David Totah brings his artistic vision to Pantelleria
David Totah brings his artistic vision to Pantelleria – Introducing “TOTAH – Dal Sacrestano”, a gallery and artist residency in the heart of Scauri.
A new cultural breeze is sweeping through the dammusi of Pantelleria – a wind of change that blends the scent of the sea with the language of contemporary art. Giving shape to this vision is David Totah, an American gallerist and curator with international roots, who has chosen the island as the setting for a new chapter in his artistic journey. His gallery, TOTAH, founded in 2016 in New York, now opens a new space in Italy, in Pantelleria, in a place that unites memory, architecture and vision.
A historic building brought back to life – The home of this new venture is a small architectural gem in the hamlet of Scauri, a district overlooking the sea that preserves the island’s most authentic soul. Here stands “Dal Sacrestano”, an old palazzetto that for years lay silent and almost forgotten, now reborn thanks to a careful and respectful restoration by Francesca Culoma and Alfredo Pontillo. Their project – featured on the website www.dalsacrestano.it – has a clear mission: to revitalise and renew cultural interest in Scauri, restoring this corner of Pantelleria to an active role in the island’s artistic and social life.
The restoration went far beyond the physical recovery of the building. Culoma and Pontillo sought to give the space back its soul, transforming it into a place that welcomes and inspires. The ancient walls now dialogue with a clean, contemporary architecture, while the light filtering through the openings reflects the essence of Pantelleria itself: a rugged, sunlit land suspended between Africa and Sicily.
From New York to the Mediterranean: David Totah’s vision – David Totah is no stranger to bold paths. Born into a family that has managed galleries in London and New York since the 1970s, he has always chosen to distinguish himself through a personal curatorial vision, far from the rigid logics of the market. When he opened his gallery in the Lower East Side in 2016, TOTAH appeared as a breath of fresh air: a space dedicated to dialogue between artists, ideas and the public, where the creative process matters as much as the finished work.
Today, that same philosophy crosses the sea and takes root in the landscape of Pantelleria. Totah recalls arriving on the island almost by chance during a trip in June 2021: “It was love at first sight,” he confesses. “I felt that here I could listen to things differently, with more calm, with more truth.” When, less than a year ago, he was offered the space at Dal Sacrestano, he realised the vision had come full circle: a genuine place, immersed in nature, ready to host a new kind of artistic experience.
Art as dialogue with the territory – The opening of the new venue is not merely an extension of the New York gallery but a cultural experiment intertwining art and territory. Pantelleria, with its unmistakable light and primal energy, becomes an integral part of the artistic language. The artworks are not simply “brought” here: they are born, they breathe, they engage with the landscape, with the lava stone, with the wind. It is a dimension that restores to art the time for listening and contemplation, far from the frenetic rhythms of the global art world.
The first exhibition hosted in the Scauri space, “Cabin Fever” by Italian artist Luca Pancrazzi, confirmed the strength of this intuition. In just a few weeks, over six hundred visitors – including collectors, artists and art lovers – passed through the halls of Dal Sacrestano, discovering a place where contemporary art becomes narrative, a living material that dialogues with history.
An artist residency between sea and volcanic stone – At the same time, Totah is developing an artist residency project, a dream he has nurtured for years. Initially conceived for the United States, the pandemic prompted him to rethink it entirely. “I was looking for a context that felt more human, closer to the natural rhythm of things. Pantelleria gave me that sense of balance between isolation and openness,” he explains.
The residency will offer selected artists the opportunity to spend time on the island, working in close contact with both the landscape and the local community. It is not only about producing artworks but about living an experience, allowing oneself to be permeated by the environment and returning its energy in creative form. The goal is to create a continuous flow between art and life, between those who arrive and those who live on the island, between past and present.
A favourable context for art in Italy – Totah also looks with optimism at the renewed interest in contemporary art in Italy. The recent reduction of VAT on artworks to 5% represents, in his view, a crucial step forward: “At last, Italy is becoming competitive again on the international stage. It’s a sign of confidence, an invitation to act and to stay.” This change, combined with growing attention to site-specific and place-based art experiences, opens up new horizons for those working in the cultural field.
An island becoming a laboratory – The meeting between TOTAH and Dal Sacrestano marks a significant moment for Pantelleria, which is thus transforming into an open-air art laboratory. The project by Francesca Culoma and Alfredo Pontillo, together with David Totah’s curatorial vision, demonstrates how collaboration between different worlds – restoration, architecture, contemporary art – can generate creative energy and new vitality.
Pantelleria thus becomes a place where art does not arrive from outside but is born from a deep dialogue with its environment. An island that has always lived through wind, stone and light now also welcomes the immateriality of art, making it a new form of rootedness. And perhaps this is the most authentic meaning of the project: not to “bring” something to Pantelleria, but to listen to it, let it speak, and turn it into inspiration.
