The School of Restanza and Future is an educational, artistic, and political project created to explore restanza as a conscious and transformative practice in the territories of the South. It involves emerging artists, activists, and students in a collective journey that brings together art, territory, and activism.
The project offers three thematic pathways: Disobedient Margin, Ecosystems of Care, and Imaginary Narratives, as fields of artistic and social research. Its approach is horizontal, inclusive, and situated, aiming to reimagine the relationship between art, territory, and future from feminist, decolonial, and intersectional perspectives.
During its initial phase (September–December 2025), the School will form its first class group, develop its educational method through workshops and assemblies, and build a translocal network with schools, collectives, and communities. In the medium term, the School will evolve into a stable, modular program, capable of activating new classes, generating cultural outputs, and fostering relationships between marginal territories in Southern Italy and the Global South. In the long term, it aims to become an independent, transnational cultural hub (both replicable and rooted) able to connect artistic practices with territorial regeneration.
Project Genealogy
Since 2023, Église has curated Marginalia, a column that explores marginal artistic practices, giving voice to those who work outside institutional networks and experiment with alternative languages and methodologies. The School of Restanza and Future represents the natural evolution of this research, transforming Marginalia’s digital space into a physical, participatory path that intertwines artistic training with youth activism.
The School of Restanza and Future is also connected to 800V, an artivism project for Southern Italy that works to amplify young people’s voices through culture and active participation. 800V was launched in 2024 within Pop The Vote, a program by Culture Action Europe, and has developed concrete actions to connect young people with international cultural and political networks, creating moments of exchange between artists, activists, and communities.
The project’s tutors are young artists, cultural workers, and activists under 30 from Southern Italy who have experienced migration and chosen to stay, bringing their practices and stories into the workshops. The participants are high school students, at a time of transition and uncertainty regarding their future. The meeting between these two generational and geographical dimensions creates a space for mutual learning, where art becomes a tool to redefine the relationship between identity, territory, and possibilities for the future.
The School of Restanza and Future is a project by Église APS, conceived by Noemi Pittalà and curated by Noemi Pittalà and Iole Carollo, with the support of a fellowship from Fondazione Studio Rizoma.
Two open calls: one for students aged 18–23, and one for artists, activists, and cultural workers under 35.
Open Call for Young Students in Palermo and Surrounding Areas
Open Call for Tutors (artists, activists, and cultural workers under 35)