1-31 March
The Italian Cultural Institute in Sydney is pleased to host visual artist Mara Callegaro throughout the month of March as part of the WONDERFUL – Art Research Program, promoted in collaboration with the Museo del Novecento and Fondazione MUS.E in Florence.
The residency aims to support and foster the artist’s research practice, which unfolds at the intersection of visual art, performance, and writing, through a deeply site-specific and participatory approach. In line with the mission of WONDERFUL, the project promotes artistic processes that encourage shared reflections on the relationship between individual, space, and community.
Based in Milan, Mara Callegaro’s work focuses on everyday life and the subtle psychological tensions experienced by both individuals and communities. Her practice develops in close dialogue with the spaces she inhabits and traverses, often seeking situations of temporary displacement that generate new perspectives and narrative possibilities. Formal experimentation—combining photography, performance, and writing—remains a defining element of her research.
In recent years, the artist has participated in several international residency programs, including a four-month stay at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris as part of the Nuovo Grand Tour program, where she developed the project Paris. 7 Thoughts on a well-known City, 7 Images from Here, the first chapter of a long-term investigation into the concept of dwelling.
Her residency in Sydney represents a significant opportunity for exchange within a dynamic and culturally diverse urban context. During her stay, the artist will explore Sydney’s artistic landscape, meet Italian artists working locally, and undertake a research experience in remote areas of New South Wales, with particular attention to nearby reserves and national parks.
Among the lines of inquiry guiding her stay is the concept of camouflage—understood as a strategy of invisibility, disguise, and transformation—recently explored during the WONDERFUL program in Florence. Observing native animal and plant species endowed with distinctive mimetic abilities may further inform the development of her ongoing research.
The residency thus stands as a moment of study, exploration, and dialogue, strengthening cultural connections between Italy and Australia while fostering new trajectories of artistic experimentation.
For more information about Mara Callegaro click HERE