Nine Artists Reinterpret Mediterranean Myth in Matera’s Inhabited Museum

Nine photographers and visual artists inhabited a contemporary museum in Matera, creating new works exploring mythology, ritual, archaeology and Mediterranean memory through contemporary image-making.

Over the past months, nine photographers and visual artists have inhabited the spaces of Moyseion Matera as part of Myths and Visions 2026, the institution’s first artist residency programme.

Located within the UNESCO-listed Sassi di Matera, Moyseion was conceived as an “inhabited museum” — a place where archaeological research, architecture and lived experience converge. Rather than functioning as a traditional exhibition venue, it provided artists with an immersive environment in which to develop new work through direct engagement with mythology, ritual, landscape and Mediterranean memory.

Each participant approached the residency from a distinct perspective, resulting in a diverse body of visual research. Some works investigate the relationship between water and collective memory, others explore symbolism, identity, landscape, the body or the persistence of ancient narratives within contemporary life. Together, they form a multifaceted reflection on how the past continues to shape the present.

The residency was not conceived as a documentation project. Instead, artists were invited to use Moyseion and Matera as points of departure for personal investigations, transforming archaeological references and cultural heritage into new visual languages.

The works produced during the residency will be presented collectively in Matera later in 2026.

Selected pictures from the participating artists are presented here as an introduction to the project and to the different approaches developed throughout the residency.