POMPEII COMMITMENT. ARCHAEOLOGICAL MATTERS 2024 PROGRAMME

NEW PRODUCTIONS FOR THE COLLECTIO AND SECOND CYCLE OF THE DIGITAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME

Pompeii Commitment. Archaeological Matters – the first long-term, contemporary art programme, established by the Archaeological Park of Pompeii – announces the 2024 programme, which includes new productions for the Collectio and the second cycle of the Digital Fellowship programme.

Pompeii Commitment. Archaeological Matters was conceived in 2020 by Massimo Osanna (General Director of Italy’s National Museums) and Andrea Viliani (Director of the Museum of Civilizations, Rome), and since 2021 it has been overseen by Gabriel Zuchtriegel (General Director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii), with the Responsible of the Project Silvia Martina Bertesago (Functionary Archaeologist of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii). The programme is curated by Andrea Viliani, Stella Bottai and Caterina Avataneo, with the Project Management of Laura Mariano. After the first three years of activities – which focused on reconfiguring the archaeological site of Pompeii as a foundation for contemporary forms of knowledge and alternative epistemologies, through the study and sharing of the potentials inherent to Pompeii and  its “archaeological matters” – Pompeii Commitment. Archaeological Matters continues facilitating artistic and curatorial contemporary research within Pompeii’s uniquely trans-temporal, multi-species, and deeply entangled context. Furthermore Pompeii Commitment. Archaeological Matters promotes and fosters plural forms of engagement, interpretation and accessibility to Pompeian heritage and its multiple histories, whose archaeological dimension lies in the present and future even more than the past.

In 2024 Pompeii Commitment. Archaeological Matters plans first of all the continuation of the production of new artworks for the Collectio, the first contemporary art collection for the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, enhancing Pompeii as a contemporary framework capable of initiating new lines of artistic enquiry on the themes of cultural heritage, in today’s sense of this word. Collectio comprises not only artefacts, but also documents, projects, prototypes, hypotheses, methodologies and experiences of the Pompeiian “archaeological matter” and its multiple meanings. The works of Collectio are acquired by the Italian State, and consigned to the Archaeological Park of Pompeii as an in-progress collection. The programme Collectio is inspired by the guidelines of the Ministry of Culture, aimed at the study and enhancement of Italian and international contemporary art. Following the commissions of Simone Fattal, Lara Favaretto, Invernomuto, Luisa Lambri, and Wael Shawky, the artists who have now been invited to produce new artworks for Collectio are: Marzia Migliora  (b. 1972, Alessandria, Italy), Otobong Nkanga (b. 1974, Kano, Nigeria), Amie Siegel (b. 1974, Chicago, USA), and Cerith Wyn Evans (b. 1958, Llanelli, UK). The new productions of Migliora, Nkanga and Siegel are closely linked to their previous Commitment, published in 2022 on the online portal pompeiicommitment.org. The projects of  Migliora and Nkanga are curated with Matteo Lucchetti and Nkanga's work is developed in collaboration with Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation.

Additionally, starting from 2024, the Archaeological Park of Pompeii will begin a collaboration with the MADRE-Donnaregina Contemporary Art Museum of Naples aimed at valorising the works of the Collectio within the museum’s permanent collection, exhibitions, as well as editorial and educational projects.

Simultaneously, since 2022, the Digital Fellowship programme, currently developed in partnership with the publishing house Artem, enables international participants to carry out an expanded research – both remote and in situ – over a period of several months, focusing on Pompeii or aspects related to its symbology and significance in general. The Digital Fellowships endorse and encourage experimental methodologies and open-ended approaches. At the end of their research period, each participant shares an outcome on the digital portal pompeiicommitment.org to mark the culmination of their fellowship. Following those by Formafantasma, Allison Katz, Miao Ying, Legacy Russell, Anri Sala, Rose Salane and Sissel Tolaas, the Digital Fellowships of the second cycle of the programme in 2024 are: Sophia Al-Maria (b. 1983, Tacoma, USA) , Jennifer Allora & Guillermo Calzadilla (b. 1974, Philadelphia, USA - b. 1971, Havana, Cuba), Ed Atkins (b. 1982, Oxford, UK), Meriem Bennani (b. 1988, Rabat, Morocco), Deborah-Joyce Holman (b. 1991, Basel, Switzerland), Liliane Lijn (b. 1939, New York, USA), SAGG NAPOLI (b. 1991, Naples, Italy), Marianna Simnett (b. 1986, London, UK), and curator Noam Segal with artists Libby Heaney (b. 1981, Tamworth, UK), Agnieszka Kurant (b. 1978, Łódź, Poland), and Marina Rosenfeld (b. 1968, New York, USA). The new Digital Fellowships will continue nurturing Pompeii’s global relevance as an active, contemporary research centre as well as empowering the transformability of matter, critically exploring what matter has become, or could become, within our digital epoch. Over the course of their Digital Fellowship, participants identify and receive access to archaeological resources, newly commissioned and archival documentation, scientific literature, and other research materials. They are offered the possibility to engage with Pompeii’s team of professionals and researchers, such as archaeologists, anthropologists, archaeozoologists, archaeobotanists, geologists, chemists, architects, conservators.

Finally, starting from 2024, the experimental cultural partnership model Partners Committee created in 2022 by the Archaeological Park of Pompeii to support the programme of  Pompeii Commitment. Archaeological Matters, will be renewed and extended. The first edition’s members were Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation and Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo.