Life goes on at the palazzo-turned-artist-residency in the Italian epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak

Across the world, the social distancing measures and lockdowns that have been implemented to contain the spread of Covid-19 have upended daily routines to the point it is difficult to imagine that anyone is going about their daily lives as usual. But in places designed to keep enough of the world out to allow for meaningful introspection, there is a surprising amount of continuity. Although Palazzo Monti—an Italian artist residency housed in a 13th century palazzo in Brescia, Lombardy in Northern Italy—is located in the epicenter of the European coronavirus outbreak, Edoardo Monti, the residency director, finds a level of continuity within the medieval Italian walls.

“When I am here I usually spend the morning working on ‘physical’ projects (install works, archive etc.) all across the three stories of the palazzo,” the director tells SLEEK. “The afternoons are for research, calls and emails. For the artists, they each have their own schedule and since all studios are located inside the palazzo they are free to work or rest whenever they usually do at home.”

One of the benefits of living among rotating housemates, is that there is less temptation to spend the entire day with an unwashed face in sweats, because you are still seeing people. “Dressing up like you are supposed to leave your home helps you to feel ‘normal’,” Monti says. “Wearing pyjamas for six weeks of quarantine will make you feel sick and like it’s a long Sunday every day.”

While Monti and the four artists currently living at the Palazzo have settled into a routine since the Italian lockdown began nearly four weeks ago on 9 March, the first few days of the outbreak were particularly stressful. In February, the program started to received cancellations from artists who feared being fired from their 9-5 jobs upon their return for needing to go into quarantine and their intern, a British citizen, was asked by her university to return as uncertainties over Brexit raised questions about what would be covered in their health insurance policy. On the night of 8 March, as the region was restricting movement, two artists fled in the middle of the night, fearing that they would not be able to go back home.

“There was some miscommunication from the media about the lockdown that was going to be put in place across Lombardy,” Monti explains. “A French and Israeli artist left in the middle of the night to go back to their home countries. We understand that panic may occur, but we would have handled the situation in a different way, if we had time to discuss with them.”

Still, after the initial wave of worry and fear over what would happen next, the residency swung into action and group shows were moved from spring to summer and early autumn, and there was time to plan new projects that were compatible with social distancing measures. Rethinking the idea of an exhibition on walls, Monti started the Banners project, which invites both Italian and international artists to create flags that will be displayed on the façade of Palazzo Monti—a project that can be seen from a safe social distance. Another project Andrà Tutto Bene (‘It’s going to be alright’), collects drawings from children all over Italy to display in the palazzo’s exhibition rooms, which were frescoed in 1750.

On a personal level, Monti finds stability in engaging with virtual projects as a way to keep connected. He contributes to the Milano Art Guide colouring book project, which makes colorable versions of pieces by artists like Maurizio Cattelan and Arnaldo Pomodoror, alongside giving virtual tours of the residency program and participating in live stream panels.  But not everything has to be art-related. He enlisted celebrity trainer, Nicole Winhoffer, for a double Instagram Live workout, which turned the historic backdrop of the palazzo into a uniquely beautiful gym.

“It helps having something to look forward to and get ready for,” Monti says. “Plus sharing what we do is always useful especially for artists out there that are taking advantage of this time to research on what residencies to apply for in the coming months.”

But when it comes down to what the residency director wants to do once the crisis is over, a packed travel schedule and exhibitions aren’t on top of his list. “As simple as it may sound, hugging friends and my family again will be the best thing,” he says.