What is CASTRO?

CASTRO (Contemporary Art STudios ROme) is a space founded to support Italian and foreign artists, curators and researchers. It offers studio spaces to 8 artists and 2 curators per year and encourages their relationship with art institutions and the public. It promotes an experimental and highly collaborative learning model both for the arts and the local community.

CASTRO’s programming is articulated on two parallel tracks: one is open to the public and the second only to the artists and curators working in studios at CASTRO.

The public programme will include:

• Artist Talks: conferences with artists invited to talk about their work and their personal experience.
• Curator’s Round Tables: round tables moderated by a young curator whom is called choose two further experts in the field to intervene on a chosen theme.
• Project presentations: founders of projects related to contemporary art are invited to talk about their activities and their experience.
• Cineforum: screening of a film and subsequent public debate.

The second, dedicated to artists and curators in the studios, provides:

• Tutorials: 50mins one-to-one meetings in the studio with artists and other specialists in the field in order to talk about the artist’s work.
• Studio Visits: supporter’s or other’s (curators, artistic directors of foundations and museums, gallery owners and collectors)  private/guided visits in the artist’s studio in order to see and talk about his most recent work in an informal environment.
• Open studio days: whole days during which artist studios are open to the public.
• Excursions and guided tours of the city.
• Workshops with local artisans to deepen traditional Roman practices.
• Online blog hosted on CASTRO’s website.

CASTRO’s main activities are CRITS. Crits are day long sessions to discuss both finished or in process works. Each artist’s work is usually shown for up to an hour to allow a conversation.

Presenting artists can either sit back and listen to the feedback or answer questions. Any artist in Rome can sign up on CASTRO’s website to present their work. Anyone can partecipate to the discussion. This activity fosters exchanges between artists in CASTRO’s studios, those in
residence in foreign institutions in Rome and roman artists.

Participation to the project is open and regulated by an Applications system. A Board of Judges evaluates applications by selecting the residents. The Board varies each year and is selected by the Scientific Committee of the GIGANT Association.

All public meetings held in CASTRO are documented with video footage and are stored in an online archive accessible to newsletter subscribers.

CASTRO is twinned with other projects in Italy and abroad. This offers current and former residents the opportunity to enter into a network, to start exchanges. It is also central for the program as it ensures a close contact with the current issues in contemporary art.