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La Giornata Europea del Vicinato (European neighbors’ day) celebra ogni anno le comunità e i vicinati, i rapporti e le relazioni, la partecipazione attiva alla vita civile, i valori di solidarietà e vicinanza.
Quest'anno la giornata ricorre venerdì 31 maggio e abbiamo lanciato un bando per promuovere il protagonismo dei cittadini, la partecipazione democratica e la cittadinanza culturale, da sempre al centro della sua mission, attraverso azioni di animazione culturale dal basso.

Gli eventi sono stati ideati e organizzati da 20 associazioni culturali e si svolgono in contemporanea in diversi quartieri delle città di Matera e di Potenza. Le iniziative sono promosse con il patrocinio del Comune di Matera, del Comune di Potenza e di Potenza Città Italiana dei Giovani 2024 e con la partecipazione dell'Associazione Volontari Open Culture 2019.

Il video racconto

Il programma della città di Matera

Gli appuntamenti del programma, se non diversamente indicato, sono rivolti a tutt*.  Se trovate questa icona  l’evento è particolarmente adatto alle famiglie con bambin*.

Borgo La Martella

Il vicinato visto dal Borgo
Gli eventi si svolgeranno in Piazza Montegrappa
a cura dell’Associazione Amici del Borgo

ORE 9.30
Colazione in Piazza

ORE 10.00
Laboratorio musicale con materiale riciclato
Laboratorio artistico - creativo per ragazzi diversamente abili

ORE 11.00
Giochi tradizionali

ORE 12.00
Laboratori culinari

ORE 13.15
Pranzo del vicinato

ORE 17.30
Storia del vicinato, testimonianze e aneddoti

ORE 19.00
Il nuovo vicinato: accoglienza delle nuove famiglie

ORE 20.30
Monologo "Il VIcinato" a cura dell'attrice materana Lia Trevisani

ORE 21.00
Momento conviviale

Borgo Picciano A

Unione e condivisione attraverso la cultura e la tradizione
a cura del Circolo S.Benedetto F. Tamburrino

DALLE ORE 10.30 ALLE ORE 12.30
Inaugurazione del giardino

DALLE ORE 17.30 ALLE ORE 22.00
giochi in piazza/ laboratorio di "cupa cupa "/ processione culinaria accompagnata  da street band / incontro con gli abitanti del Borgo per la festa di comunità

Centro storico e rioni Sassi

ORE 9.00 (riservato alle scuole), ORE 15.00, ORE 17.00

I segreti del pane di Matera
Laboratori teatralizzati sulla preparazione del pane
Museo del pane, Via San Francesco da Paola Vecchio - Sasso Caveoso
a cura dell’Associazione Giallo Sassi 

Evento su prenotazione

ORE 15.00

L’APPELLO
Laboratorio artistico pedagogico e safari urbano per ragazzi dai 15 ai 25 anni
Recinto ospedale Vecchio, 8 - Sasso Caveoso
a cura dell’Associazione Osmosis

ORE 18.30
I segreti del pane di Matera
Spettacolo itinerante
partenza da Piazzetta Pascoli
a cura dell’Associazione Giallo Sassi

Evento su prenotazione

In caso di maltempo: lo spettacolo si svolgerà all'interno dei locali del museo del pane.

Quartiere Lanera

ORE 10.00 (riservato alle scuole)
Prove di prossimità 
Presentazione della terza edizione del progetto “Fare scuola nel quartiere”
Giardino Semeria, Piazza Padre Giovanni Semeria
a cura dell’Associazione Quartiere Lanera

In caso di maltempo: le attività si svolgeranno presso la Scuola Media “N. Festa” 

ORE 12.00
I vicini son tornati?
Inaugurazione installazione/mostra
Unibas, via Lanera - aula C003
a cura del Dipartimento delle culture europee e del mediterraneo

ORE 12.30
I vicini son tornati?
Attraversamento condiviso sensoriale e visita mostra
Unibas, via Lanera - spazio espositivo B004
a cura del Dipartimento delle culture europee e del mediterraneo

ORE 16.00
Laboratori delle meraviglie: la comunità sostenibile dei bambini
Laboratori sulla sostenibilità per bambini 3-7 anni
Giardino Semeria, Piazza Padre Giovanni Semeria
a cura dell’Associazione Rebelterra 

Prenotazione tramite messaggio whatsapp al numero 3716221094

In caso di maltempo: l'evento sarà un Laboratorio di Artigianato Solidale presso il Villaggio del Fanciullo di Matera.

ORE 17.00
Prove di prossimità
Torneo di Bocce
Laboratorio di letture per bambini
Parco Lanera, Viale della Quercia
a cura dell’Associazione Quartiere Lanera

In caso di maltempo: le attività si svolgeranno all’interno dei locali della Parrocchia Sant’Antonio da Padova.

ORE 17.00
Prove di prossimità
Trekking urbano alla scoperta del quartiere Lanera
Unibas, Via Lanera
a cura dell’Associazione Quartiere Lanera

 ORE 18.00
Prove di prossimità 
Giochi di strada
Parco Lanera, Viale della Quercia
a cura dell’Associazione Quartiere Lanera

In caso di maltempo: le attività si svolgeranno all’interno dei locali della Parrocchia Sant’Antonio da Padova.

 ORE 18.00
I vicini son tornati?
Attraversamento condiviso sensoriale e visita mostra
Unibas, via Lanera - spazio espositivo B004
a cura del Dipartimento delle culture europee e del mediterraneo

 ORE 21.00
Prove di prossimità
Festa di comunità
Piazza Padre Giovanni Semeria
a cura dell’Associazione Quartiere Lanera

Piazza degli Olmi

 ORE 16.30
L’agorà dei popoli: inclusione e integrazione attraverso lo sport
Giochi sportivi
a cura di UISP Matera

In caso di maltempo: le attività si svolgeranno presso l'aula magna dell'I.C. Bramante - Plesso Piazza degli Olmi, rimodulando le attività sportive e di gioco (ping pong, scacchi). Inoltre, alcune attività si potranno svolgere negli spazi della piazza coperti (galleria sotto la scuola di Piazza degli Olmi).

 ORE 20.00
La piazza dei popoli
Cena sociale
a cura della Cooperativa Filef Basilicata

Quartiere Serra Venerdì

 ORE 17.00
La Stramparata di quartiere
Laboratorio di assemblaggio di maschere e parata per il rione di Serra Venerdì
Via Gioberti, 19
a cura dell’Associazione Noi Ortadini

In caso di maltempo: l'evento principale verrà spostato presso la sede dell'Associazione "Il Beccogiallo ODV", situata dietro la Scuola Minozzi.

Il programma della città di Potenza

Gli appuntamenti del programma, se non diversamente indicato, sono rivolti a tutt*.  Se trovate questa icona  l’evento è particolarmente adatto alle famiglie con bambin*.

Rione Risorgimento

Potenza Urban Art
Gli eventi si svolgeranno nel Parco Baden Powell 
a cura di Cooperativa Sociale Venere 

In caso di maltempo: gli eventi si sposteranno nella Sede operativa della Cooperativa Venere. 

ORE 17.00
Laboratori di Arte Urbana e Break Dance per bambini e ragazzi dai 6 ai 25 anni

Prenotazione tramite messaggio whatsapp al numero 3926761942

ORE 17.00
Realizzazione di un'opera collettiva, aperta ad artisti e cittadini 

ORE 19.00
Talk e Dibattito sul nuovo regolamento della street art di Potenza e della Consulta dell’Arte Urbana

ORE 21.30
Mostra delle opere dei partecipanti e musica live 

Come Api nell’alveare
Gli eventi si svolgeranno nel Parco Baden Powell 
a cura di ASP Imago

In caso di maltempo: gli eventi si utilizzeranno gli spazi interni dell’IC Domenico Savio. 

ORE 10.00
Accoglienza dei partecipanti e percorsi sensoriali in natura

ORE 11.00
Yoga integrale

ORE 12.00
Bagno sonoro

ORE 12.30
Aperitivo sano, buono e integrale

Un pomeriggio al campetto 
Gli eventi si svolgeranno nell’impianto sportivo e nel giardino di Via Salerno
a cura de Il Pezzettino

 In caso di maltempo: le attività si sposteranno negli spazi al chiuso dell'impianto / nei locali delle attività circostanti.

ORE 15.30
Torneo di Pickleball (dai 12 anni) 

Prenotazione al numero 3760364177

ORE 17.30
Torneo di Volley Tennis  (dai 12 anni) 

Prenotazione al numero 3760364177

ORE 18.00
Leggendo con Minnie (dai 3 ai 10 anni) 

Prenotazione al numero 3760364177
 

DALLE ORE 15.30 ALLE ORE  21.30

TORNEO DEI CONDOMINI: giochi di strada a squadre
MERENDA POPOLARE
SENTI 'STO FATTO: racconti a cura dei cittadini
CITT' CITT' INDA LA CHIAZZA: narrazioni itineranti in dialetto potentino
LA TELA DI PENELOPE: dimostrazioni di crochet, lavori all'uncinetto e ai ferri
GIOCHI DA TAVOLO: postazioni di giochi in scatola
BOOKCROSSING postazione fissa di scambio di libri
LA CASSETTA DELLA POSTA postazione fissa per lasciare pensieri, suggerimenti e proposte.

Ponte Attrezzato

Swap Party 
a cura di Verdi Orizzonti

ORE 10.00
Mercato del baratto con musica dal vivo

ORE 12.00
Pranzo A km 0

ORE 16.30 
Spettacolo di magia per bambini

Rione Cocuzzo

AnimiAMo Cocuzzo
a cura di ADA Potenza

ORE 10.00
Laboratorio creativo con elementi naturali e oggetti di riciclo
Sede ADA Potenza, Via Tirreno, 16 

Prenotazione al numero 3889558982 (Rosa)

ORE 15.30 
Conosciamo il rione: narrazione storica e camminata adattata attraverso via Tirreno e i suoi porticati.
Nave di via Tirreno

ORE 16.00 
Camminata adattata attraverso via Tirreno e i suoi porticati

Prenotazione al numero 3208781599 (Annamaria)

ORE 18.00
Calcio camminato  intergenerazionale
campetto di via Tirreno

ORE 19.15
Giochi di una volta per bambini  4 /10 anni
Sede ADA Potenza, Via Tirreno, 16 

ORE 20.00
Esperienze a confronto e cena di comunità
Sede ADA Potenza, Via Tirreno, 16 

Prenotazione al numero 3208781599 (Annamaria)

In caso di maltempo: alcuni eventi si terranno sotto i porticati

Rione Bucaletto

avVICINIamoci
a cura dI Agesci Potenza 2

ORE 15.30
Odori e dintorni: laboratorio di erbe aromatiche rivolto a grandi e piccoli 
Piazzale S.Maria della Speranza

Fino a raggiungimento capienza massima

  ORE 15.30
Laboratorio di tovagliato eco friendly e addobbi con materiale riciclato 
Piazzale S.Maria della Speranza

ORE 17.00
Giochi senza frontiere diffusi nel quartiere
Piazzale S.Maria della Speranza

ORE 19.00
Viaggio tra i sapori: cena di comunità
Piazzale S.Maria della Speranza

Prenotazione tramite messaggio whatsapp ai numeri 3286245926 oppure 3406521725

ORE 21.00
Proiezione del film “Aquile randagie”
Sala parrocchiale

Fino a raggiungimento capienza massima

ORE 23.00
La luna viaggia senza passaporto: racconto delle costellazioni e realizzazione di un manifesto delle storie e racconti
Piazzale S.Maria della Speranza

In caso di maltempo: gli eventi si terranno nella  Sala parrocchiale della Chiesa S.Maria della Speranza

Ri-mani
Gli eventi si svolgeranno presso la Cooperativa la Mimosa - Contrada Bucaletto snc
a cura de La luna al guinzaglio

In caso di maltempo: gli eventi si terranno negli Spazi al chiuso della Coop. La Mimosa

ORE 8.30
Presentazione del progetto e, a seguire, passeggiata nel quartiere di Bucaletto con i bambini della scuola dell’infanzia

Prenotazione al numero 3203531978
 

ORE 10.30
Costruzione di libri con gli adulti del quartiere

Prenotazione al numero 3203531978

ORE 11.00
Passeggiata nel quartiere di Bucaletto con gli alunni della Scuola Primaria

Prenotazione al numero 3203531978

ORE 12.30
Catalogazione e applicazione sui libri delle tracce raccolte dai bambini, insieme ai genitori

Prenotazione al numero 3203531978

Rione Quartiere Santa Maria

Spazi invasi 
Gli eventi si svolgeranno nel Giardino della Stazione di Potenza Superiore
a cura di Paesaggi Meridiani

 
In caso di maltempo: gli eventi si terranno negli spazi del Deposito Bagagli Vintage Travelling Bar 

ORE 16.30
Accoglienza e presentazione del progetto

ORE 17.00
“Fiori nel bagaglio” Allestimento e cura del giardino, merenda biologica  per bambini 5/10 

Prenotazione tramite messaggio whatsapp ai numeri 3203673848 (Renata ) oppure 3289613241 (Giovanna)

ORE 19.00
Narrazioni urbane: storie e personaggi mai raccontati

ORE 20.30
video arte e musica elettronica

Rione Parco Aurora

Avanzi Popolo
a cura di Sotto il Castello APS

ORE 19.00
Cena di comunità e letture ad alta voce
Piazza dei Comuni Lucani 

Evento su prenotazione

In caso di maltempo: contattare gli organizzatori al numero 393474447607 

Rione Poggio Tre Galli

La Potenza dell’Arte di Strada
Gli eventi si svolgeranno in Piazza Don Pinuccio Lattuchella snc 
a cura di Appstart

ORE 17.00
Laboratori di Arti Circensi 
Evento su prenotazione

Prenotazione al numero 3926761942 oppure 3459235051

ORE 19.30 
Spettacoli di Artisti di Strada

ORE 21.30
Convivialità e ringraziamenti

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In occasione della Festa dell’Europa del 9 maggio va in scena, con il supporto dell’Onyx Jazz Club di Matera e la partecipazione dell’Associazione Volontari Open Culture 2019, la performance "Jazz for democracy. Parole e musica per 'fare' società", performance di e con il sociologo Stefano Allievi e il duo Spiritus Spiritus (Francesco D'Auria e Tino Tracanna) e Michel Godard (special guest), in programma a Matera alle 19:30 a Palazzo Bernardini.

La performance intende raccontare il rapporto tra jazz e democrazia facendo interagire parole e musica e rappresenta l’esito di un progetto più ampio di residenza artistica che vede protagonista, dal 7 al 9 maggio a Matera, una strana e anomala compagine: un sociologo che ama il jazz senza saperlo praticare (o praticandone i principi senza suonarlo) e tre musicisti che suonano strumenti in una formazione inusuale. Dopo essersi conosciuti, ascoltati e scambiati testi e musica, insieme proveranno a raccontare come il jazz sia una metafora perfetta per spiegare la democrazia.

Il video racconto

Info evento
9 maggio 2024 ore 19:30
Palazzo Bernardini, Arco del Sedile, 9 Matera
ingresso gratuito fino ad esaurimento posti

La performance integrale

Nelle tre giornate di residenza, sempre a Palazzo Bernardini, sono previsti dei momenti di "prove aperte" in cui si potrà assistere alla creazione della performance (8 maggio, dalle 11:00 alle 12:00 e dalle 17:00 alle 18:00, 9 maggio, dalle 11:00 alle 12:00).


Bio di Stefano Allievi
E’ professore ordinario di Sociologia all’Università di Padova. È nato a Milano, dove si è diplomato all’Istituto per la Formazione al Giornalismo (IFG) e laureato in Scienze politiche; ha poi conseguito a Trento il dottorato in Sociologia e ricerca sociale.È specializzato nello studio dei fenomeni migratori, in sociologia delle religioni (con particolare attenzione alla presenza dell’islam in Europa), e in studi sul mutamento culturale e politico: temi su cui ha condotto ricerche a livello nazionale e internazionale, pubblicate in varie lingue europee, in arabo e in turco. Svolge anche un’intensa attività di divulgazione, come conferenziere, editorialista, autore e performer. Nel 2022 ha scritto e presentato la conferenza spettacolo Jazz Society. La società plurale spiegata con il jazz, con i musicisti Sergio Marchesini e Franco Nesti, tradotta e presentata anche in francese nel 2023.


