Dreams of Water. Aquatic Creatures in Folk Tradition

Water is the element that unites us.
We cannot live without it—after all, we ourselves are partly made of it.Folk traditions all over the world are inhabited by a multitude of fantastic creatures that choose to dwell in rivers, lakes, and seas in order to protect them. The places where these mysterious beings live are always immersed in nature.But what about urban environments?During the workshop, we will have the opportunity to reflect on this through images.
What place could spaces of silence, contemplation, and tranquility have in our towns and cities?
Could we invite aguane, mermaids, and river spirits into our gardens, parks, fountains—even our taps? Into those places where the space left for nature is becoming smaller and smaller?

The goal of this three-day course is to create an illustration on this theme.

Registration Procedure

Enrollment in the advanced course requires an initial selection: you need to submit 5 low-resolution illustrations, either as attachments or via a link,
to corsi@fondazionezavrel.it by September 10, 2025.

The course offers the opportunity to have your work considered for the selection of four covers for GartMagazine.

During the course, participants will work on the theme and receive individual guidance from the instructor to produce a finished illustration suitable for publication, created using their preferred technique among those explored during the course (watercolor, gouache, ink, oil painting, collage, mixed media, etc.).

Katia Paoletti, director and head of graphic design and layout for the magazine, will be present during the course to provide support to participants regarding the graphic rendering of cover illustrations.

Illustration by Joanna Concejo.