OPEN CALL

U MARE CUNTA 

Santa Marina Salina (Aeolian Islands, Sicily, Italy)

DEADLINE APPLICATION 21 MARCH 2025, 23:59 CET / CLOSED

‘U MARE CUNTA’ è un'iniziativa dedicata alla promozione della protezione del mare e alla sensibilizzazione della comunità e dei visitatori. L’iniziativa si inserisce nell’ambito del progetto ‘Salina Isola Blu’, supportato da Blue Marine Foundation e Sicily Environment Fund, con lo scopo di coinvolgere la comunità locale e i visitatori sull’importanza della tutela del mare e nel processo di istituzione dell’Area Marina Protetta di Salina.

U Mare Cunta (dal dialetto eoliano, ‘il mare racconta’ ma anche ‘il mare conta’) è un’iniziativa interdisciplinare che intreccia arte, scienza e comunità in un percorso di ricerca e creazione collettiva, che vuole mettere al centro l’esplorazione e la relazione tra gli ecosistemi marini e le comunità, adottando un approccio non solo estrattivo ma anche rigenerativo. Scambio con il territorio, dialogo tra saperi locali e ricerca artistico-scientifica sono al centro di questa esperienza.

INTRO

Avviato ad aprile e attivo fino a settembre 2025, U Mare Cunta celebra il processo verso la designazione di un’Area Marina Protetta a Salina, un passo fondamentale per la tutela degli ecosistemi e della biodiversità marina dell'isola. In collaborazione con biologi, scienziati, vulcanologi e comunità locale, l’iniziativa si sviluppa in più momenti che si intrecciano e si influenzano reciprocamente, creando un percorso di approfondimento, sperimentazione e restituzione pubblica.

La prima fase, in primavera,  con la residenza artistica, prevede un’immersione nella ricerca sul campo e attività partecipative, mentre la seconda, prevista in estate durante il periodo di maggiore affluenza turistica, si articolerà su un programma pubblico che includerà una mostra, una conferenza e una dark room /stanza proiezioni per screening video, ospitati presso Amaneï e in altri spazi pubblici.

L’intero processo verrà documentato per alimentare una riflessione collettiva sulle possibili evoluzioni future legate alla tutela e gestione sostenibile del mare.

Obiettivi

La residenza artistica e gli eventi correlati mirano a creare un dialogo interdisciplinare tra arte, scienza e tutela ambientale, coinvolgendo la comunità locale, i turisti e un pubblico più ampio. L'obiettivo è sensibilizzare sulla protezione degli ecosistemi marini di Salina attraverso un approccio creativo, metodologie partecipative e innovative. La ricerca interdisciplinare diventa così uno strumento di connessione tra esperti, comunità locale e pubblico internazionale, contribuendo alla creazione di nuove prospettive ecologiche e culturali.

l’obiettivo è quello di stimolare un dialogo sulla tutela del mare, sulla sostenibilità ambientale e sul turismo responsabile.

THE RESIDENCY PROJECT 

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).