Stone Oven House is a non-profit cultural association. The artist residency is its main programme and serves five aims.
Supporting artists and cultural and environmental activists. We provide studios, exhibition spaces and materials, help with projects and accommodation, and share our professional network. The residency lets people devote themselves fully to a project, including those who usually earn their living outside art. We also support artists' mobility and host artists from countries going through social and political upheaval.
Fostering interdisciplinarity. Our guests include not only artists but professionals from other fields, and meetings at the residency often grow into joint projects.
Creating social value through art. Like many mountain villages, Rorà is losing its population. The association brings new activities to the valley and attracts young people. Projects with local residents strengthen ties within the community.
Unlocking the cultural potential of the area. Events take place at the residency, in the public spaces of Rorà and at partner venues: the Scroppo Gallery in Torre Pellice, the National Mountain Museum in Turin, and venues in Pinerolo and Turin. Since 2017 the association has hosted more than a hundred artists and organised over 150 events.
Seeking sustainable ways of living and working. We share resources, reuse materials and trade with local producers: every spring, for example, a beekeeper brings his hives to our land and shares the honey. Upcycling — turning discarded things into new ones, including works of art — is one of the residency's founding principles.
