Vision
The Art Monastery Project is transforming an old Italian monastery into an international arts production house.
Social Sculpture: “How we mould and shape the world in which we live. Sculpture as an evolutionary process; everyone an artist.”
—Joseph Beuys |
It is a radical contemporary experiment in social sculpture inspired by tradition: to apply the disciplined, contemplative, and sustainable monastic way of living to the creative process.
Email us at info@artmonastery.org for more information or to get involved.
Learn more…
What’s new…
- The Art Monastery was on Italian national radio (RAI 1’s “Tornando a Casa”, in Italian)!
- Co-founder Betsy McCall has written a blog post about finishing up her MFA and coming back to Italy.
- The Art Monastery Project announces a great opportunity for an entrepreneur!
- From June 2nd – 15th, 8 youth from Besant Hill School in Ojai, CA joined us at the Casale Santa Brigida for an arts-based youth empowerment workshop led by Charlie Murphy & Eric Mulholland of Partnership for Youth Empowerment. Blog post by Julia Pond!
- Art Monastery Symposium IV with Farmer John: We had a great dinner/symposium/concert/filmscreening at the Casale Santa Brigida with Farmer John, aka John Peterson, who runs Angelic Organics, one of the largest Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms in the United States. Former Vice-President Al Gore said about Farmer John’s film The Real Dirt on Farmer John: “”Unbelievably special…a real and gripping story with insight and humor.” Photos coming soon!
- Great photos of La Clausura Sconfinata, an original Art Monastery production combining modern dance, gregorian chant and baroque nun’s music, on Aurora D’Aversa’s flickr stream.
Calvi
The Art Monastery’s pilot site is in the cherished former Ursuline monastery in Calvi dell’Umbria, a charming Umbrian town only 45 minutes Northeast of Rome. Until the renovations on the top floor are finished, the Art Monastery Project’s office, Guesthouse, and “casa dell’associazione” is the nearby bed-n-breakfast, the Casale S. Brigida. Known for its 16th-C nativity scene and accompanying Christmas exhibitions as well as the ancient and colorful week long festival of San Pancrazio, Calvi attracts visitors year-round both from Italy and abroad.
Get Involved
Join our Collaborators Circle
As a member of the Collaborators Circle of Gli Amici dell’Art Monastery, you will connect with and support a group of international artists, musicians, performers and visionaries. By joining the circle, you will receive a number of artistically inspired benefits. To learn more, click here.
Become a Major Supporter in our Donors Circle
Actively demonstrate your leadership in supporting the arts by joining the Donors Circle of Gli Amici dell’Art Monastery. As a founding member, you will stand out as a major sponsor of the project, its programming, and its greater vision. To learn more, contact donations@artmonastery.org.
Make a Donation
Provide a donation to the Art Monastery in the form of a financial contribution or material (office equipment, furniture, art, etc.). This is a powerful way to turn the dream into reality. Donations can be made through Paypal (to donations@artmonastery.org or click the button below). For tax-deductible donations, please donate through our fiscal sponsor, Fractured Atlas.
If you have materials you would like to donate, please look at our Wish List and send us an email.
Projects
Upcoming/Available:
Info coming soon!
Labirinto
Calvi and the Art Monastery Project team up for a musical tour of the Medieval center of Calvi. Wind your way through the town’s labyrinthine cobblestone streets, under arches, up stone pathways… A surprise around every corner.
La Clausura Sconfinata
La Clausura Sconfinata debuted at the Chiesa di San Francesco in Narni on April 25th, 2009, with a second performance at the Monastery of San Paolo in Orvieto on April 26th. Opening to standing ovations, it has already sparked interest for future performances and collaborations. A unique interweaving of dance and music, the production was a collaboration that could only be born at the Art Monastery Project. Pictures, soiund and video clips coming soon… More…
Canto Gregoriano
Recording projects of Gregorian Chant and Medieval music by renowned interpreters including Eugene Liven d’Abelardo and Eric Mentzel. More soon…
Pacelli Project
Multiphase tour, recording, & publication project, restoring the lost splendor of Polish Baroque music: more…
Proposed:
Nuns Vespers
Canticum
Circo Rossini
Posted by Nathan on 26 June 2009.
Our national radio debut! The clip:
Posted by Betsy on 23 June 2009.
I’m back in Calvi!!! After 6 months in San Francisco, I’ve returned to the fold with a swanky new MFA in tow. You may call me Mistress now. It was a strange and wonderful thing to be back in the States for so long: the distinctions clearly illustrated between Italian & American bureaucracy, rural & [...]
