Care tutte,
It’s a slow, post night rain morning. Dora is having pilates with Barbara, Aljaž is at school for the first day of exams of his students, Antônio is in Porto, Elena B., who will be living with us in Topolò for the next two months, is probably having a coffee in her cosy house, Elena R. is still in bed and I - Vida - am at the studio table writing this letter. It’s mainly a letter of announcements this time and, especially, an introduction to the Academy of Margins Summer School’s open call, which came out some 10 days ago (and will close very soon, 26.06)!
So, let’s start with the events:
◯ Today, 11.06.2026 at 19.00 in Ljubljana → Between Roots and Crowns: Branches as a Porous Border, Robida’s exhibition opening at MSUM (Ljubljana)
Join us today at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Ljubljana for the opening of a tiny tiny exhibition on Robida’s practice. It’s an almost impossible task to exhibit something that makes sense and looks coherent only in Topolò, we tried (and probably failed but it surely opened debates and reflections!). Join us there, if you are in Ljubljana. More about the event here.
◯ Also today, 11.06.2026 at 17.30 in Materia Prima bookshop in Porto → Presentation of Log: Notes on Building-with
Antônio and Diogo Amaro will present their book Log: Notes on Building-with which narrates and reflects on the building of the wooden structure Log which was designed and assembled last year!
More about the event here.
◯ This Sunday, 14.06. in Topoluove → IZBA’s 5th birthday
Come to Topolò for our first Robida summer party, the birthday party of our social space IZBA, which was born 5 years ago (and we have very sweet memories of it → see the birth of IZBA here and here and here).
We start at 17.00 with the never-presented-before Uncommon Fruits for Common Recipes cookbook.
After that, Elena B. will curate a participatory food moment (which we don’t disclose but will be super cool!). After that we’ll have a collective dinner and then, at 21.00 we’ll dance with millacu at the Cinema/Caffè Dora.
We’ll have books to leaf through and we’ll have time to chat! Joyful atmosphere and nice food!
(Perfect occasion for those who always wanted to come to visit us but never took the time)
If you want to come and sleep here let us know, it is possible!
More info here.
IZBA’s opening hours for this summer will be: every Saturday from 16, and Sunday from 10, starting on June 14th! (A note: Izba is not a bar nor a restaurant but a social space of three association - you need to be a member to access it - which is kept open voluntarily by the inhabitants of the village!)
◯ June → August 17th → Elena Braida is IZBA’s resident
At the beginning of the year we received a beautiful email from Elena asking if she could join us in Topolò for two months and be IZBA’s caretaker! We couldn’t be more enthusiastic by the proposal since Izba is lately a bit too silent and calm because we are all too busy. So having someone (and not someone in general, but Ele!!) who wants to spend time there and think, cook, experiment makes us extremely happy! I still don’t know what are Elena’s plans but things will soon be clearer and we’ll let you know more.
Ok, that’s it for now!
Maybe a small save the date: the weekend of 25-26.07 will be the closing weekend of the summer school with some public events! Write down the dates and come to visit us
Find information and a small intro about this year’s Tending Ruins summer school below!
Poster for IZBA’s 5th birthday, designed by Laura Savina!
TENDING RUINS
Academy of Margins Summer School 2026
20th-27th July
Open call deadline: 26th June
Results: 1st July
Gif for the summer school's open call, made by Franca Lucchitta!
The open call for this year’s summer school is out! Read it on our website (here).
It’s our fifth edition, the fourth we do where the program is built by the participants’ proposals! When you apply, you are invited to propose something - a workshop, a lecture, an activity, a repeating practice. We make the selection and program of the summer school based on these proposals!
The topic of this year is TENDING RUINS.
The topic has a very specific story behind it, you can read it in the call!
We will dwell together in words that circulate around the notion of ruin, such as erosion, weathering, decay, decomposition, disintegration, dissolution, collapse, surrender, allowance. But also in words that refuse to let ruination become the only story: repair, desire, dream, reactivation, resistance.
We call tending the practice of moving between these words. Tending means remaining close to what is exposed to ruination, decay, interruption, and change, without turning away from loss, but also without allowing loss to become the only horizon. It is a way of staying with instability while nurturing what persists, what resists, what dreams, and what continues to compose worlds despite their fragility.
The Summer School on Tending Ruins will offer time and space to explore these questions together. The program will unfold through workshops, walks, listening sessions, readings, field experiments, and shared meals, shaped by three thematic sites to which participants are invited to respond with their own activities. These categories are not strict but fluid and overlapping invitations, so please take them as such: Ecological Ruins, Built Ruins, and Cultural Ruins. You can of course propose activities which do not fit into any of these, if you still think they correspond with the overarching topic of the Summer School!
We are very much looking forward to reading your proposals!
To get an idea of last years’ collectively curated program check the 2025 (here) and 2024 (here) editions!
For other updates, news, little traces, explore our website. There you can read what we are reading at the moment, new entries of our journal (one by Antônio here for example about building tables for our Ljubljana exhibition) and have a look how is in the village at the moment!
See you on Sunday at IZBA, we would love to eat, dance, chat with you!
Talk soon
love and hugs and sweet things
Robida gang