The →︎ theoretical research phase preceded and guided all subsequent phases of the project. In spring 2025, three interdisciplinary working groups — made up of faculty and researchers from the Italian partner institutions — developed, in parallel, a position paper for each of the three thematic axes: a state-of-the-art essay accompanied by an annotated bibliography.
The work was organised according to a practice-based approach: theoretical research did not precede artistic practice as a separate phase, but functioned as a shared orienting device — common ground on which students and faculty would build their own works in the phases that followed.
Each group operated autonomously, yet within a unified conceptual framework — landscape in its historical, ecological and perceptual dimensions — articulated across the project's three thematic axes:
The contributions of the three groups were presented and publicly discussed during the →︎ international Summer School (20–27 July 2025, Bergamo), as part of the round tables that opened the week of collective work. The sessions were held at the Sala Boninelli of the Biblioteca Tiraboschi and involved students, faculty and visiting professors in the discussion of the theoretical themes.
The public presentation marked the turning point from research to production: the theoretical documents, until then developed individually at each partner institution, became shared assets of the entire INTERSCAPE community — a point of reference for the artistic work of the weeks that followed.