Making Aware Residency




Fig.1: Residents during the ‘Making Aware Residency’ in Florence, Italy, 2023.







The Making Aware Residency (June-July 2023) brought together a diverse group of photographers, filmmakers, experimental artists, and designers to Florence and Prato. The residency was inspired by Ricardo Dutra’s PhD in Design for Transformative Learning, from Monash University, Melbourne. Ricardo shared with residents the main findings of the PhD, centered around the question of “How to make the intangible visible?” In response, the residents co-created visual and embodied social art pieces—by integrating their own interests and the PhD’s core question.


 








Fig.2: Residents enact ‘how thoughts interact’ in Florence, Italy, 2023—by Aurora Montecucco.








Participants arrived with a wide array of inquiries and themes, which evolved throughout the residency. Through thoughtful, interdisciplinary workshops and exercises, the residents explored the intersections of art, design, and social issues, discovering new ways to approach awareness-based collective creativity and social art forms.

At the heart of the program was a commitment to experimentation and collaboration. Residents worked together to develop innovative prototypes and artistic expressions, leveraging the rich cultural backdrop of Florence to inspire new approaches to their work. This residency offered artistic growth and practical tools and methodologies for applying social arts in educational and community settings.



Testimonials


“This was an amazing residency and a wonderful way to participate in a dynamic artistic community. What surprised me the most was how quickly we got into meaningful deeper reflections and conversations. The artistic exercises and interactions made this possible. Some exercises we did together allowed us to move freely in and out of topics that touched, inspired, and surprised us all. Several of the participants said they had missed such conversations and this way of meeting. For me personally, it was a reminder of belonging across borders and cultures, and the importance of creating possibility spaces for this to happen.”

Ingvild Øverland, former Stavanger Waldorf Steiner School Teacher



“During the summer of 2023, I had the pleasure of being a resident artist at Studio Atelierista in Florence. The residency offered a dynamic and collaborative environment, fostering rich discussions, ideation, and prototyping alongside a diverse group of global artists. The opportunity to explore themes such as the tangible and intangible, self and collective, and learning and unlearning was truly transformative. Studio Atelierista’s thoughtful structure and inclusive spirit made space for genuine creative collaboration, which continues to resonate as the community grows.”

Julienne DeVita, Innovation & Strategic Foresight Consultant






Partners















RETURN TO
HOMEPAGE

LINKEDIN