8 Albe is an annual contemporary art festival held in Eastern Sicily; the name is a tribute to the natural site surrounding the area, which is deeply valuable for its biodiversity. The first two editions, both curated by Carolina Ciuti, focused on elements of the Earth, with the aim of dreamily raising awareness of the issues emerging within the ecosystem. The third edition is curated by Lucia Pietroiusti, Head of the Ecology Department at the Serpentine Gallery in London. As a curator and programmer, she works at the intersection of art, ecology, and systems, often outside traditional exhibition spaces.

The first edition aimed to explore the concepts of kinship and coexistence between different species, starting from the spatial and temporal relationships that arise between the animal, plant, and mineral worlds. The title was inspired by Empedocles’ theory of the four elements from Agrigento, according to which nature cannot have just one constituent element, but rather four roots: water, air, earth, and fire. According to this theory, all changes that occur in nature are due to the mixing and separating of these four roots. In an age marked by climate change, remembering and claiming this common origin or root thus becomes a necessary act. As is the responsibility of embracing this shared universal kinship.

The second edition focused on the Blue Planet and its crucial health, addressing an issue that intertwines environmental, social, and political concerns of great urgency. The ocean is a powerful symbol of global interconnectedness, influencing climate change, biodiversity, and the functioning of world economies. Through art, it is possible to explore the deep relationships between humanity and this fragile ecosystem.

The third edition, “Sunsets: Cosmogonies and the End of Worlds”, explores, through the works on display, the cyclical nature of beginnings and endings in the world as processes of Earth’s transformation. The screenings reflect on the inability of language to contain ecological and social crises, proposing a vision in which every ending is part of a continuous cycle of change.

The festival has collaborated with foundations such as TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, In Between Art Film, and Collezione Lemaitre, as well as with artists including Jonathas de Andrade, Anna Dot, Rachel Rose, Basim Magdy, Johanna Billing, Fito Conesa, Camille Henrot, Lina Lapelytė, and Agnieszka Polska.

The project is fully supported by Dimora delle Balze.