Opening: Saturday, June 28, 2025, at 8:00 pm, Collegiata di Santa Maria dell'Itria, Piazza Matteotti, Simeri Crichi (CZ)
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Discover the map here
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Click here to download the invitation and press kit.
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CEASELESS CARE originates from Anna Ill’s research in Simeri and Catanzaro, where the artist encountered a headless statuette from the 4th century BCE, identified as a Kourotrophos—a female figure symbolizing care and the protection of childhood. From this fragmented presence emerges a reflection on the relationship between care, the body, and absence.
Inspired by Sara Ruddick, the artist sees motherhood as an act of care beyond biological ties or gender. The work features three steel elements: an arch recalling Simeri’s retaining walls with many arches; the tilted silhouette of the Kourotrophos, evoking interdependence; and a pattern inspired by Opuntia ficus-indica, a symbol of repetition, healing and regeneration, extending from the figure’s arm to the ground.
With CEASELESS CARE, Anna Ill weaves together history, architecture, symbolism, and the body in a reflection on care as a collective responsibility, through welcoming spaces and regenerative gestures capable of supporting individuals and communities.
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Artwork:
01. Anna Ill, CEASELESS CARE, 2025, corten steel, 230 × 168 × 142 cm
Walkway adjacent to Piazza Matteotti, Simeri Crichi (CZ)
Simeri Crichi (CZ)
28.06.2025
Collegiata di Santa Maria dell'Itria Piazza Matteotti
18:00
THE ARM THAT ONCE HELD YOU LIKE AN ANCIENT ARCH NOW BEARS THE WEIGHT OF TIME AND LIFE. AROUND YOU, NATURE WHISPERS, CRADLING YOU IN BREATH AND BLOOM, NURTURING YOUR SILENCE WITH CEASELESS CARE.
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Anna Ill (Barcelona, Spain, 1990) is a visual artist who lives and works in London. She holds an MA in Art and Space from Kingston University, London (2017), a BA in Textile Art from Escola Massana, Barcelona (2014), and a degree in Decoration from École Boulle, Paris (2015). She is the co-founder of Calcio, an artist-run space based in London since 2023. Recently, her work won the Acquisition Prize at the Contextile Contemporary Textile Art Biennial, Porto (PT, 2024). She was also selected for the Textile Arts Center, New York (USA, 2024), and for the Sculpture Prize at the Antoni Vila Casas Foundation, Barcelona (ES, 2024). Her solo exhibition A(r)mour at L&B Gallery, Barcelona (ES, 2023), was awarded the Wittmore Prize. She participated in Festival Embarrat at LoPardal, Lleida (ES, 2024), and received a special mention at the Ezequiel Biennial (ES, 2023). Between 2022 and 2023, she took part in the travelling project organized by AllArtNow, exhibiting at Wonzimer, Los Angeles (USA); Laterna Magica Museum, Copenhagen (DK); Magmart International Videoart Festival, Naples (IT); Video Formes Festival, Clermont-Ferrand (FR); and the International Video Art Festival, Casablanca (MA). In 2021, she received the second prize at the Sculpture Prize FVC (ES), participated in the residency In-Ruins in Calabria (IT), and was selected for Ten Little Indians, Rome (IT).
The municipality of Simeri Crichi extends over more than 47 km², from the foothills of the Presila to the Ionian coast. The territory is divided into three main areas: Crichi, the administrative seat founded in the second half of the 18th century; Simeri, the medieval village and oldest center, where artifacts from the Iron Age and Magna Graecia period have been found; and finally Simeri Mare, the coastal area that welcomes many tourists every year.
Inhabited since the Neolithic, the territory was an important Byzantine fief and hosted a Capuchin convent and a bishop’s seat, today corresponding to the Collegiate Church. Simeri Crichi was the birthplace of Bartolomeo di Simeri, Greek-Calabrian monk and founder of the famous Pathirion monastery in Rossano.
Today the municipality is animated by a vibrant cultural and productive energy. It hosts an expanding industrial area, whose main facility is a biomass power plant. A strong sense of community is evidenced by the historic town band active for over forty years and the commitment of the local AVIS association, operating for more than twenty-five years. Home to numerous artists, painters, and sculptors, the town maintains a deep connection to its traditions, especially religious ones: on the third Sunday of May, the Feast of San Nicola is celebrated, followed by celebrations dedicated to San Sebastiano and the Madonna Addolorata “della Cona”, the most heartfelt by the community. During the Christmas season, the historic center comes alive with the evocative living nativity scene, recreating ancient crafts and customs.
Ehab Halabi Abo Kher is an Israeli visual artist based in Italy. A finalist of the National Arts Prize in 2008, he has taken part in numerous events and festivals, including the 54th Venice Biennale, Corpo Elettronico, Videoart Yearbook, The Scientist Festival, and Altrove Street Art Festival.
He created the trailer for the Festival La Grande Musica per il Cinema on the occasion of the 67th Venice International Film Festival, and presented a performance at the Rome Film Festival in 2022.
His practice revolves around found footage and performance, exploring the mechanisms of communication through pre-existing materials. For Una Boccata d’Arte in Calabria, he curated the projects by Mohsen Baghernejad Moghanjoogh in Santa Severina (2023), and by Lulù Nuti in Motta Filocastro (2024).