FESTA SULL’AIA
Festa sull’Aia (The “Aia” refers to a flat, open space, often paved or made of hard-packed earth, typically found next to a farmhouse) is a project born from a residency in Alvisopoli, curated by Sistema3, and specifically by Penzo+Fiore. Along with other artists (Rebecca Agnes, Nico Angiuli, Alvise Bittente, Andrea Contin, Collettivo Tocàmi, Pablo Compagnucci, Benedetta Panisson,, Simoncini Tangi, Zeroscena) we were invited to create an intervention that would serve as a precursor for a potential broader cultural project planned for the following months.
Alvisopoli is a utopian city, conceived and built by Count Mocenigo at the beginning of the 18th century. He envisioned the city as self-sufficient—and it became so, thanks to a territorial transformation plan that saw agriculture as the primary economic and social driver. Today, Alvisopoli is a town that inherits a unique architecture and a vast space near Portogruaro from that glorious past, but it’s actually sparsely inhabited, with only 450 registered residents.
The artists’ role in that context seemed to be that of trailblazers, but it also carried the responsibility of vouching for those who would come after.

“What if we don’t yet know who will follow us? How can I guarantee that whoever comes after me will be someone capable of keeping promises? I can’t do that because I don’t know them yet. For this reason, for now, I will only vouch for myself. In other words, I will guarantee to you, the people of Alvisopoli, that I truly want to do my project, that I’m not in a hurry, and that I want to get to know you and engage in dialogue with you.”

And it is precisely from this reflection that Festa sull’Aia originates: a day when the inhabitants have the opportunity to express their desires, and my task is to keep that promise by fulfilling them.