Spiritus Spiritus duo, Francesco D’Auria e Tino Tracanna
Special guest Michel Godard
Il Progetto parte dall’idea di raccontare la musica che si ama condividere e di imbastire una ragnatela su cui inserire temi e improvvisazioni coerenti alle rispettive sensibilità. Il bisogno di raccontarsi attraverso una musica che non può essere etichettata in schemi predefiniti aiuta a percepire il linguaggio musicale come il veicolo di comunicazione più consono. E’ un progetto il cui ambito musicale si muove nel grande alveo del jazz e dell'arte dell'improvvisazione, ma è complice delle grandi culture del mondo, con un occhio al futuro e alla ricerca di un'identità creativa fresca e vivace.

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Immagine 1:

Prosegue la nostra attività sul tema della relazione arte/ambiente, avviata nel 2023 con l'inaugurazione dell’opera di Tomás Saraceno “Life(s) of Webs, arachnophobias, arachnophilias, and other stories”, perchè attraverso la cultura e le sue molteplici forme di espressione si può far parlare tra loro mondi diversi.

Per declinare il tema dell’ambiente e del cambiamento climatico con le sue urgenze, attraverso differenti linguaggi come arte, cinema, musica, filosofia, teatro, nasce quindi “Rizomatica. Nuove forme di coesistenza” la rassegna delle arti e dell'ambiente curata da Imma Tralli e Roberto Pontecorvo di Marea Art Project, con il patrocinio dei Comuni di Matera, Moliterno e Pisticci e la partecipazione dell'Associazione Volontari Open Culture 2019, in programma fra aprile e giugno a Matera, Moliterno (PZ) e Pisticci (MT).

In che modo le persone, attraverso la  cultura, possono modificare comportamenti ed abitudini che abbiano un impatto virtuoso su natura e ambiente?

Da questa riflessione si sviluppa il programma di residenze artistiche, spettacoli, proiezioni e incontri che intendono raggiungere un pubblico ampio, con particolare attenzione ai giovani, utilizzando spazi non convenzionali della città di Matera per arrivare fino alle aree interne della regione Basilicata, con l'invito a sperimentare il “potere sovversivo della catastrofe permanente”, per ripensare insieme nuove forme di riconnessione e coesistenza tra individui e natura.

Inauguriamo la rassegna simbolicamente il 22 aprile, Giornata mondiale della Terra, al Cineteatro Pino di Moliterno con un appuntamento dedicato agli studenti dell’Istituto superiore “F. Petruccelli - G. Parisi”, la  proiezione del film “Futura” (2021) di Pietro Marcello, Francesco Munzi, Alice Rohrwacher, un’inchiesta collettiva che ha lo scopo di esplorare l’idea di futuro di ragazze e ragazzi tra i 15 e i 20 anni incontrati dai registi nel corso di un lungo viaggio attraverso l’Italia.

Il video racconto

PROGRAMMA PUBBLICO Rizomatica. Nuove forme di coesistenza
Rassegna delle arti e dell'ambiente

4 maggio ore 20:00, Matera

Piazza Cesare Firrao nuova location: Cinema Il Piccolo, Via XX Settembre 14
Donne di Terra (2021), di Elisa Flaminia Inno
Proiezione e talk con la regista Elisa Flaminia Inno
Ingresso libero fino ad esaurimento posti

7-26 maggio, Moliterno (PZ) - Val d’Agri

Residenza artistica di Post Disaster
Citri. Estratto da Val d’Agri
Workshop presso la Biblioteca Comunale Giacomo Racioppi, Piazza Vittorio Veneto

17 maggio ore 20:30, Matera

Ex Convento di SS Lucia e Agata alla Civita, Via Madonna delle Virtù
Eurybia - Francesca Heart Live
Performance live
Ingresso libero fino ad esaurimento posti

18 maggio ore 20:00, Moliterno (PZ)

Cine Teatro Pino, Piazza A. de Biase n. 3
L’Avamposto (2023), di Edoardo Morabito
Proiezione e talk con il regista Edoardo Morabito
Ingresso libero fino ad esaurimento posti

25 maggio ore 19:00, Matera

Casa Cava, Via S. Pietro Barisano n. 7
La natura, prossima ed estranea. Lezioni di democrazia
Lectio magistralis di Piergiorgio Donatelli
Ingresso libero fino ad esaurimento posti

1-15 giugno, Matera

Residenza artistica di Studio Andreco
Oasi. Un’Aula Verde a Matera
Workshop presso il Laboratorio Urban Center (LUC), Via Francesco Petrarca

5 giugno ore 20:00, Matera

Piazza Cesare Firrao
Il buco (2021), di Michelangelo Frammartino
Proiezione
Ingresso libero fino ad esaurimento posti

9 giugno ore 21:00, Pisticci (MT)

Teatro dei Calanchi
Spira. Daniela Pes Live
Concerto
Prenotazione disponibile su Eventbrite

18 giugno 20:30, Matera

Piazza San Giovanni
Botanica - Deproducers
Spettacolo
Ingresso libero fino ad esaurimento posti

Concept curatoriale di Imma Tralli e Roberto Pontecorvo

“Catastrofi ambientali, ecologiche, crisi politiche, sociali, economiche o migratorie sono diventate la lente con la quale leggiamo la contemporaneità, rendendo nebulosa ogni possibilità di futuro. Ma la crisi non è solo l’acme della malattia del mondo; è la forza trasformatrice che induce a prendere posizione dinanzi alla complessità del presente.
Movimenti ambientalisti, teorie filosofiche e pratiche di collettivi e artisti, ma anche la spinta propulsiva di gruppi informali di giovani individui, hanno intrapreso un percorso di comune presa di coscienza che vede nella rete, nella circolarità delle idee e delle azioni, l’unica strategia per mettere in pratica un altro modo di vedere, vivere, respirare insieme. 
Studi scientifici hanno dimostrato che le uniche possibilità di sopravvivenza in ambienti estremi caratterizzati da scarsità di risorse risiedono nella piena e incondizionata collaborazione e nel mutuo appoggio tra individui della propria specie e con quelli di specie diverse (Fitopolis. La città vivente, Mancuso S., 2023). 
Rizomatica è l’invito a sperimentare il potere sovversivo della catastrofe capovolgendo l’attuale stato di emergenza permanente per ripensare insieme nuove forme di riconnessione e coesistenza tra individui e natura.
Snodandosi attraverso una rete vivente capace di favorire il molteplice, la relazione e il decentramento e di resistere anche in condizioni ambientali avverse, il pensiero rizomatico invita a reimmaginare il presente ampliando la trama di relazioni ecosistemiche, celebrando attraverso l’arte e la cultura scenari inediti capaci di ispirare le scelte che l'umanità si troverà a fare nel prossimo futuro”.

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--- Aggiornamento del 20 maggio 2024 ---

Abbiamo selezionato i 40 partecipanti alla prima edizione della Podcast Academy South Edition.

Qui i nomi della classe 2024.

--- --- ---

Come si struttura una serie podcast? Come si scrive per l’audio? Come si sceglie il suono ideale?

Per rispondere a queste domande e perchè da sempre, già dal percorso complesso di Matera Capitale Europea della Cultura 2019, diamo grande attenzione al tema della formazione per il potenziamento costante delle competenze destinato agli operatori culturali del territorio, finanziamo e organizziamo la prima Podcast Academy per il Sud Italia con il supporto di Chora Media e in collaborazione con Fondazione Banco di Napoli e Fondazione Carical.

Il percorso formativo della prima Podcast Academy South edition si snoda dallo sviluppo di un’idea originale di podcast fino alla strategia di promozione e monetizzazione e sarà guidato dai professionisti di Chora Media, i talenti della più importante podcast company italiana, ed è strutturato in due appuntamenti in presenza a Matera (7-8 giugno e 6-7 settembre 2024), 10 lezioni on demand, 3 incontri online e tutoraggio continuo. 

Il programma di formazione è gratuito e riservato a 40 partecipanti.

CHI PUÒ PARTECIPARE

L’Academy si rivolge a tutti coloro che desiderano esplorare ed esprimere il proprio talento nel mondo del podcasting, o perfezionare le proprie conoscenze in materia. 
Tra i profili più ricercati dall’Academy ci sono autori, giornalisti, creator, narratori, sound designer e producer.
Possono partecipare alla selezione tutti i cittadini e le cittadine maggiorenni residenti o domiciliati nelle regioni Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Puglia, Molise, Abruzzo, Sicilia e Sardegna.

I 40 posti disponibili saranno ripartiti secondo un criterio territoriale, ovvero 15 riservati ai partecipanti provenienti dalla regione Basilicata, 5 ai partecipanti provenienti dalla regione Campania, 5 ai partecipanti provenienti dalla regione Calabria e i restanti 15 ai partecipanti dal resto delle regioni.

COME PARTECIPARE

Puoi partecipare in forma individuale o in rappresentanza di un’organizzazione o di una istituzione culturale (associazioni, musei, fondazioni, imprese culturali e creative).

Scarica e leggi il bando, con tutte le informazioni relative alle modalità di partecipazione e alla procedura di selezione, e compila e invia il form di candidatura.

Avviso pubblico per la partecipazione alla "Podcast Academy South Edition"

   Application Form

FINO A QUANDO È POSSIBILE PARTECIPARE

Puoi presentare la tua candidatura compilando e inviando il form entro le ore 23:59 di giovedì 9 maggio 2024. 

I risultati della selezione saranno pubblicati a partire dal 20 maggio 2024.

PER INFORMAZIONI

Per ulteriori informazioni o richieste di chiarimento puoi scrivere, fino alle ore 18:00 di mercoledì 8 maggio, a This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. inserendo nell'oggetto della e-mail: Podcast Academy.

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--- Aggiornamento del 29 aprile 2024 ---

La Commissione di valutazione per la Manifestazione d’interesse per la proposta di progetti di comunità per la Giornata Europea del Vicinato ha valutato le 37 candidature che sono pervenute nel rispetto dei tempi e dei criteri enunciati nel bando e ha selezionato 10 progetti da realizzare nella città di Matera e 10 progetti nella città di Potenza.

Di seguito l’elenco delle Associazioni e dei progetti ammessi e finanziati:

Per la città di MATERA

Rebelterra APS / Laboratori delle Meraviglie: La Comunità Sostenibile dei Bambini
Noi Ortadini APS / Stramparata di quartiere
Società Cooperativa Sociale FILEF Basilicata / Piazza dei Popoli
A.P.S.- ETS CIRCOLO S. BENEDETTO F. TAMBURRINO / Celebrazione della Giornata Europea del Vicinato a Borgo Picciano A: Unione e Condivisione attraverso la cultura e la Tradizione
UISP MATERA APS / L'AGORA' DEI POPOLI: Celebrando l'Inclusione e l'Integrazione attraverso lo Sport
Associazione Quartiere Lanera / Lanera, prove di prossimità
Giallo Sassi / I segreti del pane di Matera
DICEM Dipartimento delle Culture Europee e del Mediterraneo / I vicini sono tornati?
Associazione Osmosis Ente del Terzo Settore / L'appello
APS - ETS AMICI DEL BORGO / Il vicinato visto dal Borgo

Per la città di POTENZA

Agesci Potenza 2 / avVICINIamoci
APS La luna al guinzaglio / Ri-mani
Sotto il Castello APS / Avanzi Popolo
Associazione Il Pezzettino asd aps / UN POMERIGGIO AL CAMPETTO
AdA di Potenza odv (Associazione per i diritti degli Anziani) / AnimiAmo Cocuzzo
Verdi Orizzonti / LOCAL SWAP PARTY
APS IMAGO / COME API NELL' ALVEARE
Cooperativa Sociale Venere / Potenza Urban Art
Aps Paesaggi Meridiani ETS / Spazi Invasi
Cooperativa Sociale Appstart / La Potenza dell'Arte di Strada

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Abbiamo pubblicato, con il patrocinio del Comune di Matera, del Comune di Potenza e di Potenza Città Italiana dei Giovani 2024, la Manifestazione d’interesse per la proposta di progetti di comunità da realizzare nella Giornata europea del vicinato (European neighbors’ day) che quest’anno cade venerdì 31 maggio 2024.

COS'È LA GIORNATA EUROPEA DEL VICINATO

La festa è nata in Francia, a Parigi, nel 1999, con l'obiettivo di rafforzare i legami di quartiere, sviluppare un senso di appartenenza e contrastare l'isolamento e l'esclusione.
Dal 2003, la festa è diventata una ricorrenza europea che coinvolge circa 35 paesi, inclusa l’Italia, celebrando le comunità e i vicinati, i rapporti e le relazioni, i valori di solidarietà e vicinanza.

PERCHÈ PARTECIPARE

Per la Giornata Europea del Vicinato 2024, intendiamo promuovere il protagonismo dei cittadini, la partecipazione democratica e la cittadinanza culturale, da sempre al centro della nostra mission, attraverso azioni di animazione culturale dal basso. Mediante l’Avviso pubblico,  saranno supportati progetti di comunità da realizzare nelle città di Matera e Potenza per dare vita a una festa diffusa nelle due città, dove le comunità saranno invitate ad animare i quartieri, nell’intera giornata del 31 maggio.

Nello specifico, l’Avviso prevede l'assegnazione di un contributo a progetti di interesse collettivo e altre attività utili a favorire il senso di appartenenza alla comunità di quartiere, dal contenuto aggregativo, culturale, sociale, sportivo ed educativo. Si intende inoltre valorizzare il contributo dei giovani nei processi virtuosi di cittadinanza attiva, sostenendo iniziative presentate da associazioni giovanili o che prevedano il contributo dei giovani nell’ideazione e nella realizzazione delle progettualità.

Alle proposte ritenute idonee, fino ad un massimo di 10 per la città di Matera e 10 per la città di Potenza,  sarà riconosciuto un contributo massimo pari ad Euro 1.500 lordi omnicomprensivi per la copertura delle spese relative alla realizzazione del progetto nell’arco temporale della sua organizzazione e produzione.

COME PARTECIPARE

Le informazioni sui requisiti di partecipazione, i valori che i progetti devono rappresentare, le modalità di invio delle candidature, la procedura di selezione e concessione del contributo sono contenute nell’Avviso scaricabile qui di seguito:

Manifestazione di interesse per la proposta di progetti di comunità

FINO A QUANDO È POSSIBILE PARTECIPARE

Puoi presentare il tuo progetto di comunità compilando la domanda di partecipazione al link riportato all’interno dell’Avviso entro le ore 23:59 del  18 aprile 2024.

La lista dei progetti ammessi verrà pubblicata nella sezione Avvisi Pubblici dell'Amministrazione trasparente del nostro sito a partire dal 29 aprile 2024.

PER INFORMAZIONI

Per ulteriori informazioni invia una e-mail a This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Si chiama AIRFARE, acronimo di “mediA dIgital libRary oF lucAnian cultuRE” (catalogo digitale della cultura lucana), il progetto vincitore dell’Avviso pubblico TOCC (Transizione digitale organismi culturali e creativi) azione A1 della Direzione generale Creatività contemporanea del Ministero della Cultura finanziato dall'Unione europea - NextGenerationEU e vinto dalla rete BAD (Basilicata Digital Academy) che abbiamo costituito insieme al Comune di Matera, Confapi Matera, CNA Matera e la Fondazione ITS Academy di Basilicata.

AIRFARE mira a produrre innovazione a partire da un concetto dinamico di “patrimonio culturale”, inteso come strumento partecipativo e generativo di nuovi prodotti culturali attraverso l’uso del digitale.
AIRFARE si rivolge all’intera filiera delle industrie culturali e creative (ICC), al fine di creare un hub univoco della produzione culturale del territorio e, attraverso processi di design thinking e co-design, rafforzare le competenze degli operatori, incoraggiare la cooperazione e lo scambio di esperienze, facilitare l’aggiornamento professionale e la riqualificazione, migliorando l’intero eco-sistema. I soggetti proponenti rappresentano i vari ambiti delle ICC - produttori culturali e artisti (Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019), piccole e medie imprese (Confapi), artigiani (CNA) - e offrono strumenti e laboratori all’avanguardia per lo sviluppo di soluzioni digitali come la Casa tecnologie emergenti (Comune di Matera), Open Design School (Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019) e Fondazione ITS.

