Group Residency Programme Italy

Place, People and Time: ART and FOOD

Fri 09 Oct – Fri 16 Oct 2026 
/ 7 nights, 8 days
APPLICATION DEADLINE HAS PASSED / This Group Residency will be offered again, in 2027

The Museum of Loss and Renewal is delighted to invite applications for the Group Residency ART and FOOD, Italy.

The Group Residency is devised around the relationships of ‘place, people and time’ and residents will be welcomed to Collemacchia, in Italy’s Apennine Mountains and the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise.

ART and FOOD has been devised by Tracy Mackenna (she/her), artist, educator and curator of The Museum of Loss and Renewal in partnership with artist Carla Smith (she/her). Tracy’s family is from Collemacchia, where the Group Residency is centred, while Carla’s family originally comes from nearby Santa Maria Oliveto.

ART and FOOD will be led by Tracy and Carla who share a passion for bringing people together over food, to explore what it means to be creative, to gather, collect and share ingredients, materials and matter, and ways of making. Between us we activate a range of skills and expertise when we curate situations and groups of people. Additional subject-specific sessions will be delivered by a range of experts.

We are driven by our Italian heritages to explore the relationships between art and culture and food. Current considerations include how the production of food is changing due to shifting labour patterns, new co-operative production methods, the importance of capturing and passing on local knowledge of land care, growing methods, cultivation, foraging, harvesting, sustainability and meal preparation. The impact of (return)migration is a key focus.

Applications are welcomed from people working in creative practices, food practices, horticulture, farming, land management, agronomy, conservation etc. and for those who have a strong interest in the relationships between food and art as an area of practice. The group will comprise of approx. nine international participants.

Focal Points

Art and creative practices
Food
Seasonality
Community
Gathering
Immersive experience
Semi-structured programme
Co-learning
Interdisciplinarity
Collective platform for encounters
Sustainabilty

Experimentation and play
Expert facilitators and programme contributors
Shared knowledge / inherited knowledge / sought knowledge
Supportive, caring, non-hierarchical environment
Site visits
Imagining futures
Relationships to land, connections through place
Memory, loss, renewal
Fully catered

Aim

The aim of the Group Residency is to develop approaches to the relationships between art and food that are experimental and inventive in their form, in a specific environment. Bringing together residents from a range of areas of practice and research, the potential to create an international network is made possible.

The Group Residency provides opportunities for approx. 9 international creative practitioners and researchers to share and establish a bank of knowledge and creative strategies, both globally interconnected and hyper local, digital and analogue, for imagining new responses to art-food relationships.

Ways of Working

The residency will focus on what it is to actively engage wth art and food, while exploring possibilities in meaning-making. By listening, looking and doing, residents will activate practices across multiple local sites. The work of artists who investigate food in intertwined cultural, ecological and socio-political dimensions will be presented and discussed.

In hands-on and discursive sessions participants will investigate, share and connect relationships between art and food through facilitated co-creating modes. Residents will work collectively and individually. Value will be given to the individual knowledge and experience of each resident, exploring art and food as fundamental means to understand, analyse, document, record and translate the worlds we inhabit.

Working with art and food will allow for play and experimentation, to explore and create personal and social narratives. ‘Practice’ in art-making and food as active, continued actions is critical, acknowledging the unequivocal influence of ritual in daily lives. Conviviality and celebration will be central to ideas about potential audience interactions through multi-sensory experiences: what can be offered in order to consume, touch and physically be a part of an artwork? The acts of coming together, and how they are cared for and nurtured, will be core to investigating how art and food can contribute to the complex issues of the times in which we live.

Using a range of methods, the residency will be centred on sharing, considering what it means to open up our practices to others and gain new understandings together. We will work collectively to embrace the importance of food and how it influences the way in which we engage with the world. Examining place within this context, we will consider foraging, family/generational recipes, local food, and what it means to engage with eating in a meaningful and intentional way. Implicit is the act of hosting, and we will activate methods of disrupting and playing with meal experiences and engagement with ingredients. Over shared meals, residents and facilitators will expand the time for exchange and developing relationships and networks.

