Residencies for Enlivened Futures

Set in the medieval mountain village of Fontecchio (pop. 350) in the Aterno Valley of Abruzzo, located between between the Sirente-Velino and Gran Sasso national parks, and just 2 hours from Rome, the Fontecchio International Airport offers a quiet refuge for experimentation and exploration by providing artist residency opportunities for individual artists, researchers, creative professionals, and small groups working across a range of disciplines. Our aim is to serve as a rural nexus for creative international relations and a matchmaker of kindred spirits - to be a place/space where artists and creative professionals can unravel and lengthen the processes involved in their work while developing relationships with the local community.

The “Airport” was launched in 2020 in response to a call to assist in catalyzing international cultural developments in a territory that has tenaciously struggled to renew itself in the wake of a major natural disaster (the earthquake of 2009) and population loss since the end of WWII. This context has provided for us an opportunity to explore how the cultivation of a creative community with the encouragement of relationship-building through creative practices and across different cultural geographies can create conditions that can substantially impact the trajectory of a village struggling against decades of population loss.

At present, the Airport still operates as an independent artist-led initiative following a slow-growth trajectory (“piano, piano” as they say in Abruzzo). We are currently at the stage of applying to the RESARTIS network for international artist residency centers. In the meantime, you can contact us directly to inquire about our application process and cost and availability for housing and studio space.