Il progetto AIRFARE si svolgerà in un arco temporale di 24 mesi, beneficiando di un finanziamento di 288.000,00 €, a cui si aggiunge la quota di cofinanziamento di 72.000,00 €, per un valore totale di 360.000,00 €.

Il progetto è suddiviso in sei azioni: sviluppo di una piattaforma integrata di accesso alle risorse culturali digitali (Media digital library)  che consenta la navigazione nell'enorme contesto informativo del patrimonio culturale, costantemente arricchito dalle attività di digitalizzazione; laboratori di produzione culturale digitale, finalizzati alla realizzazione di produzioni multimediali in grado di integrare tecniche di espressione digitale; atelier tematici, focus group e laboratori sulla curatela artistica digitale, per offrire competenze di base finalizzate alla formazione di una nuova figura professionale, il curatore digitale, che possa confrontarsi con l’arte digitale, con le opere generate tramite l’intelligenza artificiale e con il patrimonio culturale, materiale e immateriale, digitalizzato e manipolato da artisti e creativi; seminari divulgativi sulla fabbricazione artigianale (Fablab); programmi di residenza multidisciplinari per l’introduzione, nelle botteghe artigiane, degli strumenti di fabbricazione digitale, per favorire l’innovazione dei processi di produzione e lo sviluppo di nuovi prodotti; hackathon per utilizzare gli strumenti digitali per l’ideazione di prodotti personalizzati e rispondenti ai fabbisogni del consumatore/fruitore, lavorando sulle diverse abilità, in ottica di inclusione sociale e sostegno alla silver economy.  

AIRFARE è in linea con una altro progetto a cui stiamo lavorando: “Archivio Digitale della Memoria Lucana”, un archivio aperto, partecipato, in continua evoluzione, che vuole testimoniare la storia di un territorio complesso e affascinante, anche attraverso i documenti e i racconti della comunità lucana.

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Ci prepariamo al nuovo anno facendo tesoro dell’esperienza del 2023 e delle preziose collaborazioni che ci hanno permesso di produrre cultura in Basilicata.

Grazie all’Associazione Maria SS. della Bruna abbiamo arricchito il programma della Festa della Bruna 2023 con il progetto dei Tableaux Vivants che ha portato in scena i quadri di Caravaggio con la partecipazione, come protagonisti dello spettacolo, dei nostri cittadini.

Grazie alla nota sensibilità di Franco Arminio e la professionalità di Chora Media abbiamo prodotto il podcast “Un filo d'erba” dedicato a Rocco Scotellaro, nell’anno che celebra il centenario della sua nascita.

Grazie alla collaborazione con il Polo Bibliotecario di Potenza, Lo Stato dei Luoghi e il Patto per la Lettura del Lagonegrese abbiamo portato nei Comuni lucani di Balvano, Filiano, Latronico e Miglionico la seconda edizione del progetto Creative Communities, il programma di residenze di co-creazione in memoria di David SassoliDavid Sassoli.

Frutto di una importante eredità del 2019 e con la collaborazione del Museo nazionale di Matera, l’artista Tomás Saraceno ha inaugurato la sua opera permanente Life(s) of WebsLife(s) of Webs, arachnophobias, arachnophilias, and other storiesarachnophobias, arachnophilias, and other stories introducendoci all’importante tema del cambiamento climatico e del necessario e doveroso equilibrio tra uomo e natura che approfondiremo anche nei prossimi mesi.

Grazie all’Associazione Volontari Open Culture 2019, nata dall’esperienza di Matera Capitale europea della Cultura, continuiamo a portare il sorriso e l’impegno nelle città italiane ed europee e nei loro principali festival della cultura!

Questi alcuni dei principali progetti del nostro 2023, accompagnati da tanto lavoro progettuale, amministrativo e di rendicontazione per permettere alle imprese e associazioni culturali lucane di produrre cultura nella nostra Basilicata!

Buon futuro, buon 2024!

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Sono disponibili gli esiti delle sei settimane di residenza di co-creazione svolta in Basilicata nell’ambito della seconda edizione del progetto “Creative communities” in memoria di David Sassoli promosso in collaborazione con il Polo Bibliotecario di Potenza, con il supporto de Lo Stato dei Luoghi e il Patto per la Lettura del Lagonegrese e con il patrocinio dei Comuni Balvano, Filiano, Latronico, Miglionico.

Nell’anno da Capitale Europea della Cultura, infatti, Matera è stata un esempio di come città medio-piccole, collocate in aree marginali, possano promuovere e dar luogo a nuovi modelli di cultura fortemente partecipata, dimostrando come molto spesso i vincoli sono un’occasione per ripensare e riprogettare i modi di produrre e abitare la cultura.

Durante la residenza, il team di lavoro selezionato con bando pubblico, composto da cinque professionisti e due imprese culturali lucane, ha quindi vissuto tra le comunità di Balvano, Filiano, Latronico e Miglionico per individuare bisogni e raccogliere proposte in termini di infrastrutture culturali, ovvero co-progettare un modello di presidio culturale che includa anche la biblioteca ma offra un ampio ventaglio di servizi. 

Per fare questo, è stata condotta un'indagine attraverso incontri con scuole, amministrazioni, gruppi di cittadini, interrogandosi sui bisogni e i servizi che ci si aspetta di trovare in una biblioteca, con la volontà di disegnare un modello per la creazione di presidi culturali territoriali, che possano svolgere un duplice ruolo di spazio educativo e di aggregazione insieme all’erogazione di servizi di base, con l’obiettivo di favorire, nei contesti maggiormente caratterizzati da povertà economica e relazionale, l’accesso alla cultura, alla socialità e all’educazione, creando occasioni di partecipazione e cambiamento sociale ed offrendo servizi di welfare di prossimità e servizi per i visitatori.

Il documento prodotto come esito della residenza rappresenta un toolkit, una sorta di “cassetta degli attrezzi” da poter mettere a disposizione dei policy maker regionali e delle singole comunità locali per definire policies locali stabili e replicabili. 

Toolkit  - Metrica dei presidi culturali e delle biblioteche - creative communities 2023

Decalogo per le biblioteche e i presidi culturali nelle aree interne della Basilicata - creative communities 2023

Il video racconto

Tomás Saraceno, Life(s) of Webs, arachnophobias, arachnophilias, and other stories. Courtesy the artist. Photography by Studio Tomás Saraceno. 

Together with The National Museum of Matera, we are delighted to present Life(s) of Webs, arachnophobias, arachnophilias, and other stories, a permanent installation at Chiesa Madonna del Carmine, Palazzo Lanfranchi by Tomás Saraceno, from 25th November, 2023.

The artwork serves as the opening to collaborative research that fits within this syncretic, Arachnophilia project, culminating with the launch of an artist book which will bring together a diverse network of material from philosophers, artists, writers and arachnologists.

In 2023, in the Chiesa Madonna del Carmine in Matera at Palazzo Lanfranchi - National Museum of Matera, Saraceno’s artwork—a Catholic confessional box—is found, in which spider/webs emerge in the place of the priest, with the intention to share their ancestral wisdom. It’s a call to humanity, one to listen closely to: “we have lived on Earth for more than 380 million years, while most of you humans, merely 200 thousand years… we invertebrates represent 95% of all animals on planet Earth, yet we are threatened by extinction, something that would endanger all lives on earth. We ask you to care for the rights of our webs of life. Can we join forces and weave together ways of living, with lifestyles that do not affect climates, for more just, eco-social inter- intra-species societies for all?”

It is through a  new syncretic ensemble of myths, beliefs, liturgies, ceremonies, histories of divination, rituals, food practices, songs & dances, that Lives of webs responds to this call. “We invite you to join us in this movement for new collective multispecies futures. Come closer, sense wisely, feel the vibrations. Every contribution matters. These are times to act and to be part of something larger, and infinitely smaller, than yourself”.

On the 24th November, Tomás Saraceno will be in conversation with philologist, translator and playwright Gianni Garrera, writer and researcher Claudia Attimonelli and anthropologist and researcher Salvatore Bevilacqua.  On 25th November, students from Matera's high schools will be invited to learn more about Saraceno's thought and work, through a viewing of one of his films, Fly with Pacha, into the Aerocene (2017-2023 ongoing).

“With the work of artist Tomás Saraceno, we complete the path of Matera European Capital of Culture 2019 and open a focus, through contemporary art, on one of the themes at the center of the new programming, that of the environment. The invaluable collaboration with the National Museum of Matera has made it possible to welcome a site-specific work that remains with the city on a permanent basis, so that we can develop around it a long-lasting programming, linked to the main emergencies of contemporaneity.”

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Life(s) of Webs, arachnophobias, arachnophilias, and other stories
National Museum of Matera - Palazzo Lanfranchi, Chiesa della Madonna del Carmine
Piazzetta Pascoli 1, Matera - Italy
Opening hours: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. - last admission 7 p.m.
Closing: Tuesday 09:00 - 14:00

Life(s) of webs
arachnophobias, arachnophilias, and other stories 

Amongst Maya Peoples, the spider/web represents the placenta of Ix Chel, the Maya goddess of childbirth and patron saint of weavers, and for whom the spider creates the thread of life from within itself. For the ancient civilisation of the Nazca, the spider was imaged in their geoglyphs–engraved directly onto the ground of the Nazca Desert in southern Peru–as schematic-geometric figures that span a length of nearly 50 meters. In Peru, a special class of pre-Inca Chavín diviners (known as pacchacatic) once consulted the spider as deity and oracle, divining their future based upon its falling movements. In late pre-Hispanic times, and still today in regions of modern highland Peru, spiders are observed to predict rainfall and other other climate events.

During the origins of the Qixi festival in China, a celebration derived from the myth of cloud-weaving goddess Zhinü, it was customary on the “Seventh Night” for young girls who practiced needlework to observe house spiders of the court (xizi), storing them until dawn in hopes to reveal their fortune. If the spider had spun a tightly-woven web, it was a positive omen and read as a reflection of the young woman’s skills. If the web was sparse or unbuilt, the opposite was true.

In Christianity, we encounter the tale of Saint Felix di Nola who, upon being persecuted due to his preaching, slipped through a narrow gap in a nearby ruinous house in order to conceal himself. Once inside, by God's command, spiders spun a protective web across the opening, tricking his persecutors into believing no one could have traversed the space, who then continued on their path. The spider-as-trickster appears myriad: in North America for the Cheyenne Peoples as Veeho, for the Lakota as Iktómi; in West Africa as Kwaku Anansi—a rogue, arachnid folk hero whose cunning, unpredictable and liminal figure mediates between the gods of the sky and earth-bound humans.

Tarantism, a phenomenon originally believed to be caused by a bite from the Lycosa tarantula or Latrodectus tredecimguttatus, is a form of ‘hysterical’ behavior—and accompanying dancing mania—originating in Southern Italy. The tarantella dance, a series of folk dances with roots in Calabria (Sonu a ballu), Campania (tammurriata) and Puglia (pizzica), evolved as a speculative therapy—a type of musical exorcism—for the ‘victims’ of such spider bites: it is said that such convulsion-invoking rhythms, performed publicly, often for days on end, were used to revive and heal those who had succumbed to the spider’s venom.

In North America, the Hopi and Navajo Peoples count on their Mujer Araña as both a powerful spirit and ally, whose magical agency of the Earth would teach them to weave; for other Californian tribes, she is an avenging spirit that punishes evil. In Greek mythology, the figure of Arachne is entangled within a ‘web of resistance’ with goddess Athena, revealing another tale of mediation: of two women who use embroidery as a performative textuality, confronting and defending the social order.

Mediation across lines of species and language continues today: the historic ŋgam dù spider divination, as practiced by the Mambila People in the borderlands of Cameroon and Nigeria, brings its diviners and consultees into acute relation, awareness and sensitivity to a spider’s oracular capacities. During a consultation, a set of binary questions is presented to a ground-dwelling spider. Cards placed at the entrance to its burrow, made from stiff plant leaves and featuring cut-out shapes (ŋgèe) with specific symbolic meanings, are rearranged by the spider whose response is then interpreted by the diviner.

Myths for syncretic belief

Starting from an object like the confessional, and from a nature like that of the spider/webs, Tomás Saraceno’s idea is to conceive and devise a new liturgy and set up a ritual for a festive day, as if for the public it was not only a matter of visiting an exhibition, but of sanctifying (or making meaningful, important, profound) a day through participation in a ritual.

Liturgy is a science and an art, made of objects, gestures, signs, words, because it is a concrete and beautiful action that—through contact with sensible elements and postures—makes known a greater reality (a truth): there are no spontaneous gestures in it. The arachnophilia project which Saraceno will conceive, includes readings (prayers, lessons, music from the various traditions and in accordance with various converging liturgies concerning an attention and reverence for Nature) objects (the confessional), mysteries (the spider/webs) and ritual gestures or attitudes (greetings, ablutions, etc.) so that the audience is no longer the absolute and spontaneous master of its own movements (because of the erasure of the self and anonymity that flow from the liturgy). The resulting catalog, too, will be like a small breviary or lectionary containing the readings, the stories of this ceremony and its cosmological correspondences.

It is not a matter of simulating a liturgy, but of actually setting it: the pacing and reflection up to the confessional, the kneeling, the participation in the mystery contained therein. For Saraceno, the Confessional recapitulates all the secrets of tradition: it is also a chapel—like those chapels one encounters on street corners—treasure chest. Inside, there is, as Nietzsche wrote, a God-spider weaving, just as a weaving is every ceremony. Saraceno's purpose is also to restore a liturgical sensibility to people (solemn repetition of a gesture, cyclical ceremonies and fixed readings).

Logically, all the paraphernalia that will be used and all the gestures and operations that will be carried out—as is typical of a liturgy—refer back to a meaning: liturgy is not choreography, but every position refers back to such signification. If, for example, one conceives of man’s relationship with Nature still as unequal, in order to convey the mystery of the equality of humans and animals, certain gestures will have to ritually make one understand the hidden meaning to which one is referring—and as already written: we confess to Nature, we confess our ecological guilt against Nature: man—through the confessional—asks forgiveness from the Cosmos, therefore Saraceno's rite is first and foremost a non-sacrificial rite...and its profound function is precisely to revoke all the sacrificial rites of the past for a new mode of reconciliation through the liturgy of art. — Gianni Garrera

Tomás Saraceno

Tomás Saraceno (b. 1973, he/him/his) is an Argentina-born, Berlin-based artist whose projects dialogue with forms of life and life-forming, rethinking dominant threads of knowledge and recognizing how diverse modes of being engage a multiplicity of vibrations on the Web of Life. For more than two decades, Saraceno has worked with local communities, scientific researchers, and institutions around the world, and has activated open-source, interdisciplinary, collective projects, including Museo Aero Solar (2007–), the Aerocene Foundation (2015–),  and Arachnophilia, towards a society free from carbon emissions, for intra and interspecies climate justice.

Saraceno has been the subject of solo exhibitions and permanent installations at museums and institutions internationally, including The Serpentine Gallery, London (2023), The Shed, New York (2022), Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2018);  Museo de Arte Moderno, Buenos Aires (2017); K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Ständehaus, Dusseldorf (2013); the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2012); and Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin (2011). Saraceno has participated in numerous festivals and biennales, including the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale (2020) and the 53rd and 58th Venice Biennales (2009, 2019).

Tomás Saraceno and the city of Matera

The city of Matera, with its peculiar urban ontology, is for Saraceno a territory of choice, already because of the origin, albeit hypothetical, of the city's name, which refers to the Greek Meteoron, starry sky, since the city seen after sunset from the side of the Murgia makes Matera comparable to the night sky dotted with stars. Matera is a kind of network carved into the tuffaceous rock, which one has the impression could connect the whole world. An underground world, inhabited and alive, whose souls were once recorded by the little lights placed on the entrances of a consubstantial and close, but different world: a sort of other dimension.

Saraceno’s repeat visits to Matera, starting nine years ago and culminating in July 2022 with his visit to the National Museum of Matera and to the Church of Carmine—located inside the museum at Palazzo Lanfranchi—fostered inspiration which led to the creation of the Life(s) of Webs, arachnophobias, arachnophilias, and other stories confessional. Saraceno has grasped the intrinsic spiritual value of the city of the Sassi, which is well suited to accommodate the holistic and universal nature of its glass showcases with the hybrid spider webs inside, created through the sequential collaboration of spiders of different species: solitary, semi-social and social. The spider webs are also understood as a sublunar mirror due to their similarity and resemblance to dark matter, the cosmic web that supports galaxies and worlds, visible only through the gravitational lens, which vibrates in astral time, generating the worldly music that the Pythagoreans already told us about and which we now call cosmic background noise.

