In 2019, artist Chiara Camoni spent a residency period at Le Moulin des Ribes in Grasse. Chiara, who is very close to Società delle Api’s founder, Silvia Fiorucci Roman, both personally and artistically, had the chance to spent her residency together with her family and collaborators, exploring the surrounding of the water mill, now one of the association’s three residencies.

The project The Right Measure, born after this residency, and developed in collaboration with art historian and curator Cecilia Canziani, imagined the residency as a book, divided in chapters. Each chapter corresponded to a two-days workshop, and each session included: hands-on practice (in this case on vegetal printing); a series of lectures linked to the practice; and finally, a conference led by an external expert. Each meeting implemented an already existing bibliography, drafted together by the artist and the curator.

Vegetal printing uses flowers and leaves with dyeing properties to make direct imprints on fabric. The process is long, it involves several steps and is largely unpredictable: it’s always a surprise. Sometimes, the work is developed through workshops with other people in different places. In this case, the images taken by vegetal printing captured the emotions, colors, and essence of the landscape surrounding the Società delle Api’s residency in Grasse (FR). The project, firstly developed by the artist herself, later evolved into a workshop. Its various experiences were collected and shared in a series of exhibitions and a publication.

Chiara Camoni (Piacenza, 1974) lives and works in Fabbiano, Tuscany. After graduating in Sculpture from the Accademia di Belle Arti in Milano, she worked for some years at the Natural Sciences Institute in Napoli. Together with artist friends she founded MAGra – the Museum of Contemporary Art of Granara, where she curated exhibitions and workshops. She was part of the Vladivostok group for artists’ rights. With art historian Cecilia Canziani, she is currently developing a series of seminars entitled La Giusta Misura at Murate Progetti Arte Contemporanea in Florence. Her recent shows include: Zenzic, with Anna Barham, curated by Caterina Avataneo, Arcade Gallery, London; Sisters, MIMA – Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, Middlesbrough; La Vita Materiale. Otto stanze, otto storie, curated by Marina Dacci, Palazzo da Mosto, Reggio Emilia; Il disegno del disegno curated by Saretto Cincinelli, Museo Novecento, Firenze.