Tensions Rise as Amant Foundation Expands Art Residency in Tuscan Hamlet Chiusure
The Amant foundation, a non-profit established by collector Lonti Ebers, has been working on an artist residency in Chiusure, Asciano (Siena province) since initiating a pilot program in 2020. In 2021, Ebers, who serves as a trustee for MoMA, inaugurated a 2,000-square-meter facility in Brooklyn. Together with her husband Bruce Flatt, she has enhanced the "Borgo Santo" properties in Chiusure, which now feature a bar, restaurant, hotel with 14 residences, and various commercial ventures. However, local residents have expressed discontent, especially following Ebers' announcement of acquiring a building for an exhibition space, erroneously labeled as "the priest's house." The Asciano municipality has highlighted the importance of engaging with the community, as residents claim Chiusure is "collapsing," citing unsafe churches and youth migration.
Key facts
- Amant Foundation, founded by Lonti Ebers, has been developing an artist residency in Chiusure since 2020.
- Ebers is a MoMA trustee and major collector with over 700 works, listed among top 200 collectors by ARTnews in 2023.
- In Brooklyn, Amant opened a 2,000-square-meter complex in 2021 designed by SO-IL.
- Ebers and her husband Bruce Flatt (CEO of Brookfield Corporation, net worth $4 billion) have expanded properties in Chiusure under 'Borgo Santo'.
- Borgo Santo includes a bar, restaurant, hotel with 14 residences, and other commercial activities.
- A recent misunderstanding over the purchase of a building called 'the priest's house' for an exhibition space exacerbated tensions with locals.
- The municipality of Asciano emphasized the need for dialogue and harmonization with the context.
- Residents report that Chiusure is 'collapsing' with churches in disrepair and young people leaving.
Entities
Artists
- Lonti Ebers
- Bruce Flatt
- Zoltán Barcsay-Amant
Institutions
- Amant
- MoMA
- Brookfield Corporation
- SO-IL
- ARTnews
- Artribune
- Il Sole 24 Ore
- La Nazione
- agenziaimpress
- RTV38
- Forbes
- FISAR
- Scuola Internazionale di Comics di Firenze
Locations
- Chiusure
- Asciano
- Siena
- Crete Senesi
- Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore
- Brooklyn
- New York
- Austria
- Canada
- Santuario di Santa Maria delle Grazie
- Chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo