Sonnenstube: Swiss-Italian artist-run space goes mobile with a caravan

Sonnenstube, an artist-run space founded in 2013 in Lugano, Switzerland, is transforming into a mobile project. Originally established as a non-profit association for experimental art and music, it served as a bridge between the Swiss and Italian art scenes. Located in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, the space was initially a 80 sqm room on via Luigi Canonica, later moving to the Morel cultural center. Run by a collective of six curators (Giacomo Galletti, Marta Margnetti, Giada Olivotto, Sandro Pianetti, Gabriel Stöckli, Gianmaria Zanda), it hosted about six exhibitions per year, along with publishing events and experimental music nights. With the Morel building slated for demolition in mid-2020, the collective acquired Nada, a 1978 Tabbert 5000 Silver Edition caravan, presented at KunstHalle Sankt Gallen in the exhibition "Protect me from what I want" curated by Giovanni Carmine. Sonnenstube will now operate as a nomadic space, occupying interstitial urban areas to foster community and collaboration.