RAVE: A Decade of Artistic Residency for Human and Non-Human Animals

The book 'L’altro RAVE. East Village Artist Residency', published by Quodlibet, chronicles the ten-year history of RAVE, an artist residency in Friuli, Italy, founded by Isabella and Tiziana Pers. The volume, co-authored by Daniele Capra and Nico Covre, features a long conversation with the Pers sisters and a rich visual apparatus. RAVE was born from chance encounters with artist Adrian Paci and collector Giovanni Marta. Paci, the first resident in 2011, created life-sized animal portraits in exchange for saving animals from slaughter. The residency reimagines human-animal relations, using language like 'human animals' and 'non-human animals' without hierarchy. Artists such as Ivan Moudov, Regina José Galindo, Liliana Moro, Giuseppe Stampone, Tomás Saraceno, and Igor Grubić have participated. Collaborations include institutions like the Miramare Marine Protected Area, WWF, Politecnico di Milano, University of Braunschweig, and Villa Manin. The book includes portraits of animals saved over a decade. RAVE functions as a polymorphic 'metaproject' exploring uncomfortable questions about animal alterity. Felice Cimatti wrote the preface, noting that animals 'save art from becoming exclusively useless business of galleries and museums.'