A few weeks have passed since “Cultura in Cantiere” (Culture Under Construction) got under way, and Nicolas Brunetti‘s creative residency, run by Exhibit Around APS with Edilimpianti Trieste S.r.l. Società Benefit, is now in full swing.

What is emerging, day after day, is not so much a record of a building site taking shape as the story of an encounter: between an artistic eye used to working over the long term and a community of people who build, decide, organise and hold together a place in transformation.

The first images capture this spirit well. Brunetti moves around the site without looking for the spectacular shot of a building changing form, but rather for the moment when someone looks up from their work, agrees to be photographed, perhaps even points out the right angle. This is photography made of shared time rather than stolen frames, and in its slowness the character of the project is already apparent: to tell the story of a building site not as urban backdrop, but as a place inhabited by relationships. Accompanying him along the way is his tutor, Stefano Mirabella.

This stage of the project has also brought together the first accounts of what it means, in practical terms, for a construction company to open up its spaces and its working hours to an artistic residency. Several voices within the company have their say: Elisa Settimo, an Edil Group board member, who offers the perspective of those who decided, at company level, to take a chance on a project bringing business and culture together; Andrea Borgobello, project manager and engineer, who has seen at first hand how the photographer’s presence has gradually become part of the daily rhythm of the site; and Erika Pauluzzi, head of the technical office, who brings the view of someone coordinating the refurbishment of the spaces day by day.

Their words, which will feature in forthcoming content devoted to the project, converge on a shared idea: behind every building project there are skills, relationships and personal histories that deserve to be told just as much as the finished work.

The residency now moves on, and Brunetti’s work will reach the public during Trieste Photo Days 2026, when it takes its final form in the opening event and in the exhibition at L’Angolo di Rocco.

The project is supported by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region – Io Sono Friuli Venezia Giulia, in partnership with Edilimpianti Trieste S.r.l. Società Benefit, Associazione Stazione Rogers and Associazione culturale dotART.