We will consider what it means to record and create using food as a medium. Residents and facilitators will come together to undertake exercises in meal curation, food responses and gastronomic experiments, playing with what it means to situate meals and ingredients in these contexts.

Learning from the multiple histories and geographies of carefully chosen locations in and around the village of Collemacchia will happen during visits to selected locations. Members of Collemacchia’s community will reveal practices of doing and share precious knowledge of local history past and present.

Facilitators and Programme Contributors

FACILITATORS

TRACY MACKENNA (she/her)

Tracy Mackenna (Prof Emerita; SCO-IT) is an artist and the Curator of The Museum of Loss and Renewal and The Museum of Loss and Renewal Publishing. Her specialist areas are contemporary art practice, artistic research, art writing, collaborative practices, mentoring, publishing as an artistic practice, and art education.

The themes of loss and renewal run through her work, investigated through durational engagement with people, place and time, focussing on identity, belonging, memory and imagining new sustainable and accessible futures. She explores and makes with collaborators and partners, integrating art, co-learning and society.

Exhibition projects and publications have been commissioned by e.g. CCA Glasgow, Barbican Art Gallery London, Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst Zürich, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, P3 Art and Environment Tokyo, Stedelijk Museum Schiedam the Netherlands.

CARLA SMITH (she/her)

Carla (SCO-IT) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work centres on connection. Her practice frequently focuses on food, treating it as a medium equivalent to fi lm, clay, printmaking, or drawing. She is drawn to the understanding that food is a universal, while at the same time being completely characterised by place and uses this as a guiding factor in her work. Food often becomes a catalyst for conversation, connection, and the exploration of wider themes.

Rooted in care, collaboration, and curiosity, Carla creates edible artworks, socially engaged meal events, and artist’s books that explore the shared joy of making and eating together.

Printmaking is a cornerstone of Carla’s practice, which she expanded during her year-long residency at Peacock & the Worm Print Studio in Scotland, culminating in her 2023 solo exhibition. She has exhibited with Visual Art Scotland, Compass Gallery, Grampian Hospital Arts Trust, Moray Art Centre, and others. Alongside her studio practice, Carla delivers workshops independently and in collaboration with organisations such as Edinburgh Printmakers, Gray’s School of Art, and Forgan Arts Centre, Scotland. At Tiphereth Print Studio in Edinburgh she is a print co-worker in a busy, collaborative setting.
https://www.carlasmithart.co.uk @carlasmiith_art

PROGRAMME CONTRIBUTORS

Casa Pleiadi

Casa Pleiadi is the innovative start-up born with the goal of creating the first food and wine cultural centre in Molise, Italy. Casa Pleiadi is the place where our future is cultivated, where research happens and where the ancient wisdom of our land’s recipes and products is passed on, giving them a new meaning, to create a sustainable tomorrow. Casa Pleiadi houses a laboratory for the processing and preservation of local raw materials, a rural restaurant seating approximately 30, and a multimedia editorial team.

Agapito Di Pilla

Agapito is executive producer, tech guy and chef at Casa Pleiadi. He is a filmmaker, curator, and farmer and has extensive professional experience in designing and organising cultural projects with a strong technological component. For several years, he has been dedicated to the sustainable production of wine and other local produce.

Maria Luisa Esposito

Better known as Lisa, she is CEO at Casa Pleiadi, has a degree in Political Science, Masters degrees in Comparative and European Politics, and experience in academic research. Since 2007, she has been involved in cultural project production, artist’s residencies, and local and regional marketing.

Sandra (Alessandra) Mancini

Sandra will be in the residency kitchen preparing and cooking the delicious lunches and dinners that you will eat each day. Sandra is from Collemacchia and has lived for a period in Glasgow, Scotland. She is the heart and soul of our community, and provides for many as a cook in local restaurants and at food events. Her local knowledge makes her an excellent forager, producer and storyteller, and a connector of people and place through her meals.

Facilities

Accommodation / Residents are accommodated in two recently renovated, comfortable houses situated a couple of minutes walk from each other. Houses have fully equipped kitchens, bathrooms, sitting rooms, and double, twin and single bedrooms. Single use bedrooms can be allocated dependent on accessibility requirements. Central heating and internet throughout. Cleaning is included in cost.

