UNIDEE Residency Modules: LANGUAGES, PLEASE / Module I
UNIDEE Residency Programs and Fondazione Pistoletto Cittadellarte are pleased to announce the open call for applications for the first two residency modules within the programme Languages, Please, curated by UNIDEE Visiting Curators Nina Fiocco and Gaia Martino.
The Module I, Summer 2025, The thing with commas, periods, dashes and parentheses will take place from 9 to 13 June, and it is led by mentor Verónica Gerber Bicecci and guest Meike Clarelli.
Languages, Please, is an invitation to a collective series of rehearsals that explores languages as geopolitical spaces of dispute, narratives, and encounters. It is a call to engage with the porosity of our bodies in action and the narratives that can infuse and strengthen our practice of remaining polyphonic, amid the crumbling circumstances of the present. To learn more about the project's context and objectives, please refer to the complete curatorial framework here.
ABOUT MODULE I
The module will focus on the supposed silence of punctuation. If we could listen to commas, periods, dashes or parentheses; if we could talk to semicolons, colons, hyphens, question marks and exclamation points, what would they tell us? How would they translate the world from their own place? How does punctuation think about writing? Researcher Jennifer DeVere Brody says that punctuation was first considered a “servant”, then a chaperone, and finally an assistant to texts–always a female worker with a minor place in the shaping of meaning. Through teamwork exercises on observation, listening, walking and other activities, the workshop aims to embody possible answers to all these questions. Attendees will create performance pieces as well as scores, exploring their own relationship with punctuation marks.
Participants
We aim to invite a group of up to 12 residents to take part in each module. The programme is open to international participants of all backgrounds, whose engagement sits anywhere across the broad spectrum of cultural practice and research, with no restriction regarding disciplines, media or methodologies of work. Applications from artists, musicians, performers, curators, storytellers, writers, theorists, designers, activists, all are welcome and encouraged. We welcome applications from both individuals and collectives. If applying as a collective, please specify the number of participants and the nature of your collaborative practice.
The selection of participants will be guided by the resonance between the poetics, concerns, and inquiries present in the applicant’s work and those articulated by the curatorial framework of the UNIDEE Residency Modules 2025-26, and the core themes of each module. Additionally, consideration will be given to the applicant’s interest to contribute to a program-based residency rooted in processes of active exchange and participation.
Practicalities
The Residency Modules will take place at Fondazione Pistoletto Cittadellarte, in Biella, Italy.
The UNIDEE and Cittadellarte spaces will host a large part of the programme, while further opportunities for exploring the urban and rural landscape of Biella and its immediate surroundings will be offered.
Participants will be accommodated within the premises of Cittadellarte, in single rooms equipped with bedding and towels, and with the use of shared bathrooms. In case of participation in the workshop as a collective, they will be accommodated in a shared room. The residential spaces offer basic cooking facilities and communal resting areas. Arrival is expected in the afternoon on the day before the module begins, with departure scheduled for the afternoon of the day following the module’s conclusion. We are happy to welcome participants with children and/or small pets, ensuring a comfortable and inclusive environment for all.
We are committed to meeting to the best of our ability any accessibility requirements an attendee may have; this will be discussed individually with prospective residents.
N.B: English will be the common ground for interaction within the residency module, yet the work will not be confined to it. Languages will be approached as open territories, and participants will be invited also to engage with expanded, non-codified forms of communication, hybrid languages, and multiple configurations of interaction shaped by backgrounds, interests, and practices within the group.
Further information regarding practicalities and FAQ available here.
Expenses & Bursaries
To ensure sustainability to the UNIDEE Residency Module Programs, the participation fee follows a participatory method: each selected resident contributes with a fee based on their financial context, monthly income, and personal circumstances at the moment of the module. The fee is 280 euros per module, covering accommodation at Cittadellarte and administrative expenses. After the selection process, participants will be invited to share their proposed contribution.
A limited number of partial bursaries to cover travels are made available to those who would not otherwise be able to participate. Please make sure to indicate in your application if you wish to be considered for this opportunity.
Residents will be required to arrange and cover expenses for their travel to/from Biella and for the food/living costs whilst in Cittadellarte.
The team at UNIDEE remains at your disposal to support you in the visa application process and to offer guidance and recommendations with travel arrangements. Additionally, the team will provide you with any documents you may need should you decide to pursue other funding opportunities through your local art councils or via international platforms / funding bodies.
How to Apply
We accept applications through https://form.jotform.com/250914120193347, which includes detailed instructions for the application process. Applicants will receive a confirmation email once their submission has been successfully received.
Please note: Applicants must indicate their choice of one of the two modules and tailor their response accordingly. If they wish to apply for both modules, two separate applications, each appropriately written, are required.
Deadline for submissions is 27 April 2025, 23:59 (CEST)
MENTORS
Verónica Gerber Bicecci is a visual artist who writes. Her artistic quest —the interface between the word and the image— began with the series of drawings Diagrams of Silence, an exercise in visual exhumation based on the punctuation of various poems and the book Mudanza (Moving Out), a collection of essays about writers who deserted conventional literature to become visual artists. She recently inaugurated the solo exhibition ¿Quiénes son esas de allá abajo (Who are these below?), curated by Lorena Peña Brito at Impronta Casa Editora and published the essay «Las cosas que escriben» («The things that write») in the anthology of texts Un gesto de tiempo (A time gesture), edited by Gris Tormenta. She currently coordinates, together with Guillermo Espinosa Estrada, Taller Diagonal, a permanent space of accompaniment for diverse writings. Lives and works in Mexico City.
https://www.veronicagerberbicecci.net/
Meike Clarelli - singer, music therapist, composer and vocal researcher with a diverse background, Meike Clarelli ranges from music to psychophony, theater, and poetry. She is founder and singer of the groups La Metralli and Dueventi, collaborator of the Collettivo Amigdala, and director of the women's choirs Le chemin des femmes and Core Voci Indisciplinate. She teaches singing and music through an original method she created called Sensitive Singing. She graduated as a music therapist with Psychophonetic address in 2024 at the Accademia Internazionale di Psicofonia, Mantua (IT).
