IN FOBELLO, COMMUNITY AND ART ARE WOVEN TOGETHER: PAOLA ANZICHÉ’S ARTIST RESIDENCY COMES TO A CLOSE

A village square transformed into a giant loom, dozens of hands at work, and a single large textile created collectively. This was how Paola Anziché’s artist residency concluded on 27 June 2026 in Fobello, a small mountain village in Valsesia, Italy, with Maglia in Comune (Knitting Together), a participatory project that brought together residents, visitors, and tourists to create a life-sized circular knitted structure.

The event marked the public culmination of the artist’s research residency, developed as part of Fobello. The Tradition of Innovation, a cultural and social regeneration project. At the heart of Anziché’s investigation was weaving as a relational practice – one capable of generating connections, fostering dialogue between people and place, and restoring value to the knowledge embedded in handcraft. For one afternoon, the village square became a shared space for making rather than simply observing. Stitch by stitch, participants contributed to a collective artwork that transformed the act of weaving into an experience of exchange and collaboration, expressing both a sense of belonging and a deep connection with the surrounding mountain landscape.

The project’s dialogue with the local environment was further reinforced through its materials. The wool used for the installation was naturally dyed with mountain flowers and plants by artisan Ilaria Brunet, who specialises in natural textile dyeing, bringing the colours and botanical heritage of Valsesia directly into the work. For many years, Paola Anziché has explored textiles as both an artistic language and a relational medium. In Fobello, this approach evolved into a deeply participatory process, making the residency not only a site of artistic production but also a shared experience of listening, exchange, and community engagement.

More than a finished artwork, Maglia in Comune leaves behind a collective experience in which contemporary art, craftsmanship, and participation became inseparable, demonstrating how small rural communities can serve as fertile grounds for cultural experimentation and new forms of social connection.

The project was funded through Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), supported by the European Union’s NextGenerationEU programme and the Italian Ministry of Culture.