Artist in Residence: the Essence of Contemporary Arts

28 March 2020

We really love our artist in residence program. Not only we want to create a connection with people loving contemporary arts but we also want to share our passion with our guests. We want to convert our boutique hotel into an exhibition setting and display a selection of works of art produced by our artists in residence.   

Artist in Residence Program 

During the 2018 we met Carl Kostyal and his wife Katharine, and found out we share the same passion for contemporary art. 

This was the starting point for our artist in residence program. Carl and Katharine choose the artists and we invite them to reside within the premises of Masseria Fontana di Vite. We think that our boutique hotel is a great place to steep in the atmosphere of Murgia.

At the beginning it was something like an experiment, and we really enjoy it. 

At the moment we are scheduling the program twice a year: the first between Summer and Autumn, the second between Winter and Spring.   

The next artists will be: Austyn Weiner and Alex Gardner. 

In the past we hosted: 

Gina Beavers and Austin Lee (Summer 2018)

Violet Dennison (Autumn 2018)

Peter Schuyff and Daniele Milvio (Spring 2019)

Canyon Castator, Sara Cwynar and Benjamin Spiers (Summer 2019)

Inspired by Masseria Fontana di Vite and Murgia

The selected artists stay more or less a month within the premises of the hotel working and creating their artworks. 

A  first selection of these artworks remains in the permanent exhibition of the Masseria. Another selection is purchased by Bank of Puglia and Basilicata, the main sponsor of the artist in residence program. 

The artists use forms of art they are comfortable with. We collected paintings, installations, videos and photos. 

Artistic Jam Session

In 2019 a new cultural initiative started. It’s called “Artistic Jam Session”, a 3 days artist in residence. 

We are working hard on finding solutions to organize a 2020 edition. 

Writers’ Retreat Program

It’s a dream of many writers: to spend time at a quiet residency where you focus on work. 

The Writers’ Retreat is organized in the same time period of Artist in Residence. So both writers and artists can share the premises of Masseria and get inspiration from each other.  

The retreat program is managed by the writer Kevin Patrick Morris. He chooses the writers in residence and the subject they will write about.  

We want to make a suggestion: walking through the premises of Masseria Fontana di Vite don’t miss the important artworks we collected.