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You may find our feature in I Love Sicilia here and in the PDF below. You may also find the English translation below.
English Translation:
MARSALA: MY CAPITAL OF ART
(Liliana Rosano, ILoveSicilia)
In the city of wine, among the splendors of Punic archaeology and the Lagoon, Sicily Artist
Retreats is born. An international reference point for workshops and seminars for painting
and more. “More and more international visitors, now we’re waiting for more Sicilians” …
At the age of five, against her will, she left Marsala for California with her mother. With Sicily in her heart – the island she returned to every summer from then on – Rosetta Sciacca Volkov has maintained her roots, even though she now divides her time between California and New York.
With a Master of Fine Arts from the New York Academy of Art and a passion for painting,
Rosetta and her husband, Michael Volkov, have established a residency for international artists overlooking the islands of the Lagoon. Marsala is now the home of Sicily Artist Retreats, which offers the world’s art community the chance to live on the island and experience it – with an eye to the past and another on the future.
Sicily Artist Retreats is much more than a residency. How did this project, from its official
launch in 2022, begin?
It was 2020. I had just finished my MFA at the New York Academy of Art and was trying to figure out what to do next. I needed a studio, but sitting there painting by myself seemed tedious. I wanted a studio that was also a community, open to other people. When I found a space on the street of my family home in Marsala, the idea came to me: I could host workshops here. Interest is rising now, and the international artistic community has shown a great interest in our project. I hope to involve Sicilian artists as well.
How does Marsala, a town historically famous for its wine, weave into your artistic project?
Marsala has marvelous light as well as natural beauty. Thousands of years of artistic production have come from here: statues from Greek workshops, Carthaginian blown glass, Roman marble and plasterwork, intense Byzantine icons, exquisite Islamic tilework, the drama of the Spanish baroque. And then the popular crafts, the traditions refined by time of ceramicware, brightly-colored horse-drawn carts, of the splendid, colorful pastries arranged like jewels in the bakers’ windows. This was a land of art; and although Palermo has its own flourishing international art scene, the world’s artistic community needed to explore and get to know the rest of the island. From this point of view, Marsala seems a perfect city for an entry point like our workshops.
How do your artists and students approach Marsala and its community? How do they live
that experience?
Our workshops last a week, but they’re not limited to study and technical exercises. Our
participants live Sicilian culture, historical and culinary. Painting in front of the temple of
Selinunte or the Lagoon of Marsala is a one-of-a-kind experience for people who have never
been here before. But frankly, so is eating together at one table, with local dishes and products.
Is there one aspect of your native land you wish people knew more about?
Its multicultural dimension. I always bring my students to Mazara del Vallo and its casbah, to
share with them the story of our island and how natural it was for Christians, Jews and Muslims to live side by side.
What would you change about it?
It bothers me that people think of Sicily as poor and uncultured, and also that the Sicilians
always look to someone else to handle their own problems.
There’s an interesting movement of people, mostly Americans, who don’t just want to visit Sicily but to move here. How do you find the international presence here?
Yes, the interest is certainly growing. You might start with my husband Michael, an American
from Washington who loves Sicily and thinks he’s Sicilian. But this island never stops surprising you. The other day we went to Burgio, a town of just a handful of souls, two bars total and – a museum of ceramics. Where else?!
And how do you imagine the future?
It’s hard to imagine myself living in just one place, since my life is spread out between New
York, California and Marsala. But Marsala is the country of my heart and always will be.
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