Visit to MABOS - Sila Forest Art Museum

MABOS (Sila Forest Art Museum) is a magical space where contemporary art, declined in all its expressive forms, dialogues in close contact with the nature in which it is immersed.

We reach the centre of the Sila National Park, on the Catanzaro side, and we discover the peculiarities of an innovative art project set in the green forest scrub.

Let us immerse ourselves in a unique experience, perceived as such by both the artists who exhibit and reside there, and the visitors, young and old.

MABOS in Sila, dialogue between art and nature

What is MABOS? The Sila Forest Art Museum is a physical and metaphysical space at the same time. A green oasis in the centre of one of Calabria's three national parks, the Catanzaro Sila, within which, as of 2017, a unique reality in Calabria has taken shape.

Here, art and nature have come together in a perfect balance, a true creative ecosystem that connects the landscape context, the contemporary works of art exhibited and/or created directly on site by the artists in residence, and the visitor, who is often an actor in turn, the protagonist of workshops and interactive laboratories for adults and children.

MABOS is articulated in different environments, starting with the Exhibition Park in the strict sense, i.e. the eco-museum located in the green area that includes more than 35 works on 30000 square metres of woodland, created "site-specific" by national and international artists (both collectives and individual performers) hosted in artistic residency from 2017 to the present.

The artistic residencies at MABOS are an opportunity for an impactful exchange, allowing artists to get to know a magical and unspoilt place, such as the Sila forest, and for the territory and local communities to interact 24 hours a day with Italian and foreign artists ready to share the creative process.

Stop and reflect, breathe in the atmosphere of the forest and make it your own, dialogue with the elements of nature. All this is within the reach of the artist who decides to spend a residency at MABOS, in the lodgings that not by chance are called Sense, evoking sensations and suggestions at the skin's edge with which one lives in the designated spaces. The same ones in which the artists meet and confront each other, in the company of critics, tutors, curators and insiders who, from time to time, devote their time to analysing and publicising the residency.

Also present was the University of Calabria, which, in agreement with MABOS, commissioned its young art historians to compile the so-called Critical Diaries of Mabos, reasoned accounts of this shared experience.

Not only artist residences at MABOS, but also eco-stays open to anyone who wishes to stop and enjoy the peace and inspiration that the place offers. The Borgo degli Artisti is the space dedicated to this type of sustainable stay: a neighbourhood of wooden chalets built with respect for the environment, where one can stay for a day or a weekend to discover the Sila Forest Art Museum and national park in its entirety.

Two other spaces/moments complete the immersive experience at MABOS: the one dedicated to educational workshops for young and old, realised in collaboration with artists and professionals, and the small booksharing noticeboard, Libri Liberi, where one can share one's own reading with others.

Taverna and the Sila National Park

MABOS is the ideal starting point for excursions in the Sila National Park.

Starting from the municipality of Taverna, which hosts the Sila Forest Art Museum on its territory, an endless series of possibilities lead to the discovery of the forests, paths and small mountain villages that characterise the Catanzaro Sila.

It should be remembered that Taverna is the "City of Mattia Preti", one of the great exponent painters of 17th century Italy and of so-called "Caravaggism". Nicknamed the "Calabrian Knight", with reference to his investiture as Knight of Malta, Preti was mainly active in Rome, Naples and the Island of Malta, but he did not forget his origins, leaving some extraordinary works in Taverna, which can now be seen in the Church of Santa Barbara, the Monumental Church of San Domenico and the Civic Museum.

In the surrounding area, don't miss a visit to the Sila Science Park and the F.A.T.A. Museum, close to the Passante Lake in Carbonello, a natural area of over 80 hectares.

The Sila Science Park revolves around the theme of the 4 elements of nature: Fire, Water, Earth, Air (hence the acronym F.A.T.A.), from which it is possible to follow a path of educational and scientific discovery surrounded by greenery. An innovative space aimed mainly at schools and families with children.

The F.A.T.A. consists of a covered structure, Science Center, with a surface area of more than 2500 square metres on two floors, and an experiential park immersed in the naturalistic area of the lake, where it is possible to practise sports fishing and pet-therapy, as well as to take nature trails dedicated to cycle tourism and hiking.