Radis
Public Space
Radis is an art project in the public space developed and promoted by the Fondazione per l’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea CRT, the art-oriented body of the Fondazione CRT. It is now in its second edition following the extremely successful experience of the first edition with Giulia Cenci’s work le masche in the town of Rittana. This second edition is anew curated by Marta Papini once more in collaboration with the Fondazione CRC, with the Kosovar visual artist Petrit Halilaj who will create a site-specific work in Borgata Valdibà, in the district of Dogliani (Cuneo).
The two institutions will engage in an exchange with the territory and its community as they have done before, shaping the idea of widespread heritage into tangibles which is one of the statutory missions of the Fondazione per l’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea CRT and the Fondazione CRT, as always committed to broadening access to culture and art for all.
In the four-year period 2024-2027 Radis will develop works in the public space by actively involving residents, local agencies, bodies and associations. New works will be a two-way exchange with local history and landscape, creatively contributing to a new shared imaginary, and could also become a magnet for an environmentally aware sustainable tourism.
The curator Marta Papini invited artist Petrit Halilaj (1986, Kostërrc, Kosovo) to work in the Borgata Valdibà. The area lies in a belvedere at the heart of the Langhe along a road connecting Dogliani to Monforte d’Alba, that walkers, ramblers, hikers and cyclists can enjoy from Spring through Autumn. Here, alongside the Church of San Bartolomeo (Saint Bartholemew) and its rectory, lies a compact two storey building that was the school of the hamlet until the 1960s, a point of reference for all the boys and girls of the surroundings. The school is no longer usable but where artist Petrit Halilaj will create a work as part of the Abetare (Primer Book) series, created from doodles scribbled on school desks.
The Abetare series started in 2015, using the archive of the doodles and drawings on the desks in the school in Runik (Kosovo), the village where Halilaj grew up in. Over the past ten years the artist has created a doodle and drawing archive that inspire him: the results are monumental steel and bronze sculptures, drawing from the childhood imaginaries in different times and space overlapping into a single language. The Abetare series has been exhibited in several major institutions, including the roof top of the New York Metropolitan Museum in 2024, as part of the Roof Garden Commission.
Design by XXY
Radis is the new public art project promoted by the Fondazione per l’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea CRT for the four years 2024-2027; the first edition will take place in the province of Cuneo in collaboration with the Fondazione CRC.
In the first, Marta Papini the curator of the project, has invited the artist Giulia Cenci to create a work for a wooded area in the Valle Stura near the town of Rittana. The artist will live in Rittana to get in touch with the inhabitants to learn about local stories and traditions and design her work. The work will remain the property of Fondazione CRT and will be on permanent loan to the Municipality of Rittana.
Therefore, in addition to the commission of the work, an educational programme, a public program and the collective exhibition L’opera al nero were developed as a path towards the inauguration on 6 October 2024.
Publications
Il Diario di Radis (The Radis’ Diary) is a collection of six texts published monthly in the columns of Il Giornale dell’Arte, providing a progressive account of the project from different angles, from the territory to the didactic and participatory projects, to Giulia Cenci’s work, the masche. The Radis Diary is therefore intended to recount the project in its different levels of reading and the Italian digital format can be downloaded in HERE.
Il Chiot Rosa clearing and the work by Giulia Cenci are part of the Mappatura dell’arte nei luoghi della Provincia di Cuneo (Mapping of Art in the Places of the Province of Cuneo), curated by Vittoria Martini. This research (the Italian digital format can be downloaded HERE) tells of the works of art in the territory of Cuneo and the way in which they have been commissioned over the years. The mapping reveals the attention given to culture in this specific territory and tells of a virtuous model of commissioning for public space.
The documentary “Radis – le masche di Giulia Cenci”, made by Cucù Milano e TIWI and broadcast by Sky Arte on 25 March 2025, which describes the various stages and activities of the project, is now available on the Fondazione Arte CRT’s YouTube channel.
Identity design by Fionda
Gallery
Past editions
Radis 2025
Radis is an art project in the public space developed and promoted by the Fondazione per l’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea CRT, the art-oriented body of the Fondazione CRT. This second edition is anew curated by Marta Papini once more in collaboration with the Fondazione CRC, with the Kosovar visual artist Petrit Halilaj who will create a site-specific work in Borgata Valdibà, in the district of Dogliani (Cuneo). Here, alongside the Church of San Bartolomeo (Saint Bartholemew) and its rectory, lies a compact two storey building that was the school of the hamlet until the 1960s, a point of reference for all the boys and girls of the surroundings. The school is no longer usable but where artist Petrit Halilaj will create a work as part of the Abetare (Primer Book) series, created from doodles scribbled on school desks.
In the four-year period 2024-2027 Radis will develop works in the public space by actively involving residents, local agencies, bodies and associations. New works will be a two-way exchange with local history and landscape, creatively contributing to a new shared imaginary, and could also become a magnet for an environmentally aware sustainable tourism.
Radis 2024
Radis is the new public art project promoted by the Fondazione per l’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea CRT for the four years 2024-2027; the first edition will take place in the province of Cuneo in collaboration with the Fondazione CRC.
In the first, Marta Papini the curator of the project, has invited the artist Giulia Cenci to create a work for a wooded area in the Valle Stura near the town of Rittana. The artist will live in Rittana to get in touch with the inhabitants to learn about local stories and traditions and design her work. The work will remain the property of Fondazione CRT and will be on permanent loan to the Municipality of Rittana.
During the four years 2024-2027, Radis intends to enrich the Piedmontese territory with a heritage of public art and the active participation of the inhabitants, local authorities and associations.
Therefore, in addition to the commission of the work, an educational programme, a public program and a collective exhibition were developed as a path towards the inauguration on 6 October 2024.
Further details available on the website
