mare/Sat., 5 September 2026
Aquatic Bedtime Stories
Participatory performance and embroidery workshop with Sara Basta
Part of the SIT-PLU Public Program
Where Isarco River Platforms, Bolzano
Time 5-9 PM
Language Italian/German
Upcoming
On Saturday, September 5, from 5:00 to 9:00 pm, artist Sara Basta presents Bedtime Water Stories on the platforms along the Talvera River at Via Trento. The reading performance is accompanied by a collective embroidery workshop.
Bedtime Water Stories is created on the occasion of the presentation of Tesoro Carissimo, the first comprehensive publication dedicated to Sara Basta’s artistic practice. The performance draws inspiration from Angelika Burtscher’s contribution to the catalogue, which reflects on the relationship between public space and women’s perception of safety at night. On the river platforms, Sara Basta temporarily transforms a public space into an intimate environment of listening and mutual care. The stories are inspired by local myths and folktales about water and the city’s rivers. The performance is repeated every 30 minutes and is designed for up to three participants at a time.
At the same time, an open embroidery workshop takes place in a second area. Everyone is invited to reflect on their personal relationship with water and express it through embroidery. Together, participants will create an Archive of Water Words – a collective collection of memories, images, and personal stories that reflects the many different relationships people have with water.
Sara Basta is a visual artist based in Rome. She teaches in the Art Therapy programme at the Academy of Fine Arts of Rome and in the Department of Art Education at the Academy of Fine Arts of Venice. Her work has been presented in Italy and internationally at institutions including IUNO (Rome), Fondazione Pastificio Cerere (Rome), Fondazione Baruchello (Rome), MAXXI L’Aquila, Villa Medici (Rome), the Real Academia de España (Rome), Fondazione A. Fendi (Rome), Museo Carlo Bilotti (Rome), Manifesta 12 (Palermo), the 54th Venice Biennale, MUMI – Museo de las Migraciones (Montevideo, Uruguay), Centro Cultural Recoleta (Buenos Aires, Argentina), the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (Missouri, USA), and Kaunas Picture Gallery (Lithuania).
From 2023 to 2025, she led a painting studio within the SPDC psychiatric ward at San Filippo Neri Hospital in Rome. Since 2021, she has been co-founder of the artist collective The Glorious Mothers.
