M.A.R.E. consists of a digital archive of the portfolios and curricula of Italian artists residing and working in the territory under the jurisdiction of the Italian Cultural Institute of Barcelona: Catalonia, Aragon, Andorra, Balearics, Valencian Community, Murcia. The information is freely accessible and made available to the public for online consultation.

The archive is conceived as a work in progress, mirroring the mobility that characterizes the life of many artists nowadays. The name M.A.R.E. (meaning sea), is not only the Italian acronym for Map of the Artists Residing Abroad, but also a reflection of such fluidity of movement, of engaging with different places. Curators, students, gallerists, academics, collectors - the artists themselves - and anyone interested in consulting the archive, can avail themselves of up-to-date information on each artist. Other than acting as an archive, M.A.R.E. offers a significant added value. By promoting the project as an archival as well as research tool, the Institute of Culture will facilitate and initiate contacts with collectors, galleries, institutions and foundations located in Spain, thus fulfilling the mission of the Italian Cultural Institutes abroad, to promote Italian culture, to be a meeting place, and to facilitate the dialogue between Italian and foreign operators in the cultural sector.

An increasingly connected and interdependent world necessitates dynamic tools to heighten awareness of new realities and foster the dialogue and collaborative processes within the artistic and cultural spheres at international level. The aim of the archive, promoted by the Italian Cultural Institute in Barcelona under the direction of Angelo Gioè, pursues these objectives with the intention of generating a new shared knowledge.

The project is realized by the Italian Cultural Institute of Barcelona (Dir.: Angelo Gioè) and is curated by Herman B. Mendolicchio and Claudia Rampelli.