The artist video series The Shadow of the Tree returns to museo Madre with a second edition, sharpening its focus on artistic exploration from the Mediterranean region. The title, chosen for the first edition by curator Martha Kirszenbaum, draws on a line by Bassam Hajar that, through the metaphor of the tree, evokes both rootedness and exile, poetically highlighting the intense geopolitical specificity that this region embodies at this moment in history. For this new phase, the project brings together six of the most active independent organizations in the Campania region dedicated to contemporary visual culture: ATTIVA Cultural Projects, EX – VOTO [radical public culture], Flip Project, Marea Art Project, Opificio Puca, and Quartiere Latino.
The exhibition aims to stimulate historical and political reflection that is open to a variety of representations, approaches, and imaginaries. At the same time, it promotes a model of collaboration and shared research that works with independent organizations active in the local area to shape the museum’s programming through the involvement of national and international artists.
Each organization was asked to invite an artist with whom it had previously collaborated or whose work resonated with its own artistic and curatorial practices. The proposals showed great diversity, ranging from visual and audio interpretations of themes related to memory, to cultural heritage and the concept of both physical and social boundaries. Presented in the Sala Madre, the exhibition unfolds over three weeks through the screening of artist videos and the playing of audio essays. Enriching the audio-video works throughout the entire exhibition, a series of talks is scheduled with some of the participating artists, who—along with representatives from the independent spaces and museo Madre’s own curatorial team—will explore the content of the videos and the broader themes emerging from each artist’s research.
June 5–11, 2026
Loop screenings of:
Noor Abed, our songs were ready for all wars to come, 2021
Gruppo Underworld, Napoli Assediata, 2006
Nicola Baratto, Tears of Fog, 2025
June 7, 2026—6:00 p.m.
Talk between Noor Abed and Marea Art Project with Marta Federici and Alberta Romano
June 11, 2026—6:00 p.m.
Talk
Introduced by Angela Tecce and Eva Fabbris
In conversation: Nicola Baratto, ATTIVA Cultural Projects, Giuseppe Montesano, Opificio Puca, Fabrizio Cicero, and Quartiere Latino with Anna Cuomo and Alberta Romano
June 12–18, 2026
Loop screenings of:
Fabrizio Cicero, Application, 2019
Joud Toamah, Traveling Images, an Image Amidst the Heart, 2019
Elisa Caldana, The Island Behind The Horizon, 2015
June 18, 2026—6:00 p.m.
Talk between EX – VOTO [radical public culture], Elisa Caldana, and Flip Project with Marta Ferrara and Alberta Romano
June 19–21, 2026
Loop screenings of:
Noor Abed, our songs were ready for all wars to come, 2021
Gruppo Underworld, Napoli Assediata, 2006
Nicola Baratto, Tears of Fog, 2025
Fabrizio Cicero, Application, 2019
Joud Toamah, Traveling Images, an Image Amidst the Heart, 2019
Elisa Caldana, The Island Behind The Horizon, 2015
June 21, 2026—6:00 p.m.
Presentation of Karakoz, the new album by Mai Mai Mai