The sound of worlds vibrates with vibrations similar to those of the spider's web that spiders play, one might venture, as if it were a harp, restoring to those who can and know how to listen the sounds of love, of the hunt, of fear just as the cosmos restores in the chords of dark matter the whirling chirping to perfection of the silence of a pair of black holes merging into one, which took place millions of light years ago. For those of us who only concretely have the category of linear time, through Saraceno's work we seem to have a greater affinity with the idea that our eyes perceive the shimmering of stars that have stopped shining in a distant time that we cannot even imagine.

Arachnophilia 

Saraceno is the founder of Arachnophilia, an interdisciplinary, research-driven community, focusing on the extraordinary architecture of spider webs and their behaviors, which entangle us in various cultural perceptions, myths, and relationships. Through expanding its artistic networks, the Arachnophilia community seeks to invent innovative, playful and engaging platforms for bringing research discourse into the public sphere. At Studio Tomás Saraceno, this consists of research and praxis in the fields of biomateriomics, bioacoustics, ethology and cognitive science, among others, as a way of engaging speculatively, but also sensitively, with the forms of life that exist all around us. 

Together with the Arachnophilia community, Saraceno’s love for spiders and their webs has led to innumerous collaborations with them. Notably, he invented the Spider/Web Scan, a novel, laser-supported tomographic technique that allowed precise 3-D models of complex spider/webs to be made for the first time — this invention resulted in leading research groups around the world, from MIT to Max Planck Institute, coming to learn from this collaboration. 

Another of Arachnophilia’s developments is that of hyper-sensitive microphones that sense the vibrations of spiders through their webs. These methods and technologies, besides becoming artworks in themselves, were also documented and extensively covered in art publications as well by internationally renowned scientific and technological journals, such as Nature, PNAS, MIT and others. Further research areas include an archive of spider/web vibrations recorded on different web types, building upon the biotremological innovations in spider/web recording and sonification devices developed by Studio Tomás Saraceno; an archive of maps of spider/web ecologies, that make visible the ways in which spider and human habitats are intertwined, in sites across the globe. By sharing the content of these archives as well as the tools with which to collaboratively build and enrich them, the Arachnophilia community hopes to empower a broader audience to contribute to an understanding of our relationships with our arachnid kin, and therefore to cultivate renewed perspective on our responsibilities toward the nonhuman creatures with whom we share our environments.

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Nell'ambito delle celebrazioni per i cento anni dalla nascita di Scotellaro, presentiamo insieme a Chora Media il podcast Un filo d’erba, una profonda esplorazione della vita e delle opere del poeta lucano, scritta e raccontata da Franco Arminio.

Nel corso di due episodi di circa 30 minuti, il podcast guida l’ascoltatore attraverso le molteplici vite di Scotellaro: dagli umili inizi agli studi nelle città del nord Italia così differenti dalla sua terra natale; dall'attività letteraria all’amicizia con intellettuali illustri come Carlo Levi; dall’elezione a sindaco di Tricarico all’ingiusta esperienza carceraria, fino alla morte, arrivata improvvisamente a soli trent’anni.

Franco Arminio, poeta, paesologo e autore di numerosi libri acclamati dalla critica, porta la sua esperienza e la profonda comprensione del territorio italiano in questo podcast. Arminio offre così, con il suo stile coinvolgente e appassionato, una prospettiva unica sulla vita di Scotellaro, cercando di illuminarne anche gli aspetti meno conosciuti.

Buon ascolto!

Episodio 1 - Poeta di lotta
L’impegno politico di Scotellaro è stato il filo rosso della sua vita: le idee condivise con i grandi intellettuali dell’epoca, l’impegno per la comunità contadina, l’incarico a sindaco di Tricarico, fino all’arresto perché la sua denuncia sociale risultava scomoda. Raccontare la sua storia oggi significa tramandare la sua straordinaria passione civile alle nuove generazioni.

Episodio 2 - Poeta d’amore
Nelle opere di Rocco Scotellaro emergono vividi i volti delle persone attorno a lui. E il suo legame con i compaesani, con la madre e la poetessa Amelia Rosselli è forte quanto quello con la sua terra e le sue radici. Raccontiamo la sua vita personale e le passioni che hanno infiammato la sua breve esistenza.

Credits
Un filo d'erba è un podcast di Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019 prodotto da Chora Media.
Scritto e narrato da Franco Arminio.
Cura editoriale: Marco Villa.
Redazione e editing: Francesca Abruzzese.
Executive producer: Ilaria Celeghin.
Supervisione suono e musiche: Luca Micheli.
Post-produzione e montaggio: Guido Bertolotti, Cosma Castellucci, Mattia Liciotti.
Fonico di presa diretta: Livio Arminio.
Post Producer: Matteo Scelsa.
Si ringraziano per Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019: Giovanni Padula, Rita Orlando, Rosa Carbone, Rita Scalcione.

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Il rilancio dell'interesse verso la ricerca intellettuale e politica di Rocco Scotellaro, per proiettarla nel dibattito attuale sullo sviluppo del Mezzogiorno, è al centro dell’incontro “Un filo d’erba. Cantiere Scotellaro” con il poeta, scrittore e paesologo Franco Arminio e il giornalista Mario Calabresi, promosso in collaborazione con Chora Media, in programma giovedì 9 novembre alle 18:00 a Matera nella sala conferenze di Basilicata Open Space, in piazza Vittorio Veneto.

In occasione dei cento anni dalla nascita e i settant’anni dalla morte del giovane poeta, intellettuale e politico di Tricarico, abbiamo scelto di raccontarne l’eredità e attualità, utilizzando uno dei linguaggi più diffusi di oggi, quello del podcast. Nasce così “Un filo d’erba”, podcast sulla vita e le opere di Rocco Scotellaro, prodotto da Chora Media, scritto e narrato da Franco Arminio.

L’iniziativa non intende avere un carattere meramente celebrativo, ma punta a dare un contributo alle riflessioni sulle questioni legate alla crescita del Sud Italia, dallo spopolamento all’esodo dei giovani, ripartendo proprio dal pensiero e l’azione di Scotellaro. Il suo impegno è rimasto a un bivio perché interrotto bruscamente dalla sua prematura scomparsa: Rocco Scotellaro diventa oggi un cantiere all’interno del quale lavorare per costruire il futuro di questi territori. 

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È disponibile la graduatoria definitiva delle proposte progettuali relative all’Avviso Pubblico per l’erogazione di contributi finalizzati alla realizzazione di attività ed eventi culturali per l’anno 2023.

D.D. n.67 del 09.12.2023 Approvazione graduatoria definitiva delle proposte progettuali relative all’Avviso Pubblico per l’erogazione di contributi finalizzati alla realizzazione di attività ed eventi culturali per l’anno 2023

All.1 alla D.D. n.67 del 09.12.2023 Graduatoria definitiva suddivisa per macroaree


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Nell'ambito dell’Accordo stipulato con la Regione Basilicata per la cooperazione sullo sviluppo dell’offerta culturale e creativa in Basilicata, abbiamo pubblicato l' Avviso pubblico per l’erogazione di contributi finalizzati alla realizzazione di attività ed eventi culturali.

L’Avviso intende sostenere l’attività degli organismi che operano nell’ambito storico-culturale, musicale, cinematografico e delle arti creative, nonché di carattere interdisciplinare, attraverso l’assegnazione di contributi per la realizzazione di progetti culturali in Basilicata in grado di potenziare la produzione e coordinare le opportunità di fruizione culturale nella Regione, come fattori di crescita e di coesione sociale. 

Possono essere presentati e finanziati a valere sull’Avviso, i progetti rientranti in una delle tipologie denominate macroaree: Azione A Macroarea Grandi produzioni musicali (nuove produzioni discografiche che diffondano la cultura musicale lucana;  circuitazione delle produzioni discografiche e musicali ovvero diffusione a livello regionale e nazionale); Azione B Macroarea  Residenze artistiche ; Azione C Macroarea  Festival e rassegne cinematografiche (festival cinematografici, rassegne cinematografiche);  Azione D Macroarea Festival, rassegne culturali e iniziative convegnistiche di grande interesse  (festival, rassegne, convegni di grande interesse).

COME PARTECIPARE

I requisiti dei soggetti che potranno partecipare, le tipologie dei progetti ammissibili, i criteri di valutazione dei progetti e di quantificazione dei contributi, le modalità e le condizioni di erogazione, le modalità e i termini della rendicontazione nonché i casi di riduzione o revoca dei contributi stessi sono indicati nell’Avviso.

Avviso pubblico per l’erogazione di contributi finalizzati alla realizzazione di attività ed eventi culturali

All.1 - azione A - Macroarea Grandi produzioni musicali

All.2 - azione B - Macroarea Residenze artistiche

All.3 - azione C - Macroarea Festival e rassegne cinematografiche

All.4 - azione D - Macroarea Festival, rassegne culturali e iniziative convegnistiche di grande interesse

  All.5 - Domanda di ammissione al contributo

  All.6 - Form progetto

  All.7 - Form Piano economico-finanziario

  All.8 - Form Cronoprogramma

FAQ
 

FINO A QUANDO È POSSIBILE PARTECIPARE

L’invio della Proposta progettuale, corredata di tutta la documentazione prevista dall’Avviso, dovrà avvenire esclusivamente mediante Posta Elettronica Certificata (PEC) del soggetto richiedente all’indirizzo This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. entro le ore 23:59 del 26  ottobre 2023. 

PER INFORMAZIONI

Sarà possibile inviare eventuali richieste di chiarimento, scrivendo all’indirizzo e-mail  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Insieme al Polo Bibliotecario di Potenza e l’Istituto comprensivo di Bella e in collaborazione con AIB - Associazione Italiana Biblioteche Sezione Basilicata, organizziamo il 25 e 26 settembre un doppio appuntamento a Potenza e Matera dedicato al ruolo delle biblioteche nell’infrastruttura sociale, attraverso l’incontro con Antonella Agnoli, autrice del volume “La casa di tutti. Città e biblioteche” (Editori Laterza, 2023).

Grazie alla presenza di Antonella Agnoli, profonda conoscitrice dei luoghi della conoscenza condivisa e acuta interprete delle dinamiche che legano le biblioteche e le città, i due incontri sono l’occasione per confrontarsi con amministratori, bibliotecari, lettori, animatori culturali e sociali e cittadini sul futuro dei nostri centri, che passa anche da una rinnovata visione dei presidi bibliotecari in essi presenti.

Il 25 settembre alle ore 16:00, nella sede del Polo Bibliotecario di Potenza (Via don Minozzi), l’autrice dialoga con Luigi Catalani, il direttore del Polo, Mario Priore, docente dell’Istituto comprensivo di Bella, Fedele Congedo, progettista di processi partecipativi, Giovanni Padula, Direttore della Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019. Porgono i saluti Dina Sileo, Presidente della quarta commissione del Consiglio regionale della Basilicata con delega alla Cultura, e Alessandra Sagarese, assessore alla pubblica istruzione del Comune di Potenza.

Il 26 settembre l’appuntamento si sposta a Matera, nello spazio di Ecoverticale alle 18:30 (via d’Addozio, 141), dove in dialogo con Antonella Agnoli c'è Rita Orlando, project manager della Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019, Emmanuele Curti, Lo Stato dei Luoghi, il direttore Luigi Catalani. Porta i saluti l’Assessore alla cultura del Comune di Matera, Tiziana D’Oppido.

Sia a Potenza che a Matera l'ingresso è libero.

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La fase di selezione della call publica per la seconda edizione del progetto “Comunità Creative. Programma di residenze di co-creazione” è terminata!

Per il profilo giovani professionisti under 40, esperti in progettazione culturale, community management, experience design, progettazione partecipativa, design thinking per la cultura, social design, social innovation, sono stati selezionati:

MARICA GIRARDI
La sua  ricerca e pratica lavorativa si basa su tre assi: spazi pubblici, processi partecipati e arti performative. Settori che sovrappone e intreccia  costantemente per permettere ai Cittadini/e e alle Amministrazioni Locali di creare un confronto verbale costante nonchè di usare il corpo come elemento politico e proattivo nella vita delle comunità e dei luoghi.

LIVIANO MARIELLA
Architetto di formazione, ricercatore indipendente, progettista culturale e designer civico. Si occupo di ricerca e sviluppo di  progetti culturali, accompagnando enti pubblici e organizzazioni in pratiche di innovazione e animazione sociale, capacity building e management di processi complessi e multi-stakeholder, principalmente nelle aree interne e in territori rurali. 

KEDY CLAUDIA CELLAMARE
Progettista al servizio di realtà artistiche e culturali, disegna e gestisce processi partecipativi. Si occupa di animazione territoriale con  l'obiettivo di stimolare  cittadini, cittadine ed enti gestori,imprese sociali nella creazione di nuovi spazi per l'erogazione di servizi di welfare, per promuovere la creazione di reti e per raccogliere e sviluppare idee utili ai territori.

BARBARA VECCHIONE
Architetta di professione, Il suo  lavoro più recente si concentra sulla creazione di strategie di engagement innovative per coinvolgere i cittadini nei processi decisionali che incidono sulla loro quotidianità. Collabora sia in contesti urbani che rurali con amministrazioni pubbliche, stakeholder e comunità per promuovere la partecipazione e il dialogo nei progetti di design.

Per il profilo industrie culturali e creative lucane, la selezione è stata superata da due realtà attive sul territorio:

TORRETTA SRL, Matera (MT)
Società con sede a Matera che lavora nel campo della produzione e progettazione di contenuti culturali, nella gestione e progettazione di spazi di comunità e nell’animazione territoriale a base culturale. L’impresa culturale è composta da progettisti culturali, esperti di comunicazione digitale, educatori museali ed esperti di architettura, design di interni e paesaggio. Lavora, prevalentemente, sul territorio lucano con la specifica intenzione di cercare nuovi metodi gestionali e di produzione dei contenuti culturali, declinati su un territorio che sta subendo un costante decremento di popolazione e che ha bisogno di trovare nuove dinamiche di racconto.

ARTEPOLLINO, Latronico (PZ)
L’associazione opera nel Parco Nazionale del Pollino, e non solo, proponendo iniziative volte a coinvolgere le comunità, le scuole, i turisti, e a sensibilizzare all’arte e ai linguaggi del contemporaneo. Progetta, realizza e gestisce attività culturali con partner italiani e stranieri. Coinvolge artisti, organizza workshop, eventi dedicati alla cultura e all’arte. 

A partire dal 22 ottobre 2023, i selezionati svolgeranno una residenza creativa di sei settimane in Basilicata durante la quale lavoreranno insieme per la creazione di un modello di biblioteca/presidio culturale, inteso come spazio ibrido, spostandosi a rotazione in uno dei quattro comuni lucani scelti per lo studio pilota del progetto sulla base delle loro diverse caratteristiche: Balvano (PZ), Filiano (PZ), Latronico (PZ), Miglionico (MT). Al progetto prenderanno parte anche le comunità ospitanti, ovvero le associazioni dei comuni coinvolti nella residenza.

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Dopo il successo dello scorso anno, lanciamo due nuovi bandi per la seconda edizione del progetto “Creative communities. Programma di residenze di co-creazione” in memoria di David Sassoli. 

Il progetto, realizzato per questa edizione in collaborazione con il Polo Bibliotecario di Potenza, con il supporto de Lo Stato dei Luoghi e il Patto per la Lettura del Lagonegrese e con il patrocinio dei Comuni Balvano, Filiano, Latronico, Miglionico, intende promuovere un programma di residenze creative nelle aree interne della Basilicata, finalizzato ad ideare un nuovo modello di presidio culturale, a scala regionale, con al centro una biblioteca.

Durante l’anno da Capitale Europea della Cultura, Matera è stata un esempio di come città medio-piccole, collocate in aree marginali, possano promuovere e dar luogo a nuovi modelli di cultura fortemente partecipata, dimostrando come molto spesso i vincoli sono un’occasione per ripensare e riprogettare i modi di produrre e abitare la cultura.   

