Water Path: On the trail of the Great Mother
IV edition of Baroque Blue Se-Art Residency 2025
From September 20 to October 3, 2025, in Torre Dell’Orso (Lecce, Italy)
“Two weeks in the heart of Salento, among trails, discoveries, rituals, dances, songs, art, and deep listening. We will work with our ancestors, with the great mother, with the earth, water and the heart. In harmony with the new moon, we will walk toward the equinox, listening to our souls”.
Water Path: on the trail of the Great Mother is Baroque Blue 2025’s new art residency in TORRE DELL’ORSO, curated by Dores Sacquegna for Primo Piano LivinGallery. Under auspices by Municipality of Melendugno (Lecce), the program begins on September 20 and ends on October 3 with a closing event open to the public starting at 5:30 pm. Partners in the project are the Lark Gallery in Los Angeles and the farms FA from Galatone and Contino Wines from Lecce.
PREVIEW – BAROQUE BLUE ART RESIDENCY confirms its status as a reference point for international artists who want to work in a stimulating environment to deepen their art practice in dialogue with artists of Salento Peninsula. During the residency, artists not only live together, but share a collective vision that embraces art, culture, music, history, research, sustainability and spiritual development. These principles permeate all aspects of daily life within the unique and engaging model that is Baroque Blue.
WATER PATH is an experiential project of eco-symbolism and contemporary art curated by Dores Sacquegna and dedicated to the symbolic aspects of the Great Mother and the rituals of sailors in Terra D’Otranto. Compasses, routes, and maps are available to the sailors-artists, inspiring them to create their works on site. The project is a sacred and profound journey to honor their roots and rediscover who they have been and who they are ready to become.
WATER PATH AND THE ARTISTS ON DISPLAY
Fifteen international artists are in residency, including two already known in Puglia: American artist Kohlene Hendrickson (she lives and works in Switzerland), who explores the human and the cosmic and will lead the second workshop on encaustic painting, and the American artist Justine Giordano. Among the new entries is German director, author, and performer Annette Assmy, who created “Dream Sanctuary”, a performative Ritual Theatre piece. The trilogy of poetry, sculpture, and painting features California artist Sandra Cohn, whose works have also been exhibited in Paris and in ArtLa magazine, in residency with her art and poetry which she will perform, including the poem “Wedded to the Light, A Call and Response Prayer,” among others. On display, also, the American artist Glen Rogers (she lives in Mexico), author of the book “Art & Sacred Sites: Connecting with Spirit of Place” about her pilgrimages to places of worship around the world. Phyllis Kudder Sullivan is an American ceramicist whose “Penelope Project” has been exhibited at venues including the Hunterdon Museum in Clinton, Pennsylvania. Also featured in the exhibition are American artists David Leitch, the fashion designer Irene Fredericks, whose collections were used for the American Indian Dance Theatre, her daughter and photographer Darla Rosenfeld, and Kay Fontana abstract-artist inspired by nature. Born in Italy but living and working in the United States are the two artists Pamela Calore and Cosima Risolvo: the former is a photographer whose photos have appeared in Amnesty International and in the documentary “Sin Fronteras” directed by Giorgio Serafini and winner of the Best Documentary award at the Atlantic City Cinefest; the latter is of Apulian origin and graduated in Fine Arts from Southern Illinois University, beginning to exhibit successfully in 2016. Born in Belarus but lives and works in the United States, Yelena Lev is an artist and architect whose works can be found in collections such as Balmoral Castle and Amalienborg Palace, among others. Giti Ganjei describes her paintings as “Art from Within,” which shares her personal experiences and celebrates her connection with nature in Her “Tree Collection” while Armineh Teimourian Hajiabadi is an architect and designer. Both of Iranian origin, they live in the United States.
In dialogue with them are eight artists from Puglia or who have chosen Puglia as their adopted home, including Maestro Alberto “Nick” Bolettieri (born in Milan and resident in Salento), a multi-instrumentalist musician with an impressive resume thanks to collaborations with big names in the international jazz, film, and pop music scenes such as Ennio Morricone, Armando Trovajoli, Paolo Fresu and Giuliano Sangiorgi, to name a few. Since 2023, he has been collaborating with Primo Piano LivinGallery, creating exclusive acoustic and electronic projects during exhibitions and Baroque Blue residencies. One of his performances, entitled “Finibus Terrae Sound Floating” is scheduled to take place at Punta Meliso in Santa Maria di Leuca on September 25. Shamanism is explored and articulated by Maria Maddalena Armenise (artist and holistic practitioner from Bari, she lives in the Marche region), author of books such as “The Map of Salvation: Grail, Medicine for the New Humanity beyond duality.” Through guided meditations, the sailors-artists are reborn as children of the sea, of Mabon, and of the Terra d’Otranto in the rituals “Nature Breathing with the Sea (The Mysterious Whisper of the Mermaid),” “Shamanic Baptism with Water” and “The Song of the Equinox.” The program includes meetings between Italian and foreign artists, with participants including sculptor Claudio Rizzo with his installation “On the Routes of No One” (taken from Nikos Kazanzakis’ poem Odyssey) and Monica Lisi with “Shared identities in emotional maps”. Other experiences include a workshop on “Healthy eating” led by naturopath and chef Francesca Romana Ferrara, owner of the FA farm in Galatone, and the ritual photo-portrait “Shamanic Metamorphoses” by artist and photographer Nadia Cera. The telluric matrix that binds humans to bright is a sound journey interpreted by DJ set Miss Grace with “Aura” an ontology that probes the liminal depths between immanence and transcendence through electronic music. Artist Luigi Caiffa, photographer and video maker of the residency, closes the circle.
Baroque Blue concludes on October 3 at 5:30 pm onwards with a calendar of events open to the audience, starting with the contemporary art exhibition and performances by all artists in Torre Dell’Orso. During the evening, there will be a ceremony of thanksgiving to the Great Mother, titled “The Lighthouse of Dreams (Invocation of sailors)” led by Maria Maddalena Armenise, a solo performance by Maestro Alberto “Nick” Bolettieri with “Wandering Landfall” and the presentation and award ceremony for the artists curated by Dores Sacquegna. Flag Dinner (dishes from around the world) and welcome drink offered by Contino Wines Azienda Agricola. You’re welcome!
SELECTED INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS : Annette Assmy (Germany) | Pamela Calore (US) | Sandra Cohn (US) | Kay Fontana (US) | Irene Fredericks (US) | Giti Ganjei (US) | Justine Giordano (US) | Kohlene Hendrickson (Switzerland) | David Leitch (US) | Yelena Lev (US)| Cosima Risolvo (US) | Glen Rogers (US)| Darla Rosenfeld (US) | Phyllis Sullivan (US) | Armineh Teimourian Hajiabadi (US).
APULIAN ARTISTS IN DIALOGUE: Maria Maddalena Armenise | Alberto “Nick Bolettieri” | Luigi Caiffa | Nadia Cera | Francesca Romana Ferrara | Miss Grace | Monica Lisi | Claudio Rizzo.
BAROQUE BLUE 2025
MAIN VILLA – Via Risorgimento snc (behind of Via Matteotti) in Torre Dell’Orso, Melendugno marina (Lecce)
Free entry. Info Google Map: +39 349 37 20659 | primopianogallery@gmail.com
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If you are interested our residencies, you can apply for the 2026 edition! thanks
Info to join us: primopianorecidency@gmail.com or primopianoexhibition01@gmail.com
