Alice Schivardi
Artist in Residence
In memory of our friend and colleague Adriana Garbagnati (1964–2026), whose passion and dedication guided La MaMa Umbria International for many years, and with whom we shared many meaningful collaborations, we welcomed Alice Schivardi to our Open Studios during the Festival Session 2026. Adriana championed and guided Alice’s recent work at La Mama.
Alice Schivardi’s research develops through drawing, embroidered drawing, installation, performance and participatory projects. At the centre of her work lies the relationship between personal experience and collective memory: individual stories and biographical traces become materials through which she explores how relationships are constructed and transformed. Embroidery plays a central role in her practice. Thread becomes a form of writing capable of preserving the time embedded within each gesture. Moving across light and transparent surfaces, it creates images in which the process of making remains an integral part of the artwork itself. A significant part of her research is dedicated to working with blind and visually impaired people. Through workshops and shared projects, Schivardi explores forms of perception that extend beyond the visual experience, considering touch itself as a way of understanding the work. Her works investigate the relationship between presence and absence, between what is preserved and what risks disappearing, restoring attention to gestures and often silent connections. Schivardi is currently working on the project ‘Nuovo Volo’, which will be presented in the coming months between Cascia and Roccaporena, with an exhibition curated by Cristiano Leone. The project continues her investigation into limits, perception and the possibility of transforming an individual condition into a shared experience, while creating a dialogue between different centuries and figures from the histories of mysticism and art.
Tocca il mio blue, 2023, embroidered drawing on vellum paper, approx. 160 × 160cm Tocca il mio blue originated from a tactile workshop with blind and visually impaired people. The title recalls a sentence pronounced during an encounter and contains a central question within the artist’s research: how can we approach a colour through means other than sight? Blue, traditionally associated with the depth of vision, becomes here an experience encountered through the body. Perception moves from the eye to the hand, from contemplation to a direct relationship with the surface of the artwork. Through embroidery, Schivardi brings drawing beyond the two-dimensional nature of the image. Thread creates reliefs and interruptions that preserve the time of its making. Vellum paper, a fragile material crossed by light, reveals every passage and every mark. The work challenges the traditional hierarchy of sight and opens a reflection on the possibility of understanding the world through other forms of sensitivity.
Coccinelle, 2012, 32 ovals, embroidered drawing on vellum paper, handmade resin frames, 9 × 7 cm each In Coccinelle, thirty-two small ovals drawn, embroidered and framed by the artist collect memories and fragments belonging to different personal worlds.The choice of the oval recalls the history of domestic portraiture and images preserved as testimonies of a bond. Schivardi takes this form of private memory and replaces direct representation with a trace: what remains is the mark left by a relationship. Embroidery introduces a slow temporality. Each stitch corresponds to a repeated gesture, to time dedicated to the construction of the image. Manual work becomes a way of paying attention to what usually remains marginal or destined to be forgotten. Arranged throughout the space, the small ovals create a narrative in which separate memories begin to correspond.
Ero figlia unica, Tutti con me e me con voi, 2011–2026
In Ero figlia unica, Alice Schivardi takes part in photographs of families encountered in different places around the world, temporarily entering their images and their histories. The artist asks to wear clothes and jewellery belonging to the tradition of the family welcoming her, participating in an apparently everyday yet deeply identity-forming gesture: the construction of a family portrait. Her presence introduces a reflection on belonging. What allows a stranger to become part of a shared history? Which gestures generate recognition and trust? Starting from her own experience as an only child, Schivardi transforms a personal condition into a broader investigation into human relationships. The work records the moment in which an unexpected bond takes form, expanding the traditional idea of family and belonging.
Text: Cristiano Leone, La Mama Umbria International