Da qui la volontà di disegnare un modello per la creazione di presidi culturali territoriali, che possano svolgere un duplice ruolo di spazio educativo e di aggregazione insieme all’erogazione di servizi di base, con l’obiettivo di favorire, nei contesti maggiormente caratterizzati da povertà economica e relazionale, l’accesso alla cultura, alla socialità e all’educazione, creando occasioni di partecipazione e cambiamento sociale ed offrendo servizi di welfare di prossimità e servizi per i visitatori.

Le biblioteche hanno la caratteristica di essere distribuite capillarmente sul territorio,  sono presidi di democrazia e di parità tra i cittadini e promuovono la coesione sociale e il benessere delle comunità locali attraverso la cultura. La sfida del nostro tempo è quella di sostenere l'attività e la centralità delle biblioteche rendendole luoghi sempre più sostenibili, attrattivi, accessibili, inclusivi e in grado di rispondere ai bisogni delle persone nei diversi territori di riferimento.

CHI PUÒ PARTECIPARE

I due avvisi pubblici sono destinati a individuare rispettivamente quattro giovani professioniste/i, esperte/i in progettazione culturale, community management, experience design, progettazione partecipativa, design thinking per la cultura, social design, social innovation, e quattro imprese culturali e creative operanti in Basilicata, chiamati a realizzare una residenza creativa della durata complessiva di sei settimane tra ottobre e dicembre 2023. 

I soggetti selezionati lavoreranno insieme per la creazione di un modello di biblioteca/presidio culturale, inteso come spazio ibrido, spostandosi a rotazione in uno dei quattro comuni lucani scelti per lo studio pilota del progetto, sulla base delle loro diverse caratteristiche: Balvano (PZ), Filiano (PZ), Latronico (PZ), Miglionico (MT). 
Il team di lavoro sarà affiancato anche dai rappresentanti di quattro associazioni locali dei comuni coinvolti nella residenza e da un coordinatore, individuati dalla Fondazione.

FINO A QUANDO È POSSIBILE PARTECIPARE

Scadenza: ore 23.59 del 21 settembre 2023 (la precedente scadenza al 17 settembre 2023 è stata prorogata)

COME PARTECIPARE


SEI UNA/UN PROFESSIONISTA?

Scarica e leggi la call pubblica, scarica l’application form, compilato e invialo, insieme agli altri documenti richiesti dal bando, via mail a: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. entro le ore 23.59 del 21 settembre 2023 (la precedente scadenza al 17 settembre 2023 è stata prorogata). Oggetto: Creative Communities - cat. esperti

Call pubblica: "Creative Communities 2023. Programma di residenze di co-creazione"- cat.esperti (ITA)

  Application form - cat.esperti (ITA)


SEI UN'IMPRESA CULTURALE E CREATIVA LUCANA?

Scarica e leggi la call pubblica, scarica l’application form, compilato e invialo, insieme agli altri documenti richiesti dal bando, via mail a: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. entro le ore 23.59 del 21 settembre 2023  (la precedente scadenza al 17 settembre 2023 è stata prorogata). Oggetto: Creative Communities - cat. ICC

Call pubblica: "Creative Communities 2023. Programma di residenze di co-creazione"- cat. ICC (ITA)

  Application form - cat. ICC (ITA)

PER INFORMAZIONI

Se hai bisogno di chiarimenti o informazioni scrivi a: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. entro e non oltre il 14 settembre 2023.

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photo credits M. Rodriguez

Comporre e scomporre un’opera d’arte frutto del lavoro corale e appassionato di un gruppo di persone è l’elemento che accomuna la tecnica settecentesca dei Tableaux Vivants e la lunga tradizione del carro trionfale della Madonna della Bruna. Nell’ambito delle celebrazioni della 634° edizione della Festa della Bruna, insieme all’Associazione Maria SS della Bruna e in collaborazione con il Museo nazionale di Matera, presentiamo lo spettacolo Tableaux Vivants da Caravaggio in scena sabato 8 luglio alle 21:00 nel cortile dell’Ex Ospedale di San Rocco, per la regia di Dora De Maio in collaborazione con Mauro Milanese.

Lo spettacolo rappresenta l’esito del laboratorio teatrale “L’ombra e la grazia. Ricreare quadri per abitare corpi” realizzato nel mese di giugno dalla Compagnia Ludovica Rambelli, cui hanno preso parte 14 cittadini che hanno risposto alla nostra chiamata pubblica. Un gruppo eterogeneo, composto da giovani e meno giovani fra lavoratori, studenti, pensionati, provenienti da Matera e della provincia di Bari, alcuni già protagonisti, altri alla prima esperienza nelle progettualità di partecipazione attiva durante Matera Capitale europea della cultura 2019, si è messo in gioco a livello fisico e mentale, per entrare in relazione profonda con l’altro e lavorare insieme alla ricostruzione umana delle tele del Caravaggio. 

Lo spettacolo prevede la composizione dal vivo di 26 fra i più celebri quadri dell’artista, fra cui la Deposizione, la Morte della Vergine, la Madonna dei Pellegrini, il martirio di Santa Lucia, realizzati sia dai cittadini coinvolti nel laboratorio, sia dagli attori professionisti della Compagnia Ludovica Rambelli, famosa per la tecnica dei Tableaux Vivants. Sulle note dei più celebri compositori di musica classica come Mozart e Bach, arte pittorica e arte teatrale si sovrappongono gradatamente fino a coincidere in maniera perfetta.

L’ingresso allo spettacolo Tableaux Vivants da Caravaggio è gratuito e libero, fino ad esaurimento dei posti disponibili.

Tableaux vivants per la Festa della Bruna 2023 / Il video racconto

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Partecipazione dei cittadini e valorizzazione della tradizione attraverso le arti e la sperimentazione sono gli elementi caratterizzanti il nostro nuovo progetto con l’associazione Maria SS della Bruna, con cui anche quest’anno rinnoviamo la lunga collaborazione per la festa della Madonna della Bruna.

Cittadini permanenti e temporanei sono chiamati a prendere parte, nel mese di giugno, al laboratorio teatrale intensivo “L’ombra e la grazia. Ricreare quadri per abitare corpi” guidati dalla Compagnia Ludovica Rambelli Teatro per la realizzazione dello spettacolo Tableaux Vivants da Caravaggio che andrà in scena l’8 luglio nell'ex ospedale di San Rocco alle ore 21:00 per la regia di Dora De Maio.

Lo spettacolo dei tableaux vivants raccoglie al suo interno sia la componente artistica sia quella religiosa: nei quadri plastici si fondono infatti pittura, fotografia, teatro, musica e linguaggio del corpo, restituendo nelle immagini rappresentante sul palco le scene ispirate al Vangelo e alla Bibbia. Obiettivo condiviso con l’Associazione è infatti la valorizzazione della Festa della Bruna con l’allargamento del programma culturale ad essa connesso, facendo emergere la dimensione comunitaria, religiosa e artistica, partecipata e inclusiva, creando al contempo un’offerta turistico-culturale.

CHI PUÒ PARTECIPARE
Al laboratorio potranno prendere parte 15 cittadini fra i 16 e i 65 anni. Non è richiesto nessun tipo di esperienza precedente, né di danza né di teatro, ma solo un ottimo stato di salute fisica e un’attitudine al lavoro corporeo.
Il laboratorio è strutturato in due fasi: la prima prevede un training fisico utile a sviluppare il ritmo, la gestualità, l’uso degli equilibri, la relazione con lo spazio, l'autocontrollo e la relazione armonica all’interno del gruppo di lavoro. Nella seconda sono previste elaborazioni di partiture di improvvisazioni, e la costruzione di tableaux vivants su Caravaggio.
L’impegno richiesto è di 6 ore al giorno nel fine settimana, dalle 10:00 alle 13:00 e dalle 14:00 alle 17:00, secondo il seguente calendario: venerdì 2 e sabato 3 giugno, venerdì 9 e sabato 10 giugno, sabato 17 e domenica 18 giugno, sabato 24 e domenica 25 giugno.

COME PARTECIPARE
Il laboratorio si svolgerà a Matera nell’auditorium della parrocchia di Cristo Re (Via Antonio Gramsci, 11).
Per partecipare è necessario inviare una mail all’indirizzo This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. entro lunedì 29 maggio ore 12:00, specificando nome, cognome, data di nascita e contatto telefonico (per i minori dovrà provvedere il genitore). Le adesioni saranno accolte in ordine di arrivo.

PERCHÈ PARTECIPARE
Concept artistico / Laboratorio "L’ombra e la grazia. Ricreare quadri per abitare corpi".
A cura di Ludovica Rambelli Teatro – Les Tableaux

“Vedere con gli occhi del corpo”, mi piace iniziare con questa immagine di San Francesco d’Assisi, quando nel 1223 diede vita al primo tableau vivant (quello della Natività), per comunicare il nucleo centrale del lavoro proposto. Esplorare la geografia del corpo, rispetto allo spazio scenico, al corpo dell’altro e in relazione alla musica è il punto di partenza di questo laboratorio. Attraverso un riscaldamento molto minuzioso che parte dalla punta dell’alluce e arriva al cuoio capelluto, si cercherà di dare una consapevolezza profonda di quell’ involucro meraviglioso in cui abitiamo. Siamo sempre più abituati a vedere in nostro corpo allo specchio, a ridurre tutto a immagine vuota in cui non ci riconosciamo, perché non siamo abbastanza qualcosa, e siamo spesso in conflitto con tutti questi pezzi di carne, ossa e muscoli con cui facciamo i conti da sempre che non sempre riusciamo a gestire. Azzerare il giudizio, sospendere il pensiero, ascoltare il respiro, in uno spazio neutro in cui tutti siamo sullo stesso livello, fili di perle di una sola collana, che si chiude in un cerchio perfetto. Ciò che vogliamo ritrovare è un corpo vivo, un corpo ritmico, capace di farsi strumento, attraverso lo svuotamento dell’io, e fare spazio all’opera d’arte, al pittorico che è insito nella natura di ognuno di noi. Il quadro diventa vivo: imparare a riprodurre un personaggio senza interpretarlo, senza re-citarlo, ma facendosi attraversare da esso nell’hic et nunc, è l’obiettivo finale. La forza di questo lavoro è data dal fatto che è al contempo lavoro su se stessi e lavoro corale: imparare una nuova forma di relazione, in cui l’altro viene prima di me e in cui non posso fare senza di lui è viceversa; saper camminare insieme, seguendo lo stesso ritmo, la stessa direzione ed essere capaci per un instante di fermare il tempo e restituire agli occhi dello spettatore la meraviglia, un breve stato di grazia in cui il quadro si manifesta, ma non per mia volontà, solo grazie all’incontro di corpi, che senza darsi alcun segnale, decidono di fermarsi, passando dall’ombra alla luce, rinunciano insieme alla propria individualità e danno vita a Madonne, Santi e poveri Cristi. Proprio seguendo le orme di Caravaggio, diventiamo modelli da dipingere, dopo aver preso il divertimento di creare un costume con pochi drappi e una scena con semplici oggetti. La nostra ricerca non mira a una bellezza estetizzante e vuota, bensì a una bellezza sublime, data dall’unicità di ogni essere umano.

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ArtLab. Territori, Cultura, Innovazione è l’appuntamento indipendente italiano dedicato all’innovazione delle politiche, dei programmi e delle pratiche culturali, promosso, a partire dal 2006, da Fondazione Fitzcarraldo che coinvolge reti europee, agenzie e istituti culturali di diversi Paesi, amministrazioni pubbliche, agenzie territoriali, fondazioni, imprese, istituzioni, università, organizzazioni professionali. Siamo parte della rete e partecipiamo anche all’edizione di Bari / Matera, dal 19 a 21 aprile 2023.

I temi in discussione, individuati insieme alla rete dei partner, sono: il ruolo delle imprese culturali e creative nel PNRR e nelle politiche di coesione, il welfare culturale, le forme di collaborazione e i partenariati pubblico-privati, le condizioni abilitanti per la transizione digitale e le nuove competenze richieste dalle trasformazioni del settore.

In particolare, coerenti ai nostri obiettivi di legacy, i percorsi delle Capitali Europee e Italiane della Cultura sono al centro di due momenti di riflessione sulla valutazione degli impatti, competenze trasversali ed eredità delle esperienze: Capitale Italiana della Cultura. Dal 2015 al 2022: dati, esperienze, cambiamenti, a cura di Fondazione Scuola dei beni e delle attività culturali e, a Matera, ECoC - European Capital of Culture come palestra di competenze complesse per gli attori territoriali, a nostra cura.

Scopri qui il programma completo.

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Le sinergie tra Matera e le aree interne della Basilicata sono lo strumento fondamentale per far arrivare il turista culturale dalla Capitale europea della Cultura al resto della regione. È stato questo il focus al centro dell’incontro promosso insieme alla Regione Basilicata e al Comune di Matera alla Bit di Milano all’interno dello spazio espositivo di Apt Basilicata.

In occasione dell'incontro abbiamo presentato i temi e le progettualità su cui intendiamo lavorare in questo nostro nuovo corso, creando connessioni fra Matera e il resto della regione: il cambiamento climatico e la sostenibilità ambientale, anche  in relazione alla fragilità dei nostri territori; l’innovazione e la digitalizzazione, attraverso la creazione di un grande archivio di memorie di quanti sono andati via dalla Basilicata; le residenze artistiche come attivatori di processi di co-creazione nelle aree interne e al contempo come strumento di ingaggio del visitatore.
Ripartendo dall’eredità di Capitale Europea della Cultura 2019 ci proponiamo di estendere una proposta culturale multiforme e contemporanea non solo agli abitanti ma anche ai visitatori della regione. Intendiamo ingaggiare il turista proponendo un’accoglienza ispirata dalla creatività. Insieme ad APT Basilicata proveremo a spingere quindi il loro percorso di visita fino alle aree interne ricche di iniziative artistiche orientate a chi vuol viaggiare insieme alla cultura.
Un programma animato dalle arti performative farà conoscere ai turisti un grande poeta lucano come Rocco Scotellaro, nel centenario della sua nascita, provando a scoprire insieme a chi viaggia gli altri scrittori italiani con un legame profondo con le città e il territorio in cui hanno profuso il loro impegno civico e artistico. La diaspora dei lucani del mondo alimenta oggi il turismo delle radici in Basilicata e apriremo un canale rivolto a chi mantiene un legame profondo con la nostra regione, una specie di grande archivio digitale della diaspora.

Sul binomio arte e aree interne, due delle realtà virtuose attive in Basilicata presentate alla Bit sono state l’associazione Artepollino, che lavora nel Parco nazionale del Pollino, e il festival di arte pubblica AppARTEngo a Stigliano (MT).
In particolare, il presidente di Artepollino Gaetano Lofrano, ha spiegato come l'inserimento di opere d’arte all’interno di un’area protetta quale quella del Parco ha consentito di attrarre un nuovo pubblico, dando la possibilità agli artisti coinvolti di andare alla scoperta del territorio e reinterpretarlo con uno sguardo differente. Pietro Micucci, ideatore di AppARTEngo, ha invece raccontato il festival come un manifesto del senso di appartenenza, capace di mostrare la Basilicata più accogliente e creativa. Attraverso lo sguardo di artisti nazionali e internazionali, si è puntato a ricostruire un’identità locale che si era ormai smarrita, riuscendo a reinterpretare le proprie radici.

Insieme è la parola chiave!

Thanks to renewed trust, we are ready to relaunch the Foundation's actions in Matera, Basilicata, Italy and Europe!

A new mission that aims at consolidating our territory as a place of cultural production, expanding European and Mediterranean networks and supporting projects and local creativity.

2023, let's go!

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Dopo tre settimane di lavoro degli artisti nelle comunità di Forenza, Rionero in Vulture, Stigliano e Tursi, si avvia a conclusione il programma euro-mediterraneo di residenza di co-creazione in memoria di David Sassoli “Creative Communities”.

Dal 25 al 27 novembre 2022, si tengono infatti gli esiti finali dei percorsi sviluppati con le comunità dai quattro artisti selezionati in collaborazione con le associazioni dei quattro comuni e le realtà della scena creativa lucana coinvolte nel progetto.


