The School of Artivism

Palermo, Sicily — April 17–23, 2025

A European residency exploring art, activism, climate and social justice

Across Europe and beyond, a new generation of young artists and activists are searching for ways to face climate and social crises with imagination and collective power.

For one week in Palermo, a group of young artivists from across Europe will gather to learn, reflect, train, and build the foundations of future creative actions to fight for climate and social justice.

We welcome young people aged 20–25 residing in the EU who are already active in artistic and/or activist communities, who use (or wish to use) creativity as part of their political or ecological engagement.

We aim for a balanced and diverse group, with a strong representation of participants living in Italy and Sicily – including some based in Palermo – while also welcoming a significant number of young people from across the rest of Europe.

We also welcome participation from local groups, and we will create bridges between incoming participants and the workshops/activities of the Palermo-based festival Earth Day Med.

But what is Artivism?

Artivism is the intentional use of creative practices for political and social action.
It combines creativity, strategy, symbolism, and collective intelligence to influence culture, challenge power structures, and make democratic struggles visible.

During the residency, participants will explore these principles through:

• A local case study linked to Palermo’s ecological and cultural context,
• Workshops on the roots and methods of artivism,
• Collective learning inspired by the festival’s program and roundtables,
• Deep reflection on climate and biodiversity issues through artistic and political lenses.

🫂 During the Residency

• Workshops, guided reflections, and situational exercises
• Exploration of Palermo’s local ecological and cultural context
• Participant exchanges & building a transnational community of artivists
• Integration of festival content (e.g., watching a panel, then working with the ideas)
• Final day: “Apply it to your local context” — turning learning into a first project vision

💚 Connection to the Palermo Festival

The residency will interact with the Earth Day Med Palermo festival produced and curated by Fondazione Studio Rizoma:

• Attending festival programmations (discussions, screenings, workshops, etc)
• Reflecting collectively on themes such as climate, biodiversity, democracy, migration, or Mediterranean ecologies
• Integrating festival insights into the training path

This is a training-only program: Participants will not carry out a public action during the residency, but will prepare the ground to implement one once they return to their local context.