May 11- 23, Journey to Salina

tag: Salina

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The Dutch Art Institute (DAI) is an itinerant Master program at the intersection of theory with art, activism, performance and curation. Without a permanent home, students and tutors congregate seven times per year at different places throughout Europe (and beyond) to engage in collective study: making and thinking.

Finding like-minded partners, we connect with local art initiatives, performance and presentation spaces and residencies, weaving an international network, an archipelago of distinct localities and initiatives, each with their own rhythms and objectives. We exchange in the spirit of generosity, sharing space, spending time, generating energy, building the community to come.

Island Thinking / L'isola che pensa Film Festival

This time we are in Salina, one of the Aeolian Islands, as guests of non-profit organization and cultural center amaneï, home for artists and researchers of all disciplines. In addition to bringing around 80 students and tutors, DAI has also invited the five participants of the de Appel Curatorial Program to join us on this journey. We have asked them, among the many other things they will contribute to our program in Salina, to each write a short introduction to the films that we hope to watch under the stars, together with the islanders.

The selection for our Island Thinking / L'isola che pensa Film Festival was made by five of DAI's core tutors, united under the umbrella of the How To Do Things With Theory module: Dr. Amit S. Rai, Dr. Ana Teixeira Pinto, Dr. Ghalya Saadawi, Dr. Grant Watson and Dr. Hypatia Vourloumis.They carefully brought together voices and visions from Great Britain, Jamaica, Martinique, Cuba and beyond, that speak of islands real and imaginary.

Ricardo Liong-A-Kong designed, produced and shipped 5 precious booklets containing the de Appel CP participant's texts about the selected films.

And here are the digital versions:

Sull’acqua / By Water

La danza dopo la tempesta / Dancing After The Tempest

Che cosa significa davvero far parte della rivoluzione? / What Does It Actually Mean To Be a Part of the Revolution?

Un film nel film /The Film Within the Film

Una vita di congiunture / A Life Full of Conjunctures

The Island Thinking / L'Isola che pensa Film Festival is a joint production of DAI in close collaboration with amaneï, the Comune di Santa Marina Salina and de Appel Amsterdam and will take place on the 13th, 14th and 15th of May, 2023.

Faculty present in Salina

Invited as guest tutors, Aeolians Pietro Lo Cascio and Luana La Fauci will offer us their in-depth ecological and archeological knowledge about the group of volcanic islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily, said to be named after Aeolus, the mythical ruler of the winds.

The Curatorial Program participants of De Appel Amsterdam are joining us to Salina for the entire working period, in a variety of roles; from auditor, writer and COOP tutor to so-called Kitchen respondent. We warmly welcome Eugene Hannah Park, Billy Fowo, Jean-Michel Mabruki Mussa, Marina Christodoulidou and Meghana Karnik and thank De Appel's director Lara Khaldi as well as Liza Nijhuis (manager of the Curatorial Program) for the friendship demonstrated by their believe in this joyful way of sharing knowledges and resources and for their efforts to co-shape our experimental collaboration .

Apart from the above mentioned How To Do Things With Theory team, with Dr. Florian Göttke as Education Leader, we will be joined to Salina by COOP tutors: You Mi & Yin Aiwen, Chiara Figone & Zasha Colah, Sagal Farah & de Appel CP participants (already introduced above), Leon Filter & Leire Vergara, Svitlana Lavrenchuk & Nico Alexandroff, Snejanka Mihaylova & Marilú Mapengo Namoda (remotely). COOP's Education Team Leader is Nikos Doulos.

Structural partnerships

The foundation of our curricular support structure in the academic year 2022-2023, consists of COOP partnerships with:

*ARCHIVE (Berlin, Dakar, Milan)

*Bulegoa z/b (Bilbao)

*Casco Art Instite: Working for the Commons (Utrecht)

*If I Can't Dance I Don't Want To Be Part Of Your Revolution (Amsterdam)

*Neringa Forest Architecture (Nida)

*SAVVY Contemporary (Berlin)

and has been laid by DAI's artistic director and head of program, Gabriëlle Schleijpen: to be activated, animated and expanded by our sparkling students, devoted crew and brilliant faculty.

Making it all possible

Our hosts in Santa Marina Salina are Elettra Bottazzi (artistic director of amaneï) and Marta Bandini (manager of amaneï).

Furthermore present on the island for DAI will be Peter Sattler (Production Leader), Jacq van der Spek (Hospitality and Logistics Coordinator), Rebecca Sakoun (Admissions Leader, present at Salina as auditor, accompanied by daughter Mira Blue) and our beloved alum and gifted artist Dandelion Eghosa, in charge of the portraiture of our soon to be graduating second year students. We are excited to welcome Chef Sophia Braddel and Sous Chef Rowan Beasley, who are to cook for us for the first time.

Remotely, in the back office, Vinita Gatne, travel coordinator in dialogue with travel agent Monique Hemmink (Hemminkways) and Corine van der Wal, indispensable as our hands on bookkeeper, are active to facilitate our working period on the island.

Archipelago Weavers

Last but not least: without artist and researcher of migratory processes Niccolò Masini the entire project would have been unimaginable. Niccolò is the energetic initiator of DAI@Salina 2023.

After DAI@Cagliari 2019 (initiated by Luca Carboni), DAI@Sidi Bou Said 2020 (initiated by Aziza Harmel), DAI@Bergamo 2022 (initiated by Sara Benaglia) Niccolò Masini, is the latest DAI alum who poetically and practically manages to relate and connect our Roaming Academy to a place he himself so deeply cares for. Our huge gratitude goes out to him, but also to his forerunners and we hope their visionary work as "archipelago weavers" will be inspirational to many other alumni to step forward in futures far and near.