25 novembre ore 18:00 / Tursi (MT)
Via Pietro Giannone, San Filippo / Palazzo Monumentale fratelli Bruno (ex Municipio)

Basilicata calling
People of Tursi
Mostra finale del progetto Basilicata Calling - Un legame personale  con l’Italia rurale: tre settimane di residenza creativa e tre videochiamate per mettere in contatto la comunità di Tursi con tre nomadi digitali di Berlino, attraverso un processo creativo di condivisione del patrimonio materiale ed immateriale.
L'area espositiva ospiterà il racconto foto-documentario del viaggio compiuto da Happy Place durante il periodo di residenza temporanea: fotografie e testi mostreranno il legame personale con la comunità ospitante e le persone incontrate durante il viaggio.
In altre tre sale saranno proiettate le registrazioni delle videochiamate.
La mostra prevede anche una sezione di ritratti, con l'obiettivo di celebrare la comunità locale, e un'installazione digitale chiamata #PeopleOfTursi, un'opera d'arte basata su immagini della comunità di Tursi condivise su Instagram.

26 novembre ore 10:30 / Stigliano (MT)
Via principe di Napoli, 65 / Hotel Mariano

We are Here
Celebrazione delle ricette e della vita della comunità locale attraverso installazioni d'arte pubblica
Una passeggiata partecipativa e radioguidata per le vie del paese alla scoperta delle installazioni artistiche del progetto "We Are Here", realizzate nel corso della residenza artistica del progetto Creative Communities, e delle opere d’arte urbana realizzate da artisti internazionali nell’ambito del festival AppARTengo.
La passeggiata esplorativa si arricchirà dei racconti soggettivi ed emotivi da parte della comunità locale che ne fruisce quotidianamente o con la quale gli artisti si sono relazionati durante le residenze. 
 
L’evento si svolgerà all’aperto con sistemi radio: è necessaria la registrazione in loco presso il luogo di partenza. Si consiglia di munirsi di auricolari con jack (no bluetooth), di abbigliamento comodo ed ombrelli (in caso di pioggia debole).


Durata: 2 ore circa 


In caso di maltempo (pioggia forte) l’evento si terrà presso lo spazio “Residenza d’artista” sito in via Roma a Stigliano dove verranno presentati i risultati del progetto.
 
We Are Here è un progetto del duo artistico Anne Fehres e Luke Conroy che celebra la comunità e il patrimonio culturale attraverso il cibo, la condivisione e l'arte. Ciascuna delle opere installate è celebrativa e porta la ricetta e il suo creatore dallo spazio privato della casa a quello pubblico della strada. Attraverso questa presentazione, la comunità locale e un pubblico più ampio sono incoraggiati a riflettere sulle ricette che hanno un importante valore culturale in questo luogo, a trovare l'orgoglio nel patrimonio locale e a connettersi gli uni con gli altri in modi nuovi.
Per tre settimane gli artisti hanno vissuto e lavorato a Stigliano, nella provincia di Matera, invitando la comunità locale a condividere le ricette personali e le storie ad esse associate, creando delle installazioni artistiche in spazio pubblico.
Ogni opera nasce da un processo documentale in cui la comunità locale ha condiviso le proprie ricette familiari: gli artisti hanno catturato immagini del processo di preparazione, degli ingredienti e degli oggetti personali che sono state poi combinate digitalmente in un'unica composizione di fotomontaggio, riunendo i diversi elementi in modo surreale e giocoso. Ogni composizione è stata trasformata in stampa digitale e posta in spazio pubblico in scala "larger-than-life"

27 novembre ore 11:00 / Forenza (PZ)
Piazza Regina Margherita

Nud
Dai luoghi comuni ai luoghi di comunità, attraverso un racconto diffuso per il paese
I luoghi comuni sono tali perché, come gli stereotipi o i pregiudizi, sono fondati su una conoscenza sommaria e spesso distante dalla realtà dei fatti. Per smontarli bisogna, perciò, conoscere meglio e approfondire ciò di cui si parla e in un certo senso colmare quella distanza conoscitiva, osservando tutto più da vicino. Così, forse, potremmo cambiare idea su luoghi, persone e idee. Vi invitiamo, perciò, ad un percorso tra i vicoli di Forenza: attraverso la raccolta di fotografie e testimonianze di un paese che ha avuto il coraggio di raccontarsi, si potranno conoscere spazi dimenticati, ascoltare storie di chi resiste e scoprire come dei luoghi comuni possano trasformarsi in luoghi di comunità.


In caso di maltempo l'evento si terrà presso il "Circolo ricreativo" sito in Via Roma 33 a Forenza dove verranno presentati i risultati del progetto di residenza.

Nud --- Aggiornamento del 01 dicembre 2022 --

L'appuntamento per il percorso tra i vicoli di Forenza, causa maltempo del giorno 27 novembre, è stato spostato a Domenica 04 dicembre 2022 alle ore11:00. Il luogo di ritrovo è Piazza Regina Margherita, Forenza (PZ).

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27 novembre ore 12:00-15:00-16:00 ore 17:00 (*) / Rionero in Vulture (PZ)
Stazione ferroviaria di Rionero - Atella - Ripacandida  Centro Comunale Anziani via Fiera c/o centro sociale P. Sacco (*)

(*) Causa maltempo l'evento si terrà presso il Centro Comunale Anziani via Fiera c/o centro sociale P. Sacco alle ore 17:00 per la presentazione pubblica del processo di co-creazione del progetto "Le ultime cose / The Last Things".
Presentazione della mappa che raccoglie un controcanto polifonico della città, un percorso virtuale e fisico composto dai suoni, le voci, i racconti costruiti insieme alla cittadinanza di Rionero durante la residenza. 

L'evento sarà preceduto alle ore 15:00 dalla diretta radiofonica con i protagonisti del processo di co-creazione coordinata e trasmessa da Radio Vulture.

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Le ultime cose (The last things)
Polifonia per Rionero
Le ultime cose è un progetto di ricerca sulla memoria storica del paese. Le ultime cose non vuole però essere solo una celebrazione della memoria storica, quanto la possibilità di tramandarla. Attraverso la creazione di una rete, il progetto ha messo in relazione un anziano over 80 di Rionero ad un giovane del Mali di 20 anni, che hanno raccontato storie e condiviso fotografie, creando un primo archivio collettivo che connette la Storia con le storie e gli spazi urbani della città, una cartografia delle memorie che si connette allo storytelling e lavoro visuale. 
Interviste audio hanno accompagnato la scrittura di una fiaba, disegni su foto storiche della città, al fine di costruire dispositivi di trasmissione differenti.



Una passeggiata performativa in cuffia per le strade di Rionero sarà la restituzione rituale di questa ricerca intorno alla sua Storia e alle sue trasformazioni, che resterà impressa su una mappa che, attraverso disegni dei bambini delle scuole elementare e QRCodes rintraccerà il percorso, restando come nuova narrazione polifonica del paese.



Un percorso che sarà trasmesso in live streaming anche dalla radio locale, Radio Vulture, e che verrà poi raccontato nella voce dei suoi protagonisti, attraverso una passeggiata urbana in cuffia e infine attraverso una presentazione pubblica alle 17.30 presso il Centro Anziani Via Fiera C/O Centro sociale “P.Sacco”, Rionero in Vulture.

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The Selection Panel has identified the following four creative proposals that will participate in the residency program in Basilicata, starting from next November:

Artist: Anne Fehres & Luke Conroy (collective)

Municipality: Stigliano (MT)

Hosting community: appARTEngo

Culture enterprise: Artepollino

Abstract project:
"We Are Here" - During the residency they will invite the community in Basilicata to celebrate their cultural heritage through food, sharing and art. The final outcome of this celebration will be the presentation of various large-scale photomontage artworks installed in community public space. Each of these photomontage works will feature images of a particular community individual/family and a recipe they have created. Through its presentation in public space, the community and broader audience will be encouraged to reflect upon the recipes that hold significant individual/local cultural value, bringing them outside of the home and into public space to be honoured.
The specific visual outcome will consist of a series of 5 large-scale (approx. 3x3 metre) artworks. These artworks will be temporarily installed in the public space of the particular Basilicata community, on a previously empty wall(s). Each artwork will be a surreal photomontage that combines imagery of the local community and their created recipes. All of the images that go into the final artwork will be captured by the artists during the residency period.
The final composition of these various photographic layers will be completed digitally on Photoshop. The photomontage compositions will be a series of celebratory works, playing with scale and form to present the recipe and the recipe's creator alongside each other in a surreal and playful manner. The final compositions will be printed out on paper and glued to a wall in the public space, with help from the local community. Alongside each of these works will be a small text detailing the recipe and people depicted in the work.
Through this work, the local community will be invited to reflect upon their local community and cultural heritage as contained in food. It will also encourage a sharing of stories and multi-sensuous experiences, between the artists and the community. Through the public presentation of this work, the local community will be encouraged to find pride in their heritage and connect with each other in new ways. Through the presentation of the project in the handbook/dossier and the artist’s online presence, this celebration of cultural heritage in rural communities will be brought to a large International outside audience.

Artist: Happy Place (collective)

Municipality: Tursi (MT)

Hosting community: Tursi Digital Nomads

Culture enterprise: Casa Netural

Abstract project:
“Basilicata Calling” – A personal connection to rural Italy. The name “Basilicata Calling” carries two meanings: literally, to see an incoming call, reminiscent of how older generations were waiting for us to stay in touch after we moved away; and figuratively, to experience a strong urge to a particular way of life – like a “calling” – that reflects a desire to connect with the value of our material and immaterial cultural heritage. In November, we want to take Basilicata’s cultural heritage abroad with a series of video calls. Our project opens a digital pathway for European remote workers and Italian expats to engage with the cultural heritage of rural Italy by meeting and interacting directly with its citizens. Within the local community, it triggers a creative and participatory process of storytelling and knowledge-sharing, in which young presenters or “enablers” use technology to interact with experts and help pass on their knowledge to an international audience.

Artist: Serlenga Anna (individual)

Municipality: Rionero in Vulture (PZ)

Hosting community: Associazione culturale Vulcanica

Culture enterprise: Allelammie

Abstract project:
The Last Things is a research project on the historical memory of the city. It is an investigation that starts from the collection of memoirs of some citizens and townsmen, protagonists of the micro stories that marked the evolution and radical changes that the city went through. The Last Things, however, is not intended to be just a celebration of historical memory as much as the possibility of passing it on. A necessary passing of the baton, when the generation that went through the great Wars, fascism and Nazism are coming up short, especially during and after the global pandemic that affects precisely the generation of the elderly and old, the last witnesses of the great historical passages of the 20th century. The project has as its center the transmission of testimony and its reworking: for this reason, it proposes to activate a relational exchange involving two very distant generations by proposing some pairs of people to enter into a relationship. Through the creation of a network, the project will connect an elderly person over 70 together with a young person 12-14 years old, who will exchange stories, drawings, photographs, letters, maps, creating a first collective archive that connects History with the stories and urban spaces of the city, a cartography of memories that connects to storytelling and visual work. Indeed, they are interested not only in the collection of memory but in its possible reinterpretations, which allow its actualization and pass on its agency into the present and future. Audio interviews will accompany writings, drawings, embroideries in order to build different transmission devices. Children’s books, performance walks, visual platforms are some of the possible forms of this research around History and the transformations of the city.

Artist: Piscopo Marco (individual)

Municipality: Forenza (PZ) 

Hosting community: Pro Loco

Culture enterprise: compagnia teatrale Gommalacca

Abstract project:
[r]existenzminimum resisting depopulation, decolonizing imaginaries and reclaiming a narrative. It is a community self-narrative project, through the theme of the existence of certain towns and the resistance of those who live there. The chance to talk about oneself is seen as a real opportunity for emancipation from stereotyped narratives, together with co-designing through the active inclusion of marginalized subjects and the involvement of the community for the creation of a choral and relational work.
Starting from the idea that a community wants to know itself - and to do so it must be able to tell about itself freely, limiting external interventions that alter its vision or show only some aspects, often the best known - we will work through workshops and group activities (territorial explorations, photographic reportage, collection of stories, creation of a community atlas) to create a photographic, textual and sound online archive in a collaborative way that returns a first story of the community and could be easily shared and developed in the future.
We'll promote a choral story, subverting the classic topos of a tourism sponsorship (both on-line and off-line) and social networks campaign: how? Collecting material, connecting people, places and stories, and designing together a final event, in which share and show the results. We'll work on the concept of postcards and billboards, often tools of a stereotyped story (for the point of view they express - usually the non-inhabitants' one; for the places taken up - idealized, in their perfection and beauty; for the terms used - generic and catching buzzwords).
We will therefore work on the one hand on active co-design practices (assemblies, workshops and walks) and on the other hand on material outputs (archive, atlas, story, postcards and billboards) that become enabling devices: tools capable of developing characteristics such as a critical look and narrative skills, something that won't end with the end of the design process, but that are those thousand small enhancements through which real change can take place.

 Digital storytelling artistic project: “TAM – Tower Art Museum” - “Volevo solo aprire un museo”

The Panel also awarded four mentions to the following four worthy projects which, in the event of renunciation by the ones selected, will be invited to participate in the residencies:

Zegna Annalisa (individual)
Miraglia Maria Luisa (individual)
Hypen Duo (collective)
Plam Creative Studio (collective)

The creative projects and the young selected artists were presented on Saturday 08 October 2022 at 10:30 at the Ridola Museum in Matera during a public meeting at the presence of the Selection Panel.

Selection Panel
Francesca Bertoglio, project manager of Bergamo-Brescia 2023, the Italian capital of culture; Alessandra Vittorini, Director of Fondazione Scuola dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali; Irena Topalli, International Relations Manager of Tirana 2022, European Youth Capital (TEYC 2022); Sendi Mango, co-founder of BridA art collective, partner of Nova Gorica-Gorizia, European capital of culture (Go! 2025); Vania Cauzillo, stage director, co-founder of Compagnia Teatrale L'Albero, Vice chair RESEO.

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Dopo l’edizione molto partecipata dello scorso anno, torna a Matera il 10 agosto, nella notte di San Lorenzo dedicata all’osservazione degli astri, “Matera Cielo Stellato. A riveder le stelle”, evento diffuso organizzato con il patrocinio del Comune di Matera. Con questa iniziativa miriamo a sensibilizzare sui temi dell’inquinamento luminoso, del risparmio energetico, della protezione e valorizzazione del cielo notturno anche con proposte di ecoturismo, come l’astroturismo.

A trasformarsi in un cielo capovolto, grazie a centinaia di lumi a led a basso impatto ambientale, sono ancora una volta l’area della Murgia materana visibile dai diversi affacci del Sasso Caveoso. All’imbrunire viene spenta la pubblica illuminazione in una parte di questa area, per poter godere al meglio lo spettacolo della Murgia e della volta celeste punteggiate di tanti piccoli bagliori.

Anche quest’anno la Chiesa di Santa Maria de Idris è il palcoscenico dell’evento dalle ore 21:30 alle ore 22:15.
Special guest della serata Malika Ayane, una cantautrice dalla grande classe ed eleganza che, con la sua voce dal timbro caratteristico e raffinato, si esibisce nel cuore di Matera omaggiando la città con una performance inedita in una location del tutto suggestiva, rendendo l'atmosfera della notte di San Lorenzo ancora più magica.

Tutto il resto è un'esperienza da vivere.

L’invito a cittadini permanenti e temporanei è dunque ad alzare lo sguardo, oggi sempre troppo distratto, e riappropriarsi del contatto con la magia del cielo notturno, sullo sfondo di una città capace di trasformarsi, oggi come un tempo, in un vero e proprio cielo stellato. 

L'evento vede quest'anno la collaborazione con la community IgersItalia e la presenza delle community regionali del Sud Italia (Igers Puglia, Igers Campania, Igers Calabria, oltre che Igers Basilicata) che ne promuoveranno e valorizzeranno il fascino su Instagram.  
All’Associazione Volontari Open Culture 2019 è affidata invece l’azione di sensibilizzazione degli abitanti e dei commercianti del Sasso Caveoso sullo spegnimento delle luci di abitazioni ed esercizi commerciali.

Matera Cielo Stellato®️ è un marchio registrato di F. Foschino, S. Tarasco e V. Cappuccio.

