Baseera Khan's Belay Performance at PIA Studio in Lecce

PIA Studio, founded two years ago by artist Jonatah Manno and independent curator Valeria Raho, hosted the final meeting of its visual arts and contemporary culture training program in Lecce, Italy. The program invited American artist Baseera Khan (born 1980 in Denton), whose work explores exile, kinship, consumerism, spirituality, and colonial archives as future geographies. Khan conducted a workshop on body casting—a sculptural technique reproducing body parts using heterogeneous materials—followed by a performance titled Belay, which combined climbing and bondage. The performance involved resin casts of participants' body parts, each containing a personal object symbolizing a break with the past. Khan's work addressed political dynamics of the Trump era and social exclusion in Europe. PIA Studio, located in the San Pio neighborhood, aims to bridge physical and cultural gaps between Lecce and major European centers like Berlin, London, and Istanbul. The studio collaborates with local independent spaces such as Manifatture Knos, Like A Little Disaster, and Progetto di Jamie Sneider, and maintains an independent, exploratory approach. The interview was conducted by Giuseppe Amedeo Arnesano.