Close range
VITTORIO CALABRESE
WORK • Tuesday Routine
VITTORIO CALABRESE • cultural strategist and arts management consultant
Neighborhood you live & work in: Fort Greene
It’s Tuesday morning. What’s on the agenda today?
I wake up, make my moka pot coffee, go swimming, and come back home to start the day. Tuesdays are usually lighter on meetings, which means more time to write and think. I work mostly from my apartment in Fort Greene, where the morning light is beautiful across my desk with a view of the park, and my cat Zeppola does everything she can to interrupt productivity.
What’s on the agenda for today?
A morning call with Italy about a cultural initiative, refining materials for a project opening in Miami during Art Basel, and reviewing research notes for a report I am preparing for the strategic plan of an arts organization. Later today, I’m heading downtown for a studio visit. And tonight I’m going to BAM for a movie. I love BAM, and I love that it’s only a five-minute walk from my apartment. Walking home late from a film there feels like a luxury.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Lunch today at Sailor, here in Fort Greene. It’s one of my favorite places in the neighborhood, quiet with beautiful light during the day and a very cozy atmosphere. The food is thoughtful and simple in the best way, and there’s a sense of care in everything they do. Later this week, I’m going to Evelina in Fort Greene with my friend Ylinka Barotto for what I call the ‘Italian catch-up.’ Evelina is a very special place for me. I’ve gotten close to the owner, Giuseppe, and the manager, Azzurra, who is about to have a baby. It feels like family. It’s a real neighborhood spot. The atmosphere is warm, the portions are real, and the food is consistently great. Before dinner, I’ll get a glass of wine at Rhodora, one block away. That’s the beauty of Fort Greene. Everything good is close.
How about a little leisure or culture this week?
If the weather is good, I want to bike to the Noguchi Museum this weekend. I am obsessed with Noguchi, his work, his personal history, and the scale of his vision. There’s something deeply human and poetic about the way he thought about space, public life, and sculpture as an extension of the body. The museum itself is such a serene place. It feels like stepping into another dimension within the city, and I always leave with a renewed sense of clarity.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
A trip to Brazil. I’ve never been and I’m excited to go. After 15 years of being fully rooted in New York and the Hudson Valley, it feels liberating to have the flexibility to travel more frequently, especially to Italy where I return often for work and family and beyond. Having my own practice means I can work from wherever I need to be and experience cultural institutions, food, and ways of living around the world. I still think the best feeling is landing back in New York, but mobility feels like a gift nowadays.
What NYC store or service do you love to recommend?
QC NY Spa on Governors Island. I love going on cold, quiet weekdays. There are pools overlooking the skyline and it feels like floating between worlds, suspended between Brooklyn and Manhattan. It is peaceful, easy to reach, and beautifully run by an Italian hospitality group. My friend Veronica runs it here and I always love seeing her when I go. And I love Rizzoli in Nomad, not just for books but for the programming and how it’s grown in recent years.
Where are you donating your time or money?
I’ve been working with Susan de Menil and AABC, the Art Antiquities Blockchain Consortium, a nonprofit advancing restitution and transparent provenance for cultural heritage through technology. The issue of heritage and provenance feels especially urgent to me. Cultural objects carry the memory, dignity, and identity of communities, and ensuring that they’re ethically stewarded and accessible is a matter of justice as well as culture.