Il videoracconto di Matera Cielo stellato 2022

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La centrale Piazza Vittorio Veneto di Matera, ancora tutta illuminata per i festeggiamenti della Madonna della Bruna del 2 luglio, ha risuonato dei ritmi della tradizione lucana, araba e del sound della musica elettronica, intrecciati nella performance Open Sound Matera Session, frutto della nostra collaborazione con l’Associazione Maria SS della Bruna.
Un progetto sperimentale, prodotto dall’associazione culturale Multietnica, che ha messo insieme gli strumenti della tradizione lucana come la zampogna, la lira, il cucù, la cupa cupa, suonati dai musicisti Alberico Larato e Rino Locantore, la voce della cantante di origini algerine Badrya Razem, e i campionamenti del producer della scena musicale elettronica italiana go-Dratta (Gaetano Dragotta). Un’occasione per rileggere la tradizione in chiave contemporanea, anche nella scelta del palco su cui gli artisti si sono esibiti, la cassa armonica delle bande, elemento simbolo delle feste patronali. Accanto all’architettura in legno, un maxi schermo ha proiettato le immagini di alcuni dei riti più suggestivi della Basilicata, fra cui proprio la Festa della Bruna, riuscendo ad attirare un pubblico di ogni età, grazie alla contaminazione fra linguaggi differenti.

Ad aprire la performance è stato lo spoken dj set "Road to OSA" di Alioscia Bisceglia, nella doppia veste di dj selecter e Ambassador del progetto, nato per Matera Capitale Europea della Cultura 2019 grazie all’associazione Multietnica con l’obiettivo di creare un ponte tra la produzione musicale elettronica contemporanea e le pratiche sonore legate ai rituali più rappresentativi della tradizione lucana, raccolte e campionate in un repertorio open source, la Open Sound Library. Un viaggio sonoro che è proseguito fra il 2020 e il 2021 e che è arrivato anche all’Expo 2020 Dubai dove, in occasione della Giornata delle Capitali Europee della Cultura, ha incontrato i suoni della tradizione araba, grazie alla collaborazione con il musicista Imad Kawala.
Questo incontro fra culture è stato nuovamente al centro della performance ideata per la Festa della Bruna, dedicata nell’edizione numero 633 proprio al tema dell’accoglienza.

--- Update of October 3, 2022 ---

Find here the selected projects.

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--- Update of September 6, 2022 ---

The call for application is closed with more than 70 proposals.
The average age of applicants is 30 years old and they come from Italy, Jordan, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Ukraine, Poland, Holland, Czech Republic, Ireland, Croatia, Greece, Albania, Germany, Serbia, Spain, Slovenia, France, Hungary, Cyprus.

Starting from today, the evaluation commission will work to select the four projects that will be realised in Basilicata, during the residency weeks in November 2022.

The evaluation commission is composed by:

Francesca Bertoglio, project manager of Bergamo-Brescia 2023, Italian Capital of culture;
Alessandra Vittorini-Sassoli, Director of Fondazione Scuola dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali;
Irena Topalli, international relations manager of Tirana 2022, European youth capital (TEYC 2022);
Sendi Mango, co-founder of BridA art collective, partner of Nova Gorica -Gorizia Europena capital of culture (Go!2025);
Vania Cauzillo, stage director, co-founder Compagnia Teatrale L'Albero, Vice-chair RESEO.

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“Europe is its citizens, philosophical thought, arts, literary vibrancy, scientific discoveries, poetry, music, law”.


On 20th December 2019, during our Closing Ceremony in Matera, Mr. David Sassoli, the greatly missed President of the European Parliament, called on Europe to become an increasing praesidium of peace, freedom and democracy leveraging cultural participation.

On this basis and in the European year of Youth, together with Open Design School, in partnership with European Capital of Culture GO!2025 (Nova Gorica-Gorizia) and European Capital of Youth  Tirana EYC 2022 and under the patronage of European Capitals of Culture Esch 2022, Kaunas 2022 and Novi Sad 2022, we call upon European and Mediterranean creatives to design and produce four residencies in Basilicata (IT), centred around the above-mentioned principles, through co-creation with local communities.

WHY THIS OPEN CALL

#together and #openfuture have been the keywords for our vision and our forward-looking path. 

2022 is the European Year of Youth: Europe calls on young people to become active citizens and actors of positive change.
Europe needs the vision, the engagement and the participation of all young people to build a better future based on equality, inclusion and sustainability leveraging participation of local communities, especially those with fewer opportunities, from disadvantaged backgrounds, from rural or remote areas.

We want to invite young creatives, from Europe and the Mediterranean area, to work with local communities of Basilicata, investigating a new idea of Europe shaped around those principles and which embraces the Mediterranean area as a key place to shape the future.

WHO CAN APPLY

We will select four European and Mediterranean young creatives (individuals and collectives, aged under 40) for a three weeks residency in a village of Basilicata region (Italy) during November 2022.

Invited creatives will develop and deliver their proposal through a co-creation process with the local community and a local creative or cultural company, that will participate in the development of the project.


DEADLINE

September 2^nd, 2022

WHAT YOU WILL FIND IN THE OPEN CALL

Concept, Inspirations, Keywords and Values, Disciplines /Artform included, Deadline, Duration, Fee, Application information and Requirements, Selection procedure, Contact

HOW TO APPLY

Download and read the call, download the application form and send it via email to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by September 02^nd 2022. Subject: Creative Communities

  Open Call “Euro-Mediterranean co-creation residency programme (in memory of David Sassoli)” (EN)
  Application form (EN)

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“Solo la libertà genera bellezza e non è un caso che la magia dell’artista, del poeta non sopporti limitazioni. E a Matera, quest’anno si è vissuta una straordinaria aria di libertà che ci fa credere che le tante difficoltà del nostro Mezzogiorno le possiamo affrontare e prendere di petto” David Sassoli

Il 20 dicembre 2019, in una Cava del Sole gremita di cittadini che sventolavano le bandiere dell’Europa, il presidente del Parlamento europeo David Sassoli, prematuramente scomparso l’11 gennaio scorso, pronunciò per la cerimonia di chiusura di Matera Capitale Europea della Cultura 2019 un discorso intenso e fortemente applaudito sul valore della cultura per la costruzione dell’Europa.

Intendiamo raccogliere questa importante eredità da lui lasciata, organizzando l'iniziativa in programma domenica 26 giugno alle ore 20:00 proprio nella Cava del Sole, luogo simbolico che il Comune di Matera ha recentemente voluto intitolare a Sassoli per questo suo profondo legame con la città.

La serata, cui prendono parte la moglie di Sassoli, Alessandra Vittorini, e i loro figli, viene aperta dalle testimonianze di rappresentanti di istituzioni e personalità locali, nazionali ed europee che lo hanno conosciuto e stimato, per riflettere e confrontarsi sui valori europei di cui il presidente Sassoli è stato portavoce.

A seguire presentiamo un bando destinato a giovani creativi europei e dell'area del Mediterraneo. Nell'Anno europeo dedicato ai giovani (European Year of Youth 2022), li invitiamo a sviluppare, attraverso una residenza in Basilicata, un percorso di co-creazione con le comunità e i creativi lucani, una nuova idea di Europa, modellata intorno ai principi e ai valori cari a Sassoli, e che abbracci l'area mediterranea come luogo chiave per plasmare il suo futuro. Facendo leva sulla creatività e sulla co-creazione, vogliamo continuare ad inviare messaggi all'Europa dalle aree remote del Sud, promuovendo valori universali e creando ponti.

Chiude la serata il concerto dell’Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai, diretta dal maestro John Axelrod, che dopo la tappa nel programma di Matera 2019 ha scelto di tornare nella città dei Sassi nell’ambito della Tournée Sud Italia 2022 promossa con il sostegno del Ministero della Cultura – Direzione Generale Spettacolo. Il concerto viene trasmesso in diretta su Rai Radio 3 e sul circuito EBU (European Broadcasting Union).

L'ingresso all'evento è gratuito su prenotazione  // PRENOTA IL TUO POSTO //

VIDEO SALUTO DEL PRESIDENTE DEL PARLAMENTO EUROPEO ROBERTA METSOLA

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Il tema dell’eredità delle Capitali Europee della Cultura è al centro della nuova puntata di Radio DeuS, la piattaforma di radio streaming sviluppata nell’ambito del progetto Erasmus + “DeuS- European Open Design School for regional sustainable development” dedicato allo sviluppo di competenze per il settore culturale e creativo, guidato dalla Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019 insieme al Consorzio Materahub e altri otto partner europei.

Attraverso le testimonianze provenienti dalle Capitali Europee della Cultura  Kosice 2013, Leeuwarden 2018, Matera 2019, Rijeka 2020, Kaunas 2022, Veszprem-Balaton, il 9 giugno dalle ore 16.30 la puntata di Radio DeuS si concentra proprio sul tema della legacy presente e futura. A moderare l’incontro sono Rita Orlando, Senior Project Manager Open Design School per la Fondazione Matera-Basilicata 2019 e Paolo Montemurro, Direttore di Materahub. Le conclusioni sono affidate a Sylvain Pasqua della Direzione generale Istruzione, gioventù, sport e cultura della Commissione europea. La riflessione prosegue il 10 giugno a partire dalle ore 10 sui canali di Materahub e Matera 2019, con la presentazione di Cultourdata: il nuovo progetto europeo a trazione materana che ha l’obiettivo di promuovere l’utilizzo dei dati nell’ambito delle Capitali Europee della Cultura per la misurazione degli impatti.

L’appuntamento, ricco di ospiti europei, chiude la due giorni (9-10 giugno) dedicata alle considerazioni finali del progetto Interreg ECoC SME a cura di Materahub, incentrato proprio sulle opportunità che il programma Capitali Europee della Cultura offre allo sviluppo dei tessuti imprenditoriali dei territori coinvolti.

Attraverso un processo iterativo di apprendimento e co-creazione partecipativa interregionale, i partner del progetto europeo hanno esplorato il processo di cambiamento del tessuto imprenditoriale di alcune ECoC passate e presenti, da Leeuwarden, a Matera e Rijeka, da Timisoara a Kaunas, con la convinzione che il coinvolgimento delle PMI nell’evento, sin dalla fase preparatoria, sia capace di rafforzare e diversificare l'imprenditorialità locale incoraggiando la loro cooperazione creativa e intersettoriale "non convenzionale", nonché l’internazionalizzazione dei territori.

Sotto il coordinamento di un team di esperti dell'Università della Finlandia orientale e venti "Local Learning Labs", il partenariato composto da Inqubator Foundation (Finlandia), Materahub, (Italia), Municipality of Rijeka (Croazia), Municipality of Timisoara (Romania), Vytataus University of Kaunas (Lituania) ha dato vita a nuove pratiche di coordinamento delle politiche locali/regionali, ovvero i Programmi Operativi Regionali, per sviluppare nuovi piani di azione e orientare policy future.

Per rafforzare la virtuosa esperienza condivisa del progetto DeuS, la Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019 e il Consorzio Materahub hanno sottoscritto nei giorni scorsi una convenzione finalizzata ad attuare forme di collaborazione sui temi della ricerca, formazione e orientamento nel settore artistico europeo, mettendo a valore in modo particolare l’esperienza dell’Open Design School.

Qui il programma completo dell'evento.

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2021 has been the second year –after a great 2019 – that we have been forced to limit cultural activities and community get-togethers on account of the continuing sanitary emergency. Yet, in spite of this, we have succeeded in completing a few important projects as a legacy of the Matera European Capital of Culture 2019 experience.

First and foremost, the presentation of the results of the monitoring and assessment of the Matera 2019 experience which highlighted what was gained thanks to the ECoC title and the process it sparked as well as the changes it brought about from an economic, social and cultural point of view.

Together with the association “Open Culture 2019 Volunteers” which was set up to continue the experience of the Matera 2019 volunteers, we organized a professional development initiative called “Lezioni di volo” (Flying lessons) – a “toolbox” for learning how to “fly” in the world of cultural volunteerism and to build relationships not only in the local reality but also on a national and international scale.

During the Night of the Shooting Stars (St. Lawrence’s Night) in August, in order to raise awareness in the community as regards environmental issues such as light pollution, permanent and temporary citizens of Matera had the chance to watch the show “Matera sotto il cielo stellato. A rivedere le stelle” (“Matera under a starry sky. Gazing at the stars once again”).  On that night, the Murgia plateau was studded with tiny lights and the music originating from an encounter of Italian and African artists spread from the Idris rock throughout the old town, I Sassi.  An invitation to raise your eyes to the sky in the hope of preserving it from light pollution.

Indeed, it was to the safeguarding of and calling attention to the importance of dark skies that one of the two European projects that we completed this year was dedicated –the Interreg Europe “Night light” project. For five years, we played a key role, cooperating with institutions of seven European countries to improve regional public policies regarding these issues.

The second European project we brought to a close with a conference broadcast on an international web-radio set up especially for the occasion was the Erasmus+ project “DeuS – European Open Design School for Regional Sustainable Development”. Guiding this two-year partnership with other research institutes of nine European countries, we developed an innovative format aimed at the continuing   professional development  of operators in the cultural and creative business sectors, exporting the methodology of the Open Design School to other European countries. During those months, our experimental planning and production workshops were also at the service of our territory, such as the 3D printing course we ran for the students of Matera’s Minozzi-Festa Middle School. The Open Design School has also been selected as the official partner of the New European Bauhaus –an initiative championed by the President of the European Commission Ms Ursula von der Leyen – as a way of re-imagining our way of living together sustainably and inclusively by promoting a dialogue between art, culture, science and technology.

Among the groups we have cooperated with in town are the Matera Film Festival and the Matiff-Matera Art International Film Festival, leading up to the presentation of two films from Matera 2019 –“Il Nuovo Vangelo” ( “The New Gospel”) by Milo Rau in which the first black Jesus in the history of cinema leads a group of migrants fighting for dignity, and “Trenodia” about a public arts project with the participation of Mariangela and Vicinio Capossela which was filmed in Calabria, Campania and Basilicata in the year 2019.

Internationally, the main events we took part in were Expo 2020 Dubai where we cooperated with the Italian pavilion and Italian General Commissioner to organize the “European Capitals of Culture Day”, defined by EU Commissioner Paolo Glisenti as a “day of historic importance”. This was an opportunity to tell the story of the lively intelligence characterizing these cities as workshops where projects inspired by the New European Bauhaus are being experimented but also places where culture is a means for projects conceiving new connections between overcrowded areas and scarcely inhabited ones.

Throughout 2021, special attention has always been devoted to the hinterland areas, starting with the inauguration of Palestinian artist Emily Jacir’s works in the town of Pietrapertosa in the Lucanian Dolomites as part of the “Gardentopia” project and ending with the “In linea d’aria” festival involving five small towns in Basilicata that became artists’ residences and organized performances together with the local communities. At the end, a great final open-air event was held in Matera where participants exchanged views on how culture can generate new energy even in very remote areas.

During the course of the year, there have been several occasions –locally, nationally and internationally – where we were invited to recount our Matera 2019 experience as a reference point for all those who are eager to create for their realities new projects that have culture as a propellant.

We wish to thank all citizens, artists, institutions as well as the partners who have shared this year with us!
Happy  Future!

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Dal 29 novembre al 5 dicembre, cinque comuni nel cuore delle aree interne della Basilicata sono i protagonisti di In Linea d’Aria, un progetto della Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019, curato da Anna Gesualdi e Giovanni Trono di Teatringestazione, ospitato nello spazio digitale di Radio Leib e dal vivo nei comuni di Accettura, Aliano, Campomaggiore, Cirigliano, Pietrapertosa e Matera- La Martella, con il sostegno del Goethe Institut Napoli.
Con la sua formula sperimentale, il progetto abita simultaneamente spazi diffusi e di natura diversa, per mettere in connessione persone e luoghi apparentemente lontani: lo spazio in presenza, dal vivo; quello sonoro della radio, in diretta e in differita, intesa come spazio abitato ed esteso e non come semplice media; quello digitale attraverso un dispositivo - Gap -  di audio-prossimità che permette l’ascolto da smartphone.

Per una settimana intera, le comunità di Accettura, Aliano, Campomaggiore, Cirigliano e Pietrapertosa, ospitano residenze artistiche con formazioni regionali, nazionali e tedesche, culminanti in una serie di performance dal vivo ispirate al tema "Natura/Cultura", elaborate dagli artisti per essere offerte ad un pubblico in presenza e a coloro che saranno in ascolto su Radio Leib, spazio radiofonico digitale che manterrà la connessione tra i paesi coinvolti.

