Asia Art Archive welcomes Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti to our Residency Programme.

Hilal and Petti are architects, artists, and educators whose research and project-based practice focuses on the role of education in social justice. They are the founders of Campus in Camps, an experimental educational programme located in Dheisheh refugee camp in Palestine, exploring and producing new forms of representation of camps and refugees. They are also the co-founders, with Eyal Weizman, of Decolonizing Architecture Art Residency (DAAR) in Beit Sahour, which combines an architectural studio with an art residency, working at the intersection of politics and architecture. 

During their residency, Hilal and Petti will conduct research about self-organised pedagogical models and the formation of civic spaces in Hong Kong. This programme is part of AAA’s ongoing research on art pedagogy, which investigates the role of artists in shaping educational models outside of formal institutions.

Sandi Hilal is currently working on the Living Room project in Sweden, a series of hospitality spaces with the potential to subvert the role of guest and host. Alessandro Petti is Professor of Architecture and Social Justice at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm.

Hilal and Petti have participated in various international exhibitions, including Qalandiya International (2016), Marrakech Bienniale (2016), Asian Art Biennial (2015), La Biennale di Venezia (2003, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2015), Bienal de São Paulo (2014), Home Works Beirut (2010), and Istanbul Biennial (2009). They have received multiple awards, such as the Keith Haring Fellowship in Art and Activism at Bard College, Loeb Fellowship Harvard University, and Prince Claus Prize for Architecture. They were also shortlisted for Visible Award, the Curry Stone Design Prize, The New School’s Vera List Center Prize for Art and Politics, the Anni and Heinrich Sussmann Artist Award, and the Chernikhov Prize.

Hilal and Petti’s residency is supported by the S. H. Ho Foundation Limited, and the C. K. & Kay Ho Foundation. Their stay in Hong Kong is also possible thanks to the generous support of Caroline Chiu and Paul Aiello.