Dionysis Saraji: συμπόσιον | Sympósion

Artist residency at LABS Contemporary Art

5–30 May 2026

Project presentation: Saturday 30 May, 4–7 pm

LABS Contemporary Art is delighted to present “συμπόσιον, sympósion”, an artist residency dedicated to Dionysis Saraji (Venice, 2001), who will explore the ritual and technique of drawing on paper throughout May. 

The project will see the artist and his studio move into the Bologna gallery for a month of work and is conceived as an opportunity for encounter, dialogue and direct engagement with Dionysis’s art. 

Sympósion is thought as a space for gathering and conviviality created within the gallery, where anyone can connect with the artist, observing his creative process and gaining insight into his working methods.

The title of the residency, “συμπόσιον, sympósion”, directly evokes the classical concept of the symposium: a ritual celebration in honour of the god Dionysus, deity of wine and inebriation (after whom the artist himself is named), which literally means “drinking together”, that is, the convivial post-banquet moment dedicated to wine, conversation and music.

Every week, meetings with the artist will be organised, during which the public – visitors, collectors, curators and journalists – will be able to engage directly with the artist and explore the subject of drawing in greater depth through texts and images. This will be a unique opportunity to delve into the heart of Dionysis’s artistic research, including through the consultation of books, cultural texts and visual materials ranging from Persian carpet miniatures to Greek vase painting and Indian miniatures: a valuable iconographic archive that the artist uses to conceive his works and which offers an insight into his personal visual culture.

The sessions will take place from 3.00 pm to 7.00 pm on the following days: 

- 14, 15, 16 May 2026

- 20, 22, 23 May 2026

- 28, 29, 30 May 2026

On Saturday 30 May 2026, from 4.00 pm to 7.00 pm, there will be a final presentation of the work carried out during the month-long residency, celebrated with a small closing symposium.