Dal 29 novembre al 2 dicembre, gli artisti lavorano in spazi pubblici significativi per la comunità locale e individuati con la collaborazione dei "comitati di cura", ovvero gruppi di cittadini permanenti che si prendono cura degli artisti in residenza, quali cittadini temporanei.
Dal 3 al 5 dicembre vanno in scena le performance di Compagnia Teatrale Petra, O-Team, IAC, Lara Russo, Paola Bianchi, Radio Cashmere. Nella giornata del 4 dicembre viene inoltre inaugurato il giardino di comunità “Bibi Testalunga” progettato da Mimì Coviello e Lucrezia Di Dio di meson ro studio nell’ambito del progetto di Matera 2019 “Gardentopia”.

All’antropologa e giornalista Patrizia Giancotti è affidata la tessitura dei dialoghi che animeranno l’Agorà finale il 5 dicembre: una tavola rotonda aperta, dinamica, un luogo di condivisione dei progetti culturali di Matera 2019 e di altre realtà nelle aree interne, nonchè un'occasione per misurare mancanze e lanciare proposte alla luce delle voci invitate, tra artisti, curatori, policy-maker, ricercatori, operatori culturali, cittadini delle aree remote. La giornata si chiuderà nel quartiere La Martella, con il dj set e live painting di DJ Flower e Papa Massi, per festeggiare tutti insieme la nuova piazza del quartiere olivettiano recentemente riqualificata dal Comune di Matera.
Grazie alla conduzione di Giovanni Passariello e Silvio Impegnoso sarà inoltre possibile seguire tutta la programmazione dedicata a In Linea d’Aria su Radio Leib, uno spazio che accoglie proposte di radiofonia sperimentale e di comunità.


Il programma radiofonico, i podcast e tutte le informazioni di approfondimento sono disponibili su inlineadaria.net

Scarica qui il programma di In Linea d'Aria


Il podcast del Festival 

Agorà - 5 dicembre 2021 - Festival In Linea d'Aria

a cura di Patrizia Giancotti

Nell'ambito del Festival In Linea D'Aria 2021. All’antropologa, giornalista Patrizia Giancotti è stata affidata la tessitura dei dialoghi che animano l’Agorà: una tavola rotonda aperta, dinamica, un luogo di condivisione critica dell’esperienza in corso e di altri progetti nelle aree interne, e insieme un’occasione per misurare mancanze e lanciare proposte alla luce delle voci invitate. Ponendo il fuoco sulle aree remote, sull’isolamento dei paesi interni tra limiti e risorse, sulla necessità di immaginare nuove strategie di accessibilità culturale e ulteriori forme di vicinanza.

Video racconto / residenze artistiche e spettacoli

L'Agorà: un banchetto del pensiero

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The European Capitals of Culture Day at the Universal Exhibition 2020 Dubai is the event that Matera 2019 is organizing on October 30, 2021 in the Italian Pavilion at the Expo 2020 Dubai, in partnership with the Commissioner General of Italy and under the patronage of EU Commission.
The initiative is the result of the Memorandum of understanding signed in October 2018 between the Foundation and the Commissariat, which envisaged the involvement of the network of European Capitals of Culture, headed by Matera, as a lever for strengthening the dialogue and cooperation between Europe and the vast region of Arab countries.

The ‘Day’ on 30 October 2021 highlights the most significant cultural experiences of the European Capitals of Culture and their huge contribution to the themes that the Dubai World Expo is promoting: building bridges, leaving no one behind, living in an equilibrium.

This day in the context of the most important event of the year acquires a special value during this prolonged period that has been marked by the pandemic and the compulsory cancellation of so many major live events. Not only by shining a spotlight on the European Capitals of Culture in the months when for the first time since 1985 there are no ECoCs, but also by creating a connection between the closing ceremonies of Galway and Rijeka in April 2021 and the opening ceremonies of Esch, Kaunas and Novi Sad in 2022. The event brings to the fore the network of European Capitals of Culture that represent a huge and varied potential of experiences and practices of the transformative and regenerative impact of culture on the cities and their communities.

The program - available on the Italian Pavilion website - includes four events:

- the International Forum The European Capitals of Culture and the New European Bauhaus: how to build sustainable, inclusive and beautiful places
 (info event) 

Eight European Capitals of Culture participate in the discussions around the themes of the two forums: Esch 2022 (Luxembourg), Novi Sad 2022 (Serbia), Kaunas 2022 (Lithuania), Veszprém-Balaton 2023 (Hungary), Eleusis 2023 (Greece), Nova Gorica/Gorizia 2025 (Slovenia), Oulu 2026 (Finland), and Matera 2019. Major guests at the forum on European Capitals of Culture and New European Bauhaus include architect Carlo Ratti, co-designer of the Italian Pavilion at Expo, and Barbara Gessler, European Commission - Head of Unit “Creative Europe and ECoC programme” (remote connection).

We wanted to organize this initiative together with the Italian Pavilion and the network of European Capitals of Culture to relaunch this network and to highlight the resilience and ability to reinvent a major event by overcoming the unforeseen challenges posed by the pandemic.
We are excited and proud to represent Matera and the Basilicata Region at the Dubai Universal Exhibition!

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Si è svolta nei giorni scorsi a Debrecen, in Ungheria, la conferenza internazionale che ha chiuso la cooperazione quinquennale del progetto Interreg Europe “Night Light” dedicato alla riduzione dell'inquinamento luminoso e la protezione del cielo buio, coinvolgendo 9 istituzioni di 7 paesi europei, tra cui la Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019 e la Regione Basilicata per l’Italia.

Nel corso della conferenza, organizzata dal governo della contea di Hajdú-Bihar, è stata fornita una panoramica delle attività tematiche delle regioni partner e dei risultati del lavoro congiunto, formulando altresì le sfide per i prossimi anni, a partire dalla necessità di continuare a lavorare insieme per rafforzare la consapevolezza e responsabilità dei cittadini su un uso più sostenibile delle risorse naturali disponibili.

Proprio su questi temi è stato incentrato l’intervento del team della Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019 che nel corso dell’incontro ha illustrato le progettualità messe in campo nel percorso di Matera capitale europea della cultura 2019, a partire dal cluster del dossier di candidatura “Dark skies”, per sensibilizzare le comunità e stimolare l’attivazione di policy regionali. Fra i progetti di Matera Basilicata 2019 dedicati alla valorizzazione della risorsa cielo notturno anche in chiave turistica, ci sono le tre edizioni di “Matera cielo stellato”, iniziativa di grande impatto per il pubblico, attraverso cui si è spenta la pubblica illuminazione della città, trasformata in un cielo stellato grazie alla presenza di fiaccole nei Sassi (edizione 2013, in fase di candidatura, ed edizione 2019, durante la cerimonia inaugurale) e sulla Murgia (edizione 2021, proposta in occasione della notte di San Lorenzo). A ciò si aggiunge il progetto “Social Light”, che nel 2019 ha visto protagonisti oltre 6.000 cittadini nei laboratori di realizzazione delle “bag-light”, le borse luminose ad energia solare, utilizzate per illuminare Matera in occasione della Cerimonia inaugurale del 19 gennaio.

Attraverso il progetto “Night Light” tutti i partner di progetto hanno lavorato ad una maggiore sensibilizzazione della società civile al problema dell'inquinamento luminoso, anche attraverso incontri ed eventi che hanno stimolato il pubblico a recuperare un migliore rapporto con il cielo stellato. Tutto ciò ha determinato una riflessione di tipo politico e amministrativo sull'uso eccessivo dell’illuminazione, attivando un lavoro su proposte di legge dirette a migliorare la qualità delle luci nella nostra regione, per arrivare ad un minore spreco energetico ed economico. Grazie al progetto si sono inoltre aperte in Basilicata nuove prospettive per il futuro, sia sul filone dell’astroturismo, che consentirebbe di mettere ulteriormente a valore il patrimonio naturalistico della regione, sia sullo sviluppo e l’applicazione di smart technologies per la riduzione dell’inquinamento luminoso e ambientale.

“Night Light - Miglioramento delle politiche regionali per ridurre l'inquinamento luminoso e proteggere e valorizzare i cieli notturni” è il progetto di cooperazione interregionale europea, finanziato nell’ambito del Programma Interreg Europe 2014/2020, di cui la Direzione Generale del Dipartimento Programmazione e Finanze della Regione Basilicata e la Fondazione Matera-Basilicata 2019 sono partner per l’Italia. Il progetto, che conta la partecipazione di altri paesi europei quali Olanda, Ungheria, Spagna, Lussemburgo, Danimarca e Slovenia, mira al coinvolgimento diretto dei policy makers e degli stakeholder locali per promuovere politiche regionali finalizzate a contrastare l’inquinamento luminoso, tutelare la risorsa “cielo scuro”, ed incentivare un turismo sostenibile quale l’astroturismo, che ben si presta a convertire il patrimonio naturalistico, paesaggistico e culturale lucano in uno strumento di sviluppo per l’intera regione.

I portatori di interesse diretti e indiretti del progetto si sono confrontati nei giorni scorsi presso l’Abbazia di San Michele Arcangelo a Monticchio Laghi (PZ) nel meeting dal titolo “Accendiamo le stelle”, per presentare i risultati del monitoraggio del Piano di Azione e illustrare le conseguenti opportunità turistiche, economico-sociali ed occupazionali che le diverse rappresentanze regionali hanno già colto sinergicamente ed intendono potenziare a beneficio dell’intero tessuto lucano.  Al meeting sono intervenuti, esperti del settore sia di livello nazionale che locale:  Paolo Gattillo, Delegato CieloBuio, Associazione no-profit per la protezione dell'ambiente notturno;  Fabrizio Marra, Fondatore Astonomitaly, il primo progetto di sviluppo del Turismo Astronomico in Italia come nuova forma di turismo responsabile e sostenibile, che rispetti la natura e tuteli il patrimonio celeste; Chiara Di Bello, proprietaria di Atmosfera Bubble Glamping, unico caso di astroturismo regionale in cui si può sperimentare  l’esperienza di dormire in una bolla sotto le stelle lucane.

Nel corso del dibattito sono stati raffrontati i dati dell’inquinamento luminoso lucano con quelli nazionali. Sono emersi infatti i costi complessivi dei comuni italiani relativi alle forniture elettriche, che si attestano ogni anno a 1 miliardo e 800 milioni di euro; due terzi dei quali sono destinati alla spesa per illuminazione pubblica, spesa che risulta la più alta a livello europeo. Nel giro di soli 4 anni, dal 2012 al 2016, la superficie terreste illuminata continuativamente durante la notte è cresciuta del 2,2 % all’anno, e la radianza, ossia il flusso di radiazione luminosa per unità di area, è aumentata dell’1,8% all’anno. Il monitoraggio ha confermato come, gli effetti negativi prodotti dall’inquinamento luminoso, non solo si traducono in spreco di denaro, ma anche in spreco di energia e aumento di immissioni di gas serra per la produzione energetica, cattiva illuminazione delle città, ostacolo alla sintesi della melatonina nel corpo umano, con conseguente aumento di neoplasie, disturbi del sonno, obesità, danni ai cicli biologici di flora e fauna, ostacolo alla ricerca astronomica, e a livello culturale perdita della percezione del Cosmo con conseguente caduta delle vocazioni scientifiche.

La Basilicata risulta essere una delle regioni italiane con una maggior percentuale di cielo buio e una grande estensione di parchi naturali, dal Pollino alla Murgia Materana, che possono garantire la tutela e la salvaguardia degli ecosistemi naturali incluso il cielo. Questo vantaggio può favorire quindi l’attivazione di pratiche virtuose.
Diversi infatti gli esempi da replicare per limitare gli effetti dell’inquinamento luminoso: educare le amministrazioni locali ed i privati a non eccedere nella potenza degli impianti, ammodernare i vecchi impianti utilizzando corpi totalmente schermati verso l’alto e di potenza calibrata per non convertire in luce dissipata la maggiore efficienza delle sorgenti di nuova generazione, prevedere flussi adeguati ai volumi di traffico e modulabili a seconda dell’ora della notte mediante  l’impiego di regolatori di flusso, spegnere o comunque ridurre le luci dei monumenti e delle strutture che non necessitano di essere illuminate tutta la notte, attivare campagne di sensibilizzazione per la diffusione della buona cultura della luce.

“Sei venuto tra la nostra gente e la tua vita è sicura”.
Questa frase, incisa in italiano e in arabo, è il messaggio dell’opera scultorea “Pietrapertosa” ideata dall’artista palestinese Emily Jacir, Leone d’oro alla 52a Biennale di Venezia, inaugurata ieri nel borgo di Pietrapertosa, sulle Dolomiti Lucane, a conclusione del progetto di Matera Capitale Europea della Cultura 2019, Gardentopia, e dopo la sua esposizione alla mostra PUSH THE LIMITS allestita pressa la Fondazione Merz di Torino tra la fine del 2020 e l’inizio del 2021.

L’imponente medaglione di 350 chili, realizzato da una marmeria tutta al femminile di Pignola in pietra di Gorgoglione, è stato istallato in maniera permanente nel giardino di comunità di Gardentopia, dove la Jacir ha condotto una residenza artistica nel 2019, riscoprendo le radici arabe e il grande senso di ospitalità di questa comunità.

Questa opera racconta una storia tutta al femminile. Sono infatti donne le protagoniste di questo progetto: la Sindaca di Pietrapertosa, l’artista Emily Jacir, il team della marmeria di Pignola che l’ha realizzata, le artiste della mostra “Push the limits” promossa dalla Fondazione Merz di Torino, guidata da un’altra donna, Beatrice Merz. La scultura è inoltre simbolo di una relazione, indagata da diversi artisti protagonisti di Matera 2019, ovvero quella fra spazi troppo pieni delle città e spazi troppo vuoti delle aree più remote, nei quali gli artisti sentono di avere una maggiore libertà espressiva. Un tema di grande rilievo a livello europeo.

L'artista Emily Jacir è rimasta colpita dalle radici arabe di questo paese che non conosceva e così ha iniziato una ricerca sul dialetto locale e su alcune parole che qui si conservavano dal passato. Durante la residenza artistica ha poi incontrato i cittadini per capire cosa si aspettassero di vedere realizzato per il loro giardino di comunità. Un giorno, attraversando il quartiere arabo “Arabata”, una signora l'ha invitata a casa sua a prendere una tazza di caffè o the, spiegandole l’importanza dell’ospitalità per i pietrapertosani, che deriva proprio dalle loro origini arabe. Tutto questo l'ha fatta sentire a casa e l'ha portata a decidere di lavorare sul tema dell’ospitalità. Ha scelto la pietra per realizzare l’opera sia per utilizzare lo stesso materiale di cui sono fatte le case qui, ma anche per lasciare al borgo un lavoro permanente. La forma del cerchio è nata da una pittura rupestre di forma circolare che ha visto nell’Arabata, ma vuole anche richiamare l’abbraccio fra le nostre culture.

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Testo Slogan:

{field 22}

 

La notte di San Lorenzo, 10 agosto, è la sera speciale delle stelle!

I Sassi di Matera e la musica degli artisti ci invitano a godere della volta celeste in una fusione perfetta tra cielo e terra.

Avvolti da questa speciale atmosfera, fruibile dai diversi affacci sul Sasso Caveoso - dove si spegnerà la pubblica illuminazione mentre verranno accesi dei piccoli lumi - in maniera diffusa, il cuore della città si trasformerà in un vero e proprio cielo stellato e dalla rupe della Chiesa di Madonna de Idris si leveranno le voci e i suoni degli artisti Arsene Duevi, musicista, cantante ed etnomusicologo del Togo, e Dudù Kouate, polistrumentista nato in Senegal, fusi a quelli di Valentina Pinto (in arte Midorii) cantante jazz, cantautrice e violinista, astro nascente sulla scena musicale nazionale, accompagnata dal pianista Nicola Pannarale, formati entrambi presso il Conservatorio di Matera. Un insieme di ritmi all’insegna dell’incrocio fra culture.

Ci sono tutti gli ingredienti per trascorrere una bella serata!

Info evento: Matera cielo stellato / a riveder le stelle / 10 agosto 2021

L'evento è organizzato in collaborazione con il Comune di Matera, l'APT Basilicata, il Parco della Murgia Materana e l'Associazione Volontari Open Culture 2019.

Matera Cielo Stellato®️ è un marchio registrato di F. Foschino, S. Tarasco e V. Cappuccio

Video promo

Matera cielo stellato: un'atmