I will be in Palermo, Sicily for the month of october, hosted by Palazzo Butera as part of the Nouveau Grand Tour residency program. During this month, I plan to take some much needed time to reflect on my research and practice.
I have now been living nomadically since January 2023, continuously researching how different environments support / neglect those who live without their own private space. This residency will serve as a welcome moment of stillness, to reflect on my current practice, and also to connect with the people, culture and history of Palermo.
Recently I have been keen to apply my research to more collective and actionable forms, taking it beyond personal lifestyle and experiences, and to inform spheres of urban development, culture and policy.
I have been developing a project called City of Sanctuaries, in collaboration with Leo Bakx. This project explores how we can imagine and design new cultures and ways of living together. We aim to prototype future cultures and spaces that support both mobile and sessile lifestyles to thrive in harmony. The project is in its infancy, but will be developing throughout the rest of the year.
After my residency in Sicily, I will return to Eindhoven for a collaboration with The Marienhage Monastery. This monastery building is in the process of being converted into a hotel. I have been invited to live in the building for the month of November, before the hotel construction begins in December. This temporary period of residence creates the opportunity to gather and capture the stories and life the Monastery building holds/held. I also plan to welcome and re/connect the local community with the space by hosting workshops and public events in the space. The goal of this social activation is to revive the communal role the monastery once served, with the hope that this culture will be preserved and integrated into the building’s future role as a hotel.
Sophie Conroy is a designer and embodied researcher. She uses her life as a tool to test different ways of living, creating conditions to explore the unknown and learn more about the world and the self.
From these observed actions, Sophie develops modes of storytelling to communicate and exchange with others. She is working towards developing practices and tools that support our reconnection with each other, our environment, and ourselves. Ultimately, Sophie is exploring the question: What is it that we really need?
READ MORE ABOUT CONROY’S PROJECT IN RESIDENCY AT WE WILL DESIGN 2024 ↗