Nomadic School

content

Nomadic School is an alternative mentorship programme rooted in the Alps and artistic practice. Started in 2020, the school emerged around the Little Fun Palace trailer, nomadic and flexible architecture inspired by architect Cedric Price and theatremaker Joan Littlewood's Fun Palace.

Created by OHT with the intention of fostering exchange among people and bridging the representational distance cultivated by art institutions, over the years Little Fun Palace has been lost in the landscape, giving rise to he Nomadic School and its interaction with the alpine territory. The nomadism of the caravan has become a geographical, artistic, and sentimental approach, capable of continually reinventing its models to foster a free, active, and interrelated environment of artistic exchange.

A central concept of the School is the notion of spatial-creation — how performative practices create space, both in the architecture of theatres and beyond the theatre as institution — as well as the intersection of disciplines that bridges artistic practices with environmentally-oriented social movements. We actively question what happens when performance is taken outside of closed, institutional spaces, and what could happen when uncontrolled and dynamic environments become factors or participants in the development of performative practices, as well as in other artistic areas.

Nomadic School takes place every summer in Trentino/Alto Adige - Südtirol in the Italian Alps, more than 2000 meters above sea level. For 15 days it brings together a diverse community of mentors and participants who are engaged in a variety of disciplines, including architecture, choreography, glaciology, geology, stage design, sound curation, dramaturgy, visual and literary arts, and anthropology. This group of people is invited to inhabit a context that offers an opportunity to examine art practices through the lens of the alpine landscape while observing its pedagogical effect. The Nomadic School 2026 will take place from June 15 to 26, 2026, at Rifugio Carè Alto, at 2,450 meters above sea level, in the heart of the Adamello Brenta group (Alps, Italy).

Combining individuality and collective moments, the Nomadic School creates open spaces of experimentation in which heterogeneous experiences and knowledge interact horizontally and non-hierarchically in relation to the landscape in the form of workshops, laboratories and dialogic moments, creating a unique and shared time of research, life and study.

+ read more +

year

2026

genre

pedagogies

participants

Suzanne Clerdin
Vanessa Falasca
Alessia Frerotti
Davide Di Liberto
Carla Mack
Federico Rudari
Nick von Kleist
Silvana Paparella
Anniek Vetter

mentors

Vittoria de Franchis (curator and vocal researcher)
based between London and Rome, she is currently Curator at the Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation where she has established a new programme of exhibitions in the London space and initiated the Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation Prize at Frieze London. Since 2023 she runs gggglllloooossssaaaa, a worldwide programme of interdisciplinary events in apartments focusing on voice, text, sound and performance. Between 2023 and 2025, she was part of the curatorial team at CIRCA, and from 2016 to 2021 at Terraforma and Threes Productions.

Gianni Mittempergher (alpine hut keeper, president’s SAT section)
he has always lived and worked in the mountains, dedicating himself to hospitality and to promoting a careful and responsible approach to the Alpine environment. He has worked as a waiter and cook in mountain huts and as a shepherd in alpine pastures; for eight years he also managed a rural establishment known for its wide range of cultural activities. A member and former section president of SAT, since 2024 he has been managing the SAT Carè Alto “Dante Ongari” mountain hut.

Giacomo Lorandi (chef, fermenter, and gastronomic researcher)
he holds a degree in economics and a master's degree in innovation of food practices. His professional and life research revolves around food, which he studies not only as a final, finished product but as an ecosystem of places, knowledge, and people. He loves using fermentation both to create new and diverse flavors and, above all, as an example of intra-species cooperation. His cuisine reflects his ethics: respect for raw materials and those who produce them, seasonality, and waste reduction.

Elena Francalanci (artist and choreographer)
trained in classical and modern dance, she weaves her theatrical background with the visual arts, focusing on the exploration of the body’s emotional state and the decontextualization of gestures in relation to architecture and the body–space dynamic. Her performances, often created for site-specific contexts, mix classical and cinematic references with contemporary and pop culture. Her work has been presented at Sophiensaele, CRIPTA 747, Berlin Art Week, Silent Green, CTM-Vorspiel, and other venues and contexts. Since 2023, she co-curates the Berlin-based exhibition space MOLT.

Aditi Kapoor (curator)
she works at the intersection of performance, media, and technology. She holds a dual degree from Columbia University and Trinity College Dublin and she was awarded the Barbara Seward Price Scholarship for her work. Her previous experience includes curatorial and publishing roles at Champ Lacombe, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, ISCP: International Studio and Curatorial Program. She was the inaugural curatorial fellow with New Curators, where she curated Firelei Báez’s first major UK exhibition at the South London Gallery. She is currently working as a freelancer and serves as Producer-at-Large for OHT.

Lara Casagrande (archaeologist MUSE)
trained as an archaeologist, she moved from Veneto to Trentino to study medieval mining landscapes. In 2013, she contributed to the development of the geology exhibition spaces at MUSE. She then spent about ten years as director of the Argentario Ecomuseum, an association dedicated to promoting the Monte Calisio area, which was the site of significant silver mining activity in the 13th century. Since 2023, she has returned to MUSE, where she works on local projects with organizations such as the Networks of Nature Reserves and the Ecomuseums of Trentino, as well as on research, education, and outreach related to both historical and contemporary mining.