Pino Boresta on the Oreste Project: An Archive of Relational Art

Pino Boresta recounts his involvement with the Oreste Project, an Italian artist residency network active from 1997 to 2001. The project was conceived by Cesare Pietroiusti, Mario and Dora Pieroni, and others during a dinner in the Lepini Mountains in early 1997. Boresta was tasked with video and photographic documentation, producing over 100 hours of footage and two sticker albums (Oreste Zero and Oreste Uno). The project culminated in participation at the 1999 Venice Biennale, after which it became unmanageable due to high demand. Boresta reflects on the 2019 exhibition "No, Oreste, No! Diari da un archivio impossibile" at MAMbo in Bologna, curated by Serena Carbone, which displayed materials from his personal archive. He describes conflicts over the inclusion of his albums and photographs, which were initially rejected but later accommodated. The exhibition ran from March to April 2019 and included a free publication with interviews of 20 participants. Boresta argues that Oreste's legacy lies in its open, inclusive residency model, contrasting with closed earlier formats. He believes the project's demise was partly due to interpersonal antagonisms and the overwhelming scale after Venice. Boresta continues to live in Segni, near Rome, and maintains that the most vital art spaces today are the street and museums that engage with contemporary issues rather than commercial spectacles.