Looking Back on two weeks at 'il Gattopardo’ residency
Looking back at our 2-week gathering in the mountains of Liguria for a two‐week interdisciplinary residency themed ‘Monte Verità: Cultivating a New Reality’. The residency theme was inspired by the pioneering 20th-century art commune of the same name. The residency was organized by SOPRA SOTTO, led by Constance van Berckel and Juliette Westerink.
None of us were familiar with the area at first, but we quickly made it our home - even with misty skies, we gladly embraced the occasional sunny day for long hikes, which helped us get in tune with the surrounding nature.
The residency was our living laboratory for creative exploration, co-creation and communal living. We practiced simplicity and slowness to reconnect with ourselves, each other, and the natural world, drawing inspiration from ancient wisdoms applied to our modern lives. Our aim was to question the status quo and imagine a future inspired by regenerative practices, synergetic systems and a sense of interconnectedness.
The Monte Verità residency program was co-created by its residents, each giving a workshop sharing their knowledge, views and interests. We joined in many different experiences: from ‘bird flocking’ dancing, to slowed-down somatic experiences in nature, and observation of tiny symbiotic ecosystems.
We did collective poetry writing, harmonization of our voices with song, and explored self-portraiture through photography. Juliette organized Active Hope workshops and critical dialogue, we joined in a deep sharing ritual with yoga nidra, and experimented with outdoor nature drawing.
These sessions sparked a genuine cross-pollination of views that challenged and enriched our own.
SOPRA SOTTO stands for ‘as above, so below,’ and during some exercises we attempted to look at existence from a non-anthropocentric viewpoint.
We listened to stories that invited us to zoom out, seeing life on Earth as part of the vast cosmos. Other times, we'd zoom in - looking at lichens through a magnifying glass or carefully sketching a single leaf from up close. This interplay of perspectives deepened our appreciation for the synergy and interconnectedness of ecosystems, both large and small, beyond the limits of our own human experience.
Our days of creative communal living during the ‘Monte Verità’ residency were filled with tender moments of togetherness. From cooking nourishing meals in the large communal kitchen or a movie night watching ‘Lazzaro Felice’, to evenings spent around bonfires sharing songs, stories, jokes and deep conversations.
We had many playful moments - rolling down grassy hills, harvesting clay from the land to make puppets, a wild pirate-themed dinner, gathering as more-than-human beings in masks, and celebrating love with a Valentine’s Day feast - all adding to the joy of our time together.
During the residency we didn’t just bond with each other, but also with the wild cats surrounding the property, and of course with Giulia’s dog Sam, who quickly became our much loved 10th resident. Claudio, a friendly local from Cairo Montenotte, treated us to a lovely wood-fired pizza evening at the start of the residency. We also celebrated our last night in town with Claudio with a boogie at the retro dance-hall ‘La Perla’!
This SOPRA SOTTO residency was very generously hosted in Cairo Montenotte at ‘Il Gattopardo’ the house of Martin de Koning and Annelies van der Pauw.
SOPRA SOTTO is an interdisciplinary art residency, living laboratory and embodied think tank. Our mission is to provide a sanctuary for artists and culture shapers to reconnect with themselves, each other, and nature. Through art and creativity, we seek to examine and transmute outdated paradigms, fostering alternative futures for the community as well as the collective.
