CONTEMPORARY ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY
In-ruins residency 2023, Sibarys Archaeological Park, Deposta by Traslochi Emotivi, with Giulia Currà and Danila Gambettola,‘ Photo by Akshay Mahajan.
About
Founded in Calabria and promoted by Associazione Archeofuturo since 2018,
In-ruins is a nomadic residency program dedicated to exploring the encounter between contemporary art and archaeology. Through the temporary settlement of artists, curators, and researchers near monumental sites in Southern Italy, In-ruins reimagines the territory starting from its past. Ancient ruins become meeting grounds for urgent artistic practices and interdisciplinary dialogue, in the heart of peripheral contexts. Rooted in a post-southern and Mediterranean perspective, the project seeks to valorise not only archaeological heritage, but also the myths, traditions, and stories of the communities that have long inhabited and preserved it. In-ruins is directed by Nicola Guastamacchia (residencies) and Maria Luigia Gioffrè (performance section), with curatorship by Nicola Nitido. Since 2023, the residency has been developed in collaboration with Fondazione Elpis, Milan.
![AnnaulJournal_[FondazioneElpis]_22novembre_Draft4.pdfINRUINS2 (2).jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/23ab1a_6221f5cb85124f8b9248eb0cf99a2a16~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_104,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_avif,quality_auto/23ab1a_6221f5cb85124f8b9248eb0cf99a2a16~mv2.jpg)
How we work
Over the past few years, In-ruins has emerged as one of the most compelling experimental residency programs in Italy, distinguished by its unique focus on archaeology and its itinerant nature. Rather than operating from a fixed location, we relocate each year to a different town, selecting a new archaeological site as the starting point for our work. This nomadic approach demonstrates the potential to conduct high-level contemporary artistic research in peripheral and often challenging contexts. Each site becomes part of an evolving journey, drawing connections between distant geographies and temporalities. Every edition is anchored in a public research project developed in collaboration with partner archaeological institutions. Our open calls articulate specific research axes that help guide participants in exploring the historical and contextual layers of each location.
Exploring situated, post-meridan horizons and practices
In-ruins is a pilot project and experimental model of good practice that connects contemporary art, cultural heritage, and marginal territories, with a strong focus on the Mediterranean context.
Based in Southern Italy, it responds to the absence of institutions dedicated to contemporary culture by activating archaeological sites through artistic research and production.
The residency highlights local and collective stories, turning them into catalysts for new reflections, while fostering a sense of pride and belonging among local communities.
By generating sustainable economic flows and proposing alternatives to extractive tourism, In-ruins demonstrates how peripheral areas can become central to rethinking the role of art in shaping inclusive and critical Mediterranean narratives.
![Introducing 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐈 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐈
𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭 - 𝐈𝐧-𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓
Steffi Stouri is a researcher and curator based in Athens. She is a graduate of the postgraduate program Museum Studies at the University of Amsterdam and a graduate in History and Philosophy of Science at the National Kapodistrian University of Athens, specializing in philosophy and feminist epistemology. Her research and curatorial practice develops around feminist and postcolonial epistemologies, sonic resonances and archival transcriptions. Her curatorial projects often engage with embodied experiences and fragmented histories, aiming to challenge dominant narratives through collaborative practices and innovative in situ exhibitions. In 2025 she received the ARCAthens NOLA/NYC Fellowship, researching the potential of sound as an artistic medium as well as a tool for restorative storytelling and community resilience in New Orleans and New York City. She has curated the exhibition Otherlands (2024) at the archaeological site of Heraion Perachora, and was a curatorial associate at the Greek National Opera’s visual arts programme Unboxing Callas (2023). She has worked in museums and cultural institutions such as the Greek National Library (GR), Greek National Opera (GR), National Museum of Contemporary Art (GR), Atopos CVC (GR), ΎΛΗ[matter]HYLE (GR), Allard Pierson (NL), Pilotenkueche (DE), The Breeder Gallery (GR), Athens Museum of Queer Arts (GR) in the field of curation, production and mediation.
In-ruins 2025 📍 Residency: September 8 – October 12, 2025
Hosted by @soprintendenzabatfoggia and the Municipality of Canosa.
Organized in collaboration with @fondazioneelpis , under the patronage of @fac_canosium, and with the support of @ucl, @aha_network and @ssba_uniba.unifg.
Media partner: @salgemmaproject
Design: @studio_co_co](https://scontent-sea5-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/535325308_18313544305243822_295525103581635268_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=109&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiRkVFRC5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMiJ9&_nc_ohc=JrOdO-xSTNAQ7kNvwGosL14&_nc_oc=AdlKd0wNSf_0mv1Td9UFJBJnYRJkqOuCIz4iISOytg7tVQXqfKwgt0aTCVZFlw8O5Dw&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-sea5-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=SWGUKHvZElQFqjwYPhW9cA&oh=00_AffzZuKNBsmnTJpWhNzpYnOvJcijXq2-ykzevXEXI9ynCA&oe=6904AE60)
![Introducing FANNY SOUADE SOW
SELECTED ARTIST IN-RUINS RESIDENCY 2024
“In a recently published text, Elsa Dorlin wrote, “In parallel to this war of words in which the imposing of linguistic elements on violence consists in reversing the relationship between cause and effect [...], there is this silence as a weapon so characteristic of the contemporary period in which the very suspension of any official communiqué plays on the primary recognition of the reality of facts, and quite simply erases lives from the reality.”
Fanny Souade Sow thus questions how monuments – from memorials to statues, as well as other cultural heritage intended for commemoration or remembrance – become the vehicles of an authorised and controlled narrative, defending a certain legitimised vision of History. Whether in the form of editions, sculptures, performances or video, she questions the effects of colonial heritage on racialized bodies.
His works have recently been exhibited in group exhibitions including at FRAC Franche-Comté (Besançon) and KADIST (Paris), the Galerie Eric Dupont (Paris) and the 66th Salon de Montrouge. In January 2022, she benefited from a first solo exhibition at RECYCLART (Brussels). She has been a resident at SAW Gallery (Ottawa, Canada), CAC Brétigny (France) and Glasgow Sculpture Studios x Centre for Contemporary Arts (Glasgow, Scotland). She is currently resident at the Marseille Workshops Places (France) for the years 2023 - 2025. In 2024, she took part in the 15th Biennale de la jeune création at La Graineterie, Houilles.”
📸 Aurélien Mathis
In-ruins 2024 is hosted by Matera National Museums and organised in collaboration with Fondazione Elpis.
@museinazionalidimatera
@fondazioneelpis
@souadesow](https://scontent-sea5-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t39.30808-6/471192277_18286125922243822_4074084699202677454_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=110&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiRkVFRC5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMiJ9&_nc_ohc=j7nQy2SKAdwQ7kNvwFDOt_O&_nc_oc=AdljIYTVdOtnCS8rVeR3mR4NI_86JOa2B2-tLKPRYQ0TmO3aYFR425ve6s4UUE2DuFg&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-sea5-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=SWGUKHvZElQFqjwYPhW9cA&oh=00_Aff8F1PzqIJmD1vvaOo8syVOWs81SNl2lAntGrrlpNoAJg&oe=6904AE57)