Studios / Workspaces are located in buildings that are situated a couple of minutes walk from each other, and from accommodation. They are recently renovated and include indoor and outdoor making spaces, and desk space. Internet throughout.

Fee

The Residency Programme is operated on a non-commercial cost-covering basis, and is financially supported by The Museum of Loss and Renewal in order to keep fees low. The residency fee is €1750 (Euro) paid by the resident. It includes the residency programme, accommodation, full board, collection/return to nearest train/bus station, accommodation in a variety of spacious rooms, excellent studio spaces. Double, twin and single bedrooms are available. Single bedrooms are allocated dependent on access needs. Catering (3 meals each day) includes ingredients that are mainly locally sourced and meals prepared by our cook. Vegan and vegetarian diets can be catered for.

A deposit of 50% is payable within three weeks of being offered a place on the residency programme (non-refundable). The remaining balance is payable eight weeks in advance of the residency start date. In the event that cancellation is required, residents may cancel up to a minimum of six weeks prior to their residency start date. If a resident has to end the residency early due to personal circumstances, a refund cannot not be issued.

You will be responsible for funding and organising your own travel, your own insurances and any visa requirements particular to your country of origin. Detailed travel information will be supplied (closest airports Naples, Rome), and collection/drop-off at a local train station will be arranged.

We do not have external funding for this project, so regret that we are unable to offer assistance with fees, flights, production costs or other subsistence. Typically, successful applicants source funding by applying to their national arts funding bodies, personal fundraising, or through academic institutional support. Formal letters of invitation can be provided to assist in this process.

Schedule Outline

Day 01

Arrival (transport from Venafro to Collemacchia), orientation, introductions, dinner, reading

Days 02-07

Subject-specific sessions by facilitators
Presentations by facilitators/programme contributors
Hands-on making sessions
Collective and individual (mentored) working sessions
Working sessions in the local environment
Visits to organisations and locations
Catered discursive meals
Collective critical evaluation and forecasting

Day 08

Departure (transport from Collemacchia to Venafro)

A detailed programme with dates and times will be provided to residents before arrival.

Eligibility

You can be at any stage of your (creative) career
The programme may best suit (creative) practitioners who are seeking to develop their knowledge and skills within an environment of learning and discussion
More experienced applicants are very welcome to apply
Open to (creative) practitioners based in any country but applicants should have a good working knowledge of English
Applications from duos and partnerships are welcomed

Apply

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Testimonials

The group residency has had a profound impact on my practice and research.

Having the space to share ideas with others in such a beautiful place was invaluable – Tracy and the team, as well as the visiting speakers, created such a supportive and inspiring environment.

The sessions and trips were all absolutely brilliant. I would love to repeat any and all of them again and again! The house was comfortable, the food delicious, and the location phenomenal.
Rebecca Bell, England
My time in residence was the highlight of my year; it really changed my life and mindset for the better.
Stine Danielle, Canada
The residency programme that just keeps giving.
Maree Hensey, Ireland
The MICRO-MACRO Group Residency (Orkney) was transformational, both creatively and personally.
The programme of inspirational and multi-disciplinary contributors, combined with deep immersion in, and exploration of Orkney’s many layered natural and human histories provided a perfect balance for the investigation of site as part of creative practice.
Our diverse cohort of contributors, artists, writers and poets quickly developed a strong rapport, generously supporting each other and sharing diverse practices, perspectives and ideas. We were looked after all week with care, kindness and delicious food! Thank you.
Mary Muir, Orkney-England
A high-point in the cycle of my year as a composer, researcher, and educator.
Multiple residencies with The Museum of Loss and Renewal continue to provide both time and space in which to incubate my ideas and fuel ongoing research, and allow me to be in an enriching environment wherein I feel that I am able to return to my most true ‘self’ as a human, as a creator.
The fact that my great-grandparents came from a mountain village near Collemacchia has extra meaning for me: it brings my work beyond the purely academic, beyond the purely creative – it is personal, it is familial, and it continues to shape my identity, strengthening my feeling of connection to the inner and outer landscape.
Antonio Forte, USA
The DRAWING WITH PLACE (Orkney) Group Residency was a gentle boost to my confidence; being in a new environment and having precious, reflective space.
The programme was extraordinary, and the selection of artists who delivered was beyond what I had imagined.

