An exhibition by the Bled el Abar collective, curated by Istituto Svizzero on the occasion of the festival Between Land and Sea by Fondazione Rizoma.

In the context of Istituto Svizzero’s Art-Science series, the Swiss-Tunisian Bled el Abar collective was invited to develop an exhibition for the spaces of Teatro Garibaldi, on the occasion of the festival Between Land and Sea by Fondazione Rizoma. The exhibition Land of Wells – Bled el Abar stems from the collective’s long-term research into sources of water  in the Tunisian desert, and creates a dialogue between the hospitable architecture of the wells and the structural elements of the theatre.

Land of Wells – Bled el Abar explores the vital role of wells in the arid landscapes of the Tunisian Sahara, where they sustain human communities, livestock, and wildlife. Combining architectural research, fieldwork, visual documentation, and local knowledge, the exhibition examines the relationship between water, territory, and ways of life in a fragile ecosystem increasingly affected by environmental pressures. It also presents the collective’s efforts to preserve and rehabilitate these essential infrastructures, highlighting how community-led initiatives can contribute to the resilience of desert landscapes.

Featuring images combining photographs and hand-drawn architectural drawings made on-site at various water points and an immersive video, the exhibition welcomes visitors to pursue a journey through a territory shaped by resistance and by contemporary social, political, and environmental challenges. The project extends the long-term research Istituto Svizzero has been promoting on the Mediterranean region as a privileged outpost to understand global social phenomena such as ecological precarity, mobility and migration, and local responses to climate change and economic pressure. It confirms Istituto’s engagement in fostering conversations among realities based in Switzerland and in Palermo whose work brings innovative reflections on these themes, often through an embodied and engaged experience with the territories in question. Specifically developed in and for the context of the Sicilian festival Between Land and Sea, the project aims at contributing to the festival’s reflection on shared realities of the Mediterranean, bridging local knowledges and forging new transnational alliances.

An exhibition by the Bled el Abar collective: le laboratoire d’architecture (Vanessa Lacaille, Mounir Ayoub) & Hamed Kriouane

Scenography: Marie-Christine Beris (le laboratoire d’architecture)
Photographs: M’hammed Kilito
Videos: Yann Gross & Bled el Abar collective

Curated by Ilyas Azouzi (Head of Science, Research, and Innovation, Istituto Svizzero) and Lucrezia Calabrò Visconti (Head Curator, Istituto Svizzero) in the context of Istituto Svizzero’s Art-Science series

Developed for the spaces of Teatro Garibaldi on the occasion of the festival Between Land and Sea by Fondazione Rizoma