Voga, new art space in Bari's Libertà district, opens with Mediterranean focus

Voga, a new project space, has opened in Bari's Libertà district, a socially fragile area, bucking the trend of gallery closures. Founded by Bianca Buccioli, Nicola Guastamacchia, and Flavia Tritto, all Bari natives who gained experience abroad—Buccioli at Fondazione Sandretto's Campo course, Guastamacchia as an exhibition manager in London, and Tritto with a Central Saint Martins master's and residencies in Canada and Turkey—the space aims to leverage their external expertise to support local culture. The name 'Voga' means 'to row,' an exhortation to action and a nod to the Mediterranean, which the founders see as Bari's natural cultural link. Their inaugural project, 'Minimum Standards' (launched in August and ongoing), involved a network of Mediterranean interlocutors and public space intervention with the Comune di Bari. The opening exhibition, 'Ciò che resta del fuoco,' is a solo show by Marco Antelmi (b. 1993, Bari; lives in Milan), whose work combines journalism, science fiction, and technology. The installation draws from his childhood bedroom, reflecting on data sovereignty, cloud ideology, and tech intrusion into private life, referencing the March 2021 fire at the OVH data center in Strasbourg. Voga includes a courtyard studio and a mezzanine for artist residencies. The founders plan to act as a connector between local emergences and the international scene, with interdisciplinary events and collaborations with other local project spaces.