SWAP is an international art residency project that aims to activate and promote cultural exchange and creative cooperation between Italy and abroad through the involvement of national and international artists. After the first two exchanges between Bologna and the
Norwegian city of Bergen in 2022 and 2023, the third edition of SWAP will start in April 2024 with the residency of Emanuele Rinaldo Meschini in Bergen from April 15th to May 6th together with the curators Amerigo Mariotti and Giorgia Tronconi of Adiacenze. The project is supported by Bergen Kommune, in collaboration with Hordaland Kunstsenter and VISP, with the patronage of the Italian Cultural Institute of Oslo and the Municipality of Bologna.
The residency will start with an initial artist presentation talk on April 17th at 6 pm at Hordaland Kunstsenter, where the project titled “Sudden Memories” will be introduced. Emanuele Rinaldo Meschini’s research will revolve around the role of football and sports in general in the creation of collective memory, and in building the relationship with the city starting from the passion for sports and the associated sense of belonging. The project will unfold in two parts, namely “Home” and “Away”. The first part involves the creation of a “Fandom Museum,” which will be housed within the project room of Hordaland Kunstsenter. Emanuele Rinaldo Meschini will ask will ask whoever wants to get involved the project to bring and exhibit their personal memories, photographs, jerseys, stickers, or memorabilia related to their experience of fandom. These objects will progressively enrich the museum’s collection during the residency period, along with photos, videos, and a collection of magazines about Italian football culture that Emanuele will bring from Italy. The second part of the project involves some actions outside the HKS space, starting with a collective walk on April 23rd, exploring possible routes from the cultural center of HKS to the Brann Stadium adopting the methodology of “situationist drift”, that is, through an affective-relational mapping, rather than a descriptive-rational one. The idea is to reinterpret the urban and social fabric of the city in relation to sports culture and the rituals of sporting events.
The residency will conclude with a final performative event by the artist on May 4th at CM7.
The curators of Adiacenze will follow the development of Emanuele Rinaldo Meschini’s project, supporting and guiding its field research and the events. At the same time, on this occasion they will deepen their knowledge of the Bergen art scene through a series of portfolio review
sessions organized in collaboration with VISP and that will be open through open call to local artists. From April 25th to 28th, they will also be in Oslo to take part in the International Visitors Program of Open Oslo to conduct studio-visits and explore Oslo’s art scene as well.
The final objective of SWAP is to offer artists the opportunity to interact with a different cultural, social and geographical context through a period of residence aimed at research, experimentation and the production of new works resulting from this experience: SWAP wants
to give the possibility to contemporary artists to broaden their gaze from the Italian scene to the international one, finding new ideas and resources to develop their artistic research in contact with other realities and cultural professionals abroad. Similarly, this cultural bridge will
also allow international artists to get to know and engage with the Italian and Bologna area in particular through a stimulating and enriching experience. Eventually, through SWAP, Adiacenze wants to establish a fruitful and stimulating collaboration between Bologna and the
Bergen art scene as a first step towards the creation of an international network of independent exhibition spaces dedicated to contemporary art that can promote the mobility and intercultural exchange of artists and curators at European level.
The artist
Emanuele Rinaldo Meschini is an artist, art critic, and historian with a particular focus on themes related to social practices, activism, performance, radical education, and participation. In 2016, he co-founded the art-based project AUTOPALO alongside Luca Resta and Luca
Severino. The primary research of AUTOPALO revolves around the function and role of football in contemporary society. The project delves into the sociological meanings of significant mass events and cultural rituals using participatory performances and videos. Football serves as a versatile medium, adapted to different contexts, with an active aim to engage local communities, football schools, and the general public. Meschini’s involvement extends beyond his artistic pursuits; he has served as a part-time lecturer at the University of Bologna and worked as a research fellow for the Iuav University of Venice. His research has focused on culturally based urban regeneration and socially inclusive memory. Currently, he teaches Contemporary Art History at Iuav University in Venice.
