Istituto Svizzero presents a new event from I Pomeriggi series, an opportunity for the public to learn in detail about the work of Fellows Elisa Pezza (Fellow Palermo Calling/Curator), Fabrizio Furiassi & Maria Domenica Rapicavoli (Fellows Palermo Calling/Art & Science), Aramis Navarro (Fellow Palermo Calling). During this event, the Fellows will present the outcomes of their research carried out during their residency in Palermo.

Biographies

Elisa Pezza (1998) lives and works between Turin and Zurich. Her research focuses on affirming curatorial practice as an artistic practice. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Contemporary art from the Libera Università di Bolzano and a master’s degree in Curatorial Studies from ZHdK in Zurich. In Palermo, she will continue her research, collaborating with the Sicilia Foundation to create a mapping of Sicily focused on mountains and their civilization, including rituals and ceremonies.

Fabrizio Furiassi (1983) is an architect and researcher at the University of Basel, while Maria D. Rapicavoli (1976) is an artist based in New York. The research they will carry out in Palermo, A Sicilian theater: the bunker courtroom of the Ucciardone prison in Palermo, aims to connect and organize fragmentary data on the bunker courtroom and the maxi-trial against the mafia, which, due to natural disasters and archival neglect, is at risk of being lost. In this context, the project aims to critically examine and artistically reconstruct the history of the courthouse architecture in relation to its political history in order to preserve its memory and make it accessible to a broader public.

Francesco Martuscelli (1943), born in Rome, graduated in Architecture in 1970. He began his career with work experience at the studio of Engineer Mario Ingrami and realized significant projects, including residential works and the restoration of historical buildings. In the 1980s, he founded Planarch Srl, specializing in penitentiary and judicial projects, such as the Teramo prison and the maxi-trial complex in Palermo. In the 1990s, he expanded abroad, working in Eastern Europe and on justice projects in Albania. At the beginning of the new millennium, together with his son Marco, he developed projects in various fields, including cultural heritage restoration and penitentiary architecture. Among his most recent works are the restoration of Pompeii, the Tribunal of L’Aquila, and the THotel in Cagliari, blending innovative architecture with functional recovery.

Rosario Di Gioia (1985), born in Palermo, he has been a judge since 2013. has been a judge since 2013. After serving at the Court of Milan and the Court of Sciacca, he has been working as a judge for preliminary investigations at the Court of Palermo since 2019. In this role, he has handled numerous cases related to organized crime, including those concerning the reconstitution of the so-called “Cupola” and the fugitive Matteo Messina Denaro. He is currently a member of the Judicial Council at the Court of Appeal of Palermo.

Aramis Navarro (1991) is an artist based between St. Gallen and Zurich. Through the analysis of broader linguistic models, he observes the evolution of belief systems in contemporary society. His work has been exhibited in institutions such as the Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, Kunst(Zeug)Haus, Kunsthaus Zofingen, Kutlesa Gallery, Paul Hafner Galerie, and Künstler und Projekthaus Torstrasse in Berlin, and more recently with a solo exhibition at ALTEFABRIK in Rapperswil. In Palermo, he will create a series of audio installations based on the relationship between occult spells and messages used in artificial intelligence technology.