The variety of input from the invited speakers continues to resonate and was held so beautifully by Tracy; I benefited from her gentle, clear input.
I would and have recommended the residency to many fellow artists/creatives.
Sarah Goudie, England
The Museum of Loss and Renewal has been a very special place for me to start the writing of a book. The history of Collemacchia, the company of other creatives, and the studio facilities made for a great environment that provided me with both the comfort and the inspiration I needed.
Joris Melman, the Netherlands
Spending the week with the MICRO-MACRO (Orkney) group helped me realise that collaborative making and thinking can be more spontaneous, playful and generous than I’ve ever experienced or imagined.
The selection of participants was very well considered, and I really appreciated being in the Orkney landscape with incredibly open people of different ages, nationalities and with diverse arts practices.
Tracy provided a strong structure for the residency, offering critical thinking when needed without disrupting the group dynamic in any way – a skilful balance well-maintained.
Jac Cambell, England
The MICRO-MACRO (Italy) Group Residency has had such a positive impact on my practice and research.
Learning from Tracy and Amanda through open conversation, presentations and practical activities was a wonderful experience. I am very grateful for their support and for my time in Collemacchia.
Alongside the residency programme I was able to connect to the area, which is very important to me personally and for my practice.
Carla Smith, Scotland
The individual residency, Taking Time / Prendendo Tempo offered me the unique opportunity to do just that — take time to experience Molise — one of my ancestral lands.
Each day provided new opportunities to connect and learn from the other residents and engage in self-reflection of my own artist practice; all under the guidance of the extraordinary Tracy Mackenna.
Kate Colabella, USA
The MICRO-MACRO (Italy) Group Residency provided me with a great sense of inspiration and space to reflect on my practice, both past and regarding possible futures.
The beautifully-designed and maintained living and working spaces, structured by home-cooked meals prepared with love and attention, cast a special light on residents’ everyday life: they give space to breathe.
Fred Landau-Donnelly, Germany
Tracy is a fantastic mentor and guide, and I surprised myself by how easily I was able to settle and start making and thinking.
Excellent studios, accommodation and library.

