Stilfs mini-residency
Overlooked by the majestic Ortler mountain, high up on 1300m there is the little former mining village called Stilfs.
The 1123 folk counting village has been lucky in recent times as being chosen as Süd-Tirol’s/Alto Adige’s PNRR village for its resilience project to address landflight and rural deprivation. Euro 20.000.000 is the reward that allows them to complete various infrastructure as well as cultural projects that help the identity of the place. Daria, Roland and Verena run the PNRR project and generously shared their insight on the future prospects of Stilfs. Culture - I am pleased to know - is understood as identity building, looking what is there already, rather bringing art to the place. An annual residency and a festival is part of this. Last year they ran an overnight smugglers walk starting in nearby Switzerland. An approach that is music in my ears!
In Stilfs, there is the rustic Pfeiferhaus, owned and run by artist Clara Mayr. I had the good fortune to be invited for a week to live there, which gave me the opportunity to get a bit under Stilf’s skin. Looking and listening, I met with the library volunteers, met with local bio-Farmers, attended a church service, ate in the different local restaurants, joined the local theatre play, went for walks in and around, met with some of the local movers and shakers. The highlight was a morning at the Stilfs primary school where I talked with pupils about what Stilfs has, as opposed to what it not has. The enthusiastic bunch got to 70 things, which ranged from the school, church, fire station, guesthouse to the meadows, sheeps and finally the people. In the end we set up a small make-shift museum on my red table cloth with all things important to people in Stilfs.
Whats so unique about Stilfs is that people live very tightly here next to each other. Carved deeply into the rock, it is the inversion of an urban sky scraper, where dwelling by dwelling is huddled together, shaping the fabric of the place. I left full of ideas on how to contribute to Stilfs and its ambitions. Maybe one day I can come back with some walking and some talking.
