Για την Ελληνική εκδοχή

ATOPOS cvc is pleased to announce the International Artist Residency of the Office of Hydrocommons, taking place from December 1 to 22, featuring guest artists Mathilde Rouiller, Emily Sarsam, and Annalisa Zegna, who will explore hypersalinity, supported by Culture Moves Europe.

The program draws inspiration from pivotal moments in Earth’s history, such as the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Tectonic movements caused the Strait of Gibraltar to close, leading to the evaporation of water in the Mediterranean Sea and leaving behind extensive salt deposits. These thick salt layers are evidence of the dramatic environmental changes that occurred during this period, which are still studied today. What if the Mediterranean, as a geographical positioning and critical space, were to undergo a similar event today? Additionally, salt serves as a powerful metaphor for our “salty” times, full of interdependent environmental and social challenges. This residency will offer an opportunity to explore the symbolic, poetic, and transformative dimensions of salt.

This interdisciplinary and interartistic research will include contributions from researchers, scientists, and fellow artists, while also providing time for personal research under the direction of Eleni Riga. Stay tuned for our open event at the end of the residency!

A few information about our residents

Mathilde Rouiller is a dancer and performance researcher whose work focuses on landscapes and the ecology of gestures. She explores the movements of living organisms and their interactions with abiotic elements like light and water, creating performances, choreographies, stagings and installations that bring attention to the fluid relationship between body and environment. Mathilde’s background includes studies at La Sorbonne, EHESS Paris, Columbia University, and Sciences Po Paris. From 2022 to 2024, she held residencies at Maison Artagon (Paris, France), Flux Laboratory, and Alkinois (Athens, Greece), as well as at La Madeleine in collaboration with Alice Guittard (Arles, France). There, she presented the development stages of her first solo performance, Fuir les Saumons. In 2024, she exhibited at Chapelle 14 and Thalie Foundation.

Emily Sarsam, an artist, researcher, and cultural programmer whose work spans composition, voice, poetry, performance, and publishing. Based between Tunis and Vienna, Emily’s research and artistic practice focus on commoning practices in rural and agricultural contexts, examining the impacts of colonialism and extractivism on food, farming, and local cosmologies. Emily is a co-founder of Broudou, a research collective and publication dedicated to the future of food in Tunisia, and is part of Mouhit, an artist residency in Tunis where she supports programming and mentoring. She is also a PhD candidate at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna.

Annalisa Zegna is an artist, researcher and cultural practitioner who works with visual and performative languages, focusing on collective experiences and collaborative practices. She develops artistic projects related to multiple ecologies, landscapes and human-nonhuman interconnections, with a strong interest in exploring and hybridizing personal and collective imaginaries. She is co-founder and collaborator of Spazio HYDRO, an independent cultural space in Biella where she co-curates the public programme Fluviale, and works as Research and Production Coordinator of UNIDEE Residency Programs of Fondazione Pistoletto. She attended the Master PACS Performing Arts and Community Spaces (Rome, IT), Visual Arts at IUAV University (Venice, IT), and Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts (Turin, IT).

Office of Hydrocommons

The Office of Hydrocommons, curatorial platform and production office delves deeply into critical issues affecting the Mediterranean Sea and addresses these issues on a planetary scale. Conceived and curated by Eleni Riga, the Office of Hydrocommons was initiated through a commission by Vassilis Zidianakis, Artistic Director of ATOPOS cvc, within the framework of #OccupyAtopos and later at Atopos Unbound. The platform continues its aquatic journey, forging new and enduring partnerships along the way!