Marco Maria Zanin is an Italian visual artist and researcher whose practice unfolds at the intersection of contemporary art, anthropology, and community engagement. Through a transdisciplinary approach, he explores the transformative potential of art in reinterpreting historical objects and fostering intercultural dialogue. Drawing inspiration from Alfred Gell’s theory of agency and Tim Ingold’s concept of “making,” Zanin views objects as active agents of cultural connection, emphasizing the importance of craft practices and material culture in shaping identities and collective memory.

His career includes solo exhibitions at institutions such as the Palazzo dei Musei in Reggio Emilia, Fondazione Modena Arti Visive, Casa dei Tre Oci (Venice), Pivô – Arte e Pesquisa (São Paulo), as well as collaborations with international platforms including Fondazione Cologni and the National Museum of Ethnology in Lisbon. He is the founder of Humus Interdisciplinary, a platform dedicated to artistic research in rural territories. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Anthropology at ISCTE/NOVA University in Lisbon, focusing on material culture and the ethnographic museum as a relational and intercultural laboratory.

During his second residency at AiR 351, Zanin will continue developing the project “É do Mundo”, which explores the poetics of memory and belonging through the notebooks and poems of Edmundo Salmonete, a fisherman from Cascais. The research will culminate in a bilingual publication combining photography, archival materials, and folk literature, and will be accompanied by gatherings with the local community and regional cultural institutions. During his stay, Zanin will dedicate time to researching archival imagery, producing new photographic works, and experimenting with visual forms that articulate past and present—always guided by a sensitive listening to the territory.