Rita Orlando
He has a background in architecture and a long experience in large-scale projects with a strong social impact, both in Italy and abroad. Since 2003, she has been involved in urban and social regeneration projects, coordinating multidisciplinary and international working groups, and was the creator of the project Mimers, design al plurale, which brought together 40 professionals and companies from the cultural and creative industry.
Since 2014, she has been part of the Matera 2019 team for the city's successful bid to become European Capital of Culture, working on social innovation projects at an international level and the programme of artistic residencies.Since 2016, she has been in charge of the Open Design School, a participatory and innovative design workshop, partner of the New European Bauhaus, which has produced more than 50 projects involving 100 professionals and 2,000 citizens in DIY workshops.
For Matera 2019, she was also the project manager of the I-Dea project, the archive of archives, which produced a series of 4 international contemporary art exhibitions and a supporting programme of performances and workshops, as well as collaborating in the definition of the capacity building programme and the cultural palimpsest. She also oversaw the transformation of the Cava del Sole into a space for major performance events.
Today she is in charge of the Foundation's cultural planning and is responsible for artistic residencies, co-creation processes and the design and management of innovative projects at national and European level.
She also coordinates the intangible interventions of the 'Magna Grecia' territorial development programme. From Pythagoras to the new Euro-Mediterranean citizenship', which involves eight municipalities in the Ionian strip of Basilicata, and is a consultant for foundations and organisations in the cultural sector.
