SMACH 2025

For the seventh edition of the SMACH Biennale, we have chosen a Ladin term that refers to an object: the ‘cu’. It’s a stone used to sharpen the scythe to cut the grass in the meadows. The ‘cu’ speaks of materiality; imagination; craftsmanship; technical evolution; the universality of forms and basic needs; and tools found all over the world. In the alpine pastures and meadows of Val Badia, there are still a few people who mow by hand, sharpening their blades with the whetstone. Paolo Vinati, a documentary filmmaker and ethnomusicologist, interviewed one of them.

The whetstone, conveys multiple themes and stimulates numerous reflections: human and technical evolution; the art of craftsmanship in continuity with the remotest times; the universality of certain tools and gestures; the transmission, or loss, of cultural heritage; the present, past, and future.

With Every Step

Hans de Backer
Belgium

Place: Pederü

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Entanglement

Alex Xiaotan Yang, Wentao Guo
China, USA

Place: Fanes

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Stone Age

Hama Lohrmann
Germany

Place: Passo di Sant’Antonio

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Sway

Lola Giuffré (Studio Lola)
Australia, Holland

Place: Armentara

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Trace of Land

ELSE - Zhifei Xu, Zimo Zhang
China, France

Place: La Crusc

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Cu X

Luca Rossi
Italy

Place: Lech dla Lunch

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iCù

Atelier Simondi, Officina Fabre, Prometheus APS
Italy

Place: Pares

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.arexport

Auricchio Coen Knopp
Italy, Germany

Place: Medalghes

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Langsam -
Slow -
Rallentare -
Và Plan

Theresa Hattinger
Austria

Place: Prà de Pütia

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Morph Module

Elias Jocher
Italy, Austria

Place: Monte Muro

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Hortus Pictus

Riccardo Buonafede
Italy

Place: Plan de Corones

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The judging panel

The artistic jury is responsible for evaluating the research, formal and aesthetic aspects of the design proposals.
It is composed of:

  • Peter Senoner was born in Bolzano (I) in 1970. From 1994 to 2001 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. Over the years he made several study and work residencies: in 1997 and 2000 in New York City (USA), in 2002 and 2004 in Tokyo (JP), in 2006 and 2008 in Vienna (A), in 2011 and 2012 in Berlin (D) and in 2016 in Detroit (USA). Since 2006 he has been a lecturer at the Institut für Experimentelle Architektur at the University of Innsbruck (A) and since 2021 at the Faculty of Architecture and Design at the Technische Universität Rosenheim (D). From 2018 to 2020 he is a lecturer at the Faculty of Art and Design at the Free University of Bolzano (I). Since 2005 he lives and works in Chiusa, Bolzano (I).

    petersenoner.com

  • Jasmine Deporta is a multidisciplinary visual artist mainly working in the field of photography. After her Bachelor in Design and Arts in Bolzano (IT) she completed her master's degree in Photography at Ecole Cantonal d’Art de Lausanne (ECAL) in Switzerland, where she is currently based.  Within her practice she works by means of photographic methods and experimental working approaches in a transdisciplinary field between different media. Her work has been part of solo and group exhibitions in Berlin, London, Tokyo, Switzerland, Greece and Italy.

    jasminedeporta.com

  • Zasha Colah is the artistic director of Ar/Ge Kunst with Francesca Verga (Bolzano, 2023–). Lecturer in Curatorial Studies Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti (Milan, 2018–). Founding member of Clark House Initiative (Mumbai, 2010–22). Co-curated the 3rd Pune Biennale with Luca Cerizza (2017) and in the curatorial team led by Marco Scotini of the 2nd Yinchuan Biennale (2018). Curator of the 13th Berlin Biennale (June–September 2025). 

  • Emanuele Masi, with an academic background in music, has directed his professional activity towards theatre curating and organisation. Artistic Director of the International Bolzano Dance Festival since 2013, he has relaunched the event on an international level, expanding its roots in the territory. In 2020 his project 'EDEN - dance for a single spectator', created in response to the pandemic, won the Danza&Danza Prize, while in 2022 the Politecnico di Milano awarded him the Gianluca Spina Prize for Digital Innovation. He has also served as Artistic Director of the Teatro Comunale in Bolzano and the dance seasons of the Teatro Sociale in Trento. Since 2015 he has collaborated with the Haydn Foundation of Bolzano and Trento and since 2021 he has been a consultant to the Fondazione Musica per Roma for the programming of dance activities at the Auditorium Parco della Musica and for the direction of the Equilibrio Festival, the restart of which he curated in 2022.

    bolzanodanza.it

    haydn.it

  • Stefan Sagmeister has designed for clients as diverse as the Rolling Stones and the Guggenheim Museum. He’s a two time Grammies winner and also earned practically every important international design award.
    While his work is steeped graphics, he has also directed a film, created furniture, made products, designed a watch and ventured into clothing.
    His books sell in the hundreds of thousands and his exhibitions have been mounted in dozens of museums around the world. His exhibit ’The Happy Show' attracted way over half a million visitors worldwide and became the most visited graphics show in history.
    A native of Austria, he received his MFA from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and, as a Fulbright Scholar, a master’s degree from Pratt Institute in New York.

    sagmeister.com

Statement from Stefan Sagmeister,
Jury President


The technical committee gives its opinion regarding the landscape and technical-material aspects related to the projects received through the open call.
It is composed of:

  • Craftsman

  • Engineer

  • Bruneck Forest Inspectorate

  • Architect

  • Nature Parks Office South Tyrol



Main partner


Gold partner


Silver partner


Regional partner