Art Monastery

The Art Monastery is an Italian non-profit organization based in Labro, Italy. The Art Monastery Project was founded by American artists Betsy McCall and Christopher Fülling in 2006 with the purpose of converting an historic Italian monastery into an international art production center in cooperation with the community that hosts it.

A pilot project was held at the Casale Santa Brigda in Calvi dell’Umbria now known as countryhouse Vista sull'oliveto. In 2010 the Art Monastery Project found residence in the monastery San Antonio of the medieval Italian hill town Labro, 1.5 hours north east of Rome. The building dates back to the 17th century when it was a Franciscan monastery. Besides the art project it now houses also the archives of Labro, a hotel, a theater and a church.

The Art Monastery develops performance and visual art locally and internationally. The American group of artists works with a focus on connecting the historical traditions of classical art forms with contemporary art work by making art and exchanging experience with their Italian and European colleagues. The Art Monastery applies the monastic characteristics of discipline, contemplation, and sustainability to the creative process. The collaboration with the local community is a key principle.

On June 2, 2010, an article on the Art Monastery Project appeared in La Repubblica, the second largest circulation Italian daily general-interest newspaper. Articles have also appeared in Rieti newspapers Corriere and Il Messaggero, and the left-of-center paper Il Riformista. The Art Monastery is mentioned in a July 2009 article in NarniNews. On June 26, the Art Monastery was the subject of a radio interview with the mayor of Calvi dell'Umbria on RAI 1.

On October 17, 2009, the Art Monastery Project was picked as one of "Five great Workaway working holidays" in the Saturday Evening Guardian.

In the 2010 Lonely Planet guide to Tuscany and Umbria, the Art Monastery Project is mentioned three times. For example:

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