Collemacchia is a unique place which continues to resonate with me – I hope to return!
Marion Harrison, England
My Taking Time / Prendendo Tempo residency was an incredible experience.
It was really special to allow myself to fully follow my intuition and my body, instead of overthinking my energy, my time, my tasks. Being able to freely wander, write, read, photograph, draw, talk, cook, feel, walk, and create often with a cappuccino and cornetto pushed my practice and research into unexpected directions.
I am so grateful to have shared this rollercoaster with incredible people, who each had beautiful stories and touching motivations for being there.
Marieke Folkers, the Netherlands
The experience of a temporary artistic community was the primary contribution to my practice/research: constructive and mutually supportive. The framing of the Taking Time / Prendendo Tempo residency was linked to the immediate social, cultural and natural environment.
There was an excellent balance between the communal living spaces, which were very conducive to communication and support.
Tracy’s curatorship, mentorship and guidance was crucial to grounding residents in the environment. Her knowledge and experience of the area’s history and contemporary society provided contextualisation and connection; and she was very generous with her time and availability: an excellent balance.
Duncan Ross, Ireland
The residency exposed me to a stimulating coupling of natural, historical, material and community phenomena that percolated new, exciting projects that I’m now processing.
The library was an excellent resource that stimulated new ideas and refreshed concepts that had become dormant, especially those devoted to art writing and photo books.
Tracy offered guidance and critique that created context for many of my ideas; she was also generous in delivering a session about the ‘photo book’ that has seeded further personal investigation into the process.
David D’Agostino, USA
My time in Collemacchia was packed full of opportunities to share ideas and experiences, to create new works both on my own and with input from others and to pause in the mad rush of our modern lives to think and allow the experience to wash over me. I felt at one with the place, intrigued as much by its history and mood.
I was encouraged by Tracy and her approach to pass on her knowledge and experience while at the same time allowing me space. I have learned much and grown in confidence and experience and have a long list of things to research in more depth and creative works I want to explore. Thank you.
Richard Dalgleish, Scotland
My residency offered me a wonderful opportunity to go deeper into my practice and to be open to developing my artistic expression and voice. Immersing myself fully allowed me time and space to take risks, to experiment with compositional elements, to innovate and to learn, which was an extraordinary gift.
The freedom to work in this way has had a profound impact on my practice and works I created while in residence are providing rich and exciting starting points for a new body of work.
Tracy’s mentorship was so valuable and I am already taking steps to incorporate her advice into my creative practice. Her curatorship of the residency, her care, enthusiasm and passion ensured that this residency was an outstanding experience and I am forever grateful to her for providing this opportunity to me and all of the other creatives that I met during my time at Collemacchia.
I would really love to return and to spend more time in the future.
Marie Salinger, Australia
My time in residence was the highlight of my year; it really changed my life and mindset for the better.
Stine Danielle, Canada
The residency programme that just keeps giving.
Maree Hensey, Ireland
My time in Collemacchia was marked by wonderful discoveries, in natural and archeological landscapes, as well as in my creative practice. You created an inspiring environment, very well suited for reflection and experimentation, which was what I needed to stir my work in a new direction. I also enjoyed our conversations about art, your intellectual perspective, book recommendations, and feedback about my production.
Rodrigo de Toledo, Brazil and USA
Taking Time at The Museum of Loss and Renewal is an artistic retreat experience like no other. As soon as I arrived, for each distinct residency period, I knew I had stepped into an extraordinary environment, both in terms of landscape and community: a space to breathe, form new relationships and renew my creative practice, my sense of purpose.

What I did not anticipate then was how Tracy’s deep connection to Collemacchia, her practical attention to detail and inspirational mentorship would lead me into new unexpected places and help facilitate for me an entirely new body of work.
Cathy Stonehouse, Canada
My experience at The Museum of Loss and Renewal in Collemacchia, Italy was astounding; I have never enjoyed the balance of solitude together with a generous, nurturing community more than I have here.

The landscape revealed itself to me slowly and kindly – as I walked and listened, it held me tenderly, coaxing me to explore, challenge myself and take time to create work. The studios are professionally appointed, well equipped spaces.
I am humbled by and immensely appreciative of Tracy’s ongoing mentorship, academic and personal support while so far from home. Her skill in connecting my work with the diverse library resources on site and key ideas have assisted to significantly advance the conceptual basis of my practice.
For this and all her gifts, I am grateful.
Melinda Giblett, Australia
Being part of the Individual Residency Program was truly life-changing.
Tracy is a wonderful mentor and working artist. Her genuine interest in each artist’s work fostered a sense of community, enriching not only my creative process but also nurturing meaningful connections with fellow artists.
This residency provided the ideal balance of structure and freedom, enabling me to explore new artistic depths, leaving an indelible mark on my art making process.
The experience has left such a warm mark on my artistic journey; I’ll cherish it forever.
Cynthia Ludlam, USA
My residency was a transformative experience in a warm and supportive environment.
Beautiful facilities were provided, and I was welcomed with genuine hospitality, a wealth of knowledge and inspiration.
Dedicated time for reflection allowed me to set a clear direction for my artistic practice, and the proactive guidance given exceeded my expectations.
Deborah Scott, USA
I am immensely grateful for the enriching experience of participating in the Drawing with Place Group Residency in Orkney, that was lead by Tracy. The profound connection to the character of the land was evident in every aspect, fostering a deep sense of place. This residency served as a poignant reminder that my creative practice is not just an act of creation but a continuous practice of listening and cultivating a relationship with my surroundings.
Justin McIntosh, USA
I’ve been doing a lot of reflection lately and thinking about all of the nourishing experiences I’ve had that have made a difference in my life and career and one of them is the wonderful time I spent in Collemacchia and your very generous support and guidance. And again when we came as a group a positive ripple manifested in different ways!
Laura McSorley, Scotland