Join artist Paolo Lolicata for this online event, as he discusses his recent FIRECULT artist residency.

FIRECULT is an international research project investigating how wildfires affect cultural heritage, with partners in the UK, Ireland, Italy and Turkey.

Paolo spent three months in Palermo, Sicily researching fire as an integral element of Sicilian culture and heritage. He used a range of creative engagement methodologies to explore subjects including Saint Rosalia, the patron saint of Palermo, whose bones are said to be buried at nearby Monte Pelegrino, historic cave drawings and Catholic shrines located on street corners in the city.

Paolo Lolicata creative practice explores themes of identity, heritage, contamination, and technology within the contexts of colonization and globalization. He approaches art-making as a collection of fragments, drawing from both past and future archives, while incorporating methodologies from archaeology, geography, and science to recontextualize meaning.

FIRECULT (Wildfire Resilient Cultural Heritage) artist residency programme is delivered by Imperial College London, Newcastle University and The Maltings (Berwick) Trust with University College Dublin, Izmir Institute of Technology. It has been funded by the Belmont Forum and Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

Please note: This is an online event and a meeting link will be sent to ticket holders on 5 February 2026, so please leave an email address when making your booking. If you haven’t received the meeting link, please email kelly.france@maltingsberwick.co.uk.