The sounds of IN ViTRØ ~ Artificial sønificatiøn will soon start to echo through the cisterns, subterranean areas, castles and abbeys of Matera and the rest of the region. IN ViTRØ is a sound art project co-produced by LOXOSconcept which explores the relationship between sound and silence with interactive art events and workshops. Exhibitions, installations, performances, residencies, labs and workshops discover the silence that never ceases to involve sound and require its presence.

Significant and everyday places from the past are ideal scenarios in which to start reflecting on how our modern environments are bombarded by sound, but also to suggest how we might move towards a new acoustic ecology. The work Echi d’Acqua (water echoes), for example, offers an artistic interpretation of the Palombaro Lungo, the largest cistern for water collection hidden beneath the central Piazza Vittorio Veneto. The art installation will emphasise the relationship between sight and sound through the sound sign found in the music of five composers. The specific acoustic features and important architectural elements of the Palombaro will be enhanced through visual and musical stimuli: the presence of water, its forms, geometry and flow, sensorial impact of the walls and their colour, the impression of acoustic resonance phenomena.

The Sound Art Exhibition in September still has a call open for artists across the world of all ages to propose a reflection on sound and silence. The art installations, performances and sound sculptures, chosen by a special international committee representing leading art centres, will descend on Matera as expressions of the latest trends in sound art, which will be a veritable sonic invasion!

The competition is in two sections: the first is for existing sound art works to be displayed in the exhibition, while the second is for projects to be developed and presented in the art residencies that will take place in the picturesque locations of the Monastery of Santa Chiara in Ferrandina, the Bottini di Irsina and the Abbey of St Michael Archangel in Montescaglioso. The deadline for submitting proposals is 15 May 2019.

Thanks to the European partnership with ZKM [Center for Art and Media] (Germany), Gaudeamus Muziekweek (the Netherlands), Tempo Reale and Spaziomusica (Italy), EU Japan Fest (Japan)  and CeReNeM (UK) the works produced and selected may also be shown in 2020 in other parts of Italy and in Europe, to encourage art mobility.

The IN VITRØ project will launch in May with the section MUTE [silent film mutations] and focus on silent films, in particular on sound and music aspects, in collaboration with the Keyhole Association and the EDISON Studio collective. IN VITRØ concludes in late September 2019 with a new production: a preview performance in Italy of work by the famous Japanese artist Ryoichi Kurokawa.

Information about all the project events can be found on the official calendar, which is regularly updated.