7 April, 2016
How our resident artists feel about Venice and the Scuola
The Scuola received great feedback from several artists on RateMyResidency.com ➤ Our program has been ranked # 1 in Europe in Summer 2015. Needless to say, we are all very proud of this acknowledgement, which is the result of many years of hard work and dedication. The percentage of return artists is very high. Some of them come to the Scuola every year. We are all part of a big family (we are Italians after all!) and for many it is hard to stay away from their Venetian home.
Actually, this is not all to our credit. Throughout the years I came to realize that there are many non-European artists who visit ‘old’ Europe as often as they can. It is a cultural and spiritual journey which is not just motivated by mere visual aesthetics. There is more to it: an almost physical need to breathe our tradition and culture, to experience a different way to relate to our fellow human beings, as well as to a local community and society at large.
An artist residency at the Scuola di Grafica gives artists the opportunity not just to become immersed in, but to interact with, Italian culture and traditions, as well as with our contemporary society. Here you meet Italians, you eat in the same places where Italians eat, you visit exhibitions of Italian artists, you come to know Italian people.
Other programs and residencies in Italy are attended exclusively by foreign artists. Most of them are established with the only aim of attracting foreigners. Many haven’t even got an Italian name: what is the point in attending some “Italian Academy of Visual Arts”, when, would it really be Italian, it should be the “Accademia Italiana di Arti Visive”?
Vice-versa, here at the Scuola international artists work side by side with Italian artists and students. Languages spoken are many, but often one can hear a pleasant mix of Italian and English, often used randomly in the same sentences: “Ciao, how are you oggi Lorenzo?” “Bene grazie, ho scritto a few lines per il nostro blog”…
