Studio Rizoma

In these times of high uncertainty, especially for cultural practitionners, we are very happy that Studio Rizoma successfully started its work in October 2020. Studio Rizoma is an international cultural studio based in Palermo with outreach offices in Berlin and Paris. It has been established by the international NGO European Alternatives in cooperation with Allianz Kulturstiftung, following the successful curation of the 2019 edition of the Biennale Arcipelago Mediterraneo in Palermo.

Conceived as an open hub for the Mediterranean region, Studio Rizoma attempts to establish rhizomatic structures, to adopt a decentral perspective on Europe and implement artistic projects involving feminist, postcolonial and ecologically conscious approaches.

Starting with the multimedia exhibition project Pandemos developed with Sicily-based artists (see below), Studio Rizoma is already expanding its work and network towards Europe's Southern edge, and works at anchoring sustainably the Biennale Arcipelago Mediterraneo (BAM) in Palermo. The next edition, foreseen for Autumn 2021, is already in development with a consortium of local, national and international partners.

During the first months of the global pandemic in Spring 2020, Studio Rizoma issued an open call to collect the first European artistic responses to the pandemic and it's overcoming. Eleven Projects by 17 international artists working in Sicily have been chosen by a selection committee on the merit of their respective proposals. They worked over the Summer to produce artworks reflecting on the pandemic experience and its aftermath. Curated by Izabela Anna Moren, these works come to life through a physical exhibition on 27 October 2020 in the Convento del Carmine Maggiore, Palermo, and through a digital book available on the dedicated website.

Selected artists: Oli Bonzanigo, Michele Bubacco & Carlo Santacaterina, Michele Maria Cammarata & Roberto Lentini, Eliza Collin, Michelangelo Ferrara, Lina Issa, Alessandro Librio, Marianna Maruyama, Ignazio Mortellaro, Studio Luminescent, Salvatore Peluso.

The process of selection of the works was done together with an international jury composed of artists and writers, among them: Giorgio Vasta, Luca Cinquemani, Giusi Diana, Letizia Gullo, Simone Mannino, Izabela Anna Moren, Ennio Pellicanò, Filippo Pistoia, Clarissa Renée Podbielski, Giuseppina Vara, and Lorenzo Marsili.

BAM – Bienniale Arcipelago Mediterraneo is a biennial of theater, music and visual arts dedicated to the peoples and cultures of the countries overlooking the sea, focusing on the themes of hospitality and dialogue. Following the sucess of the 2019 edition, ÜberMauer, Studio Rizoma is dedicated to sustainably anchor the Biennale in Palermo and set up the foundation for the 2021 and 2023 editions, together with partners from Palermo and as well as from the Mediterranean region.

A special partnership is currently developed with the Biennial of Tunis, thus strengthening Palermo as a cultural hub of Europe's Southern edge.