONA Museum in Tasmania, Australia, and have been featured in significant exhibitions. Carolina was born in Milan, Italy and currently lives with her family in London.

Join us as we dive into a fascinating conversation with Enrico, the mastermind behind Wetlands Books, a publishing house in Venice that is redefining storytelling. From commissioning African writers to exploring the intersection of theatre and books, Enrico shares his unique perspective on the cultural landscape of Venice.In this episode, we explore Enrico's vision for Wetlands Books, and the importance of addressing contemporary issues such as over-tourism and climate change through storytelling. We also delve into the Afterwords project, which invites African writers to reflect on Venice, and discuss the impact of theatre on audience engagement.

Mary Laheen was one of five creative directors of the Ireland pavilion exhibition, at the 18th Venice Architettura Biennale 2023, titled In Search of Hy-Brasil.
In this episode, we discuss the significance of islands as we re-imagine the future. This idea is of particular interest to me as I continue my research, after completing my PhD on how the atmosphere of islandness can be conveyed through the photographic image.
Mary and I met in Venice during the finissage period when Australia and Ireland co-hosted an event with Scotland, titled Wanderlands. It was during this period, we found synergies between each of our pavilions, with some shared experiences as island nations navigating our history of colonisation by the British Empire.
 
In this third episode we cover:

the theme of islands that underlies the exhibition concept In Search of Hy-Brasil


how the exhibition draws inspiration from the mythological island of Hy-Brasil and the islands off the coast of Ireland.


what we can learn from islands, particularly in terms of the nature-culture dynamic and the resilience and creativity fostered by living in island communities.


designing an exhibition that is an atmospheric or sensory experience rather than a more traditional explanation-driven style


the role of mythology in understanding islands and the connections between isolation, belonging and creativity.


the importance of decolonisation and decarbonisation in architectural practice and Mary’s interest in exploring new ways of building with sustainable materials and technologies


parallels between island life in Ireland and Tasmania, highlighting shared experiences of living on the periphery and the creative freedom that comes with it, and


reflections on future collaborations and the ongoing journey of exploring innovative approaches to architecture and design.