Since 2014, the workshop-residency Ritratto a mano (RAMO), has taken place in Abruzzo, Italia. Every year a different artist-tutor is asked to conduct the residency, and twelve artists are selected to participate. The 2021 version of RAMO took place in Giulianova, a small coastal town on Abruzzo’s coast, from May 23rd – May 31st, 2021. Accommodations and working spaces were provided by the Hotel Royal, a hotel overlooking the Adriatic Sea, and equipped with spaces dedicated to artistic production and experimentation. Over the course of ten intensive days, the selected artists worked with the artist tutor to explore the workshop’s principal conceptual theme, the ritratto, or portrait.
The concept of the portrait is metaphorically understood within the artistic process as the outline of the self and the object of contemplation in individual research. The aim is to investigate the formation of a work of art, viewing it as a possible encounter, an experience in the complete sense of the term. Participants are invited to embark on an experience of constant dialogue between real life and artistic making, interacting with the surrounding environment and with one another.
This year’s artists faced an especially unique situation, given the unprecedented historical moment in which the workshop took place. Artists and tutor persevered in creating art in a deeply connected communal context while rigorously observing the necessary safety precautions of pandemic reality. Their efforts culminated in an exhibition featuring new works and projects that were entirely conceived, produced, and installed on site on the Hotel’s premises during the workshop experience. The exhibition therefore is a glimpse of an extraordinary experience that occurred at an improbable moment; a portrait of what artistic production and collective research can look like in a post pandemic reality. The exhibition is on view throughout Summer 2021.
This year’s participating artists included:
- Sebastian Contreras
- Matteo Costanzo
- Flavia Carolina D’Alessandro
- Zhang Yuan
- Devin Kovach
- Silvia Listorti
- Tamara Marino
- Giorgia Mascitti
- Giuseppe Mongiello
- Lorenzo Morri
- Elisabeth Pfeifauf
- Chris Rocchegiani
With artist tutor:
- Francesco Arena
RAMO was founded by Angelo Bucciacchio and Giuseppe Pietroniro and is curated by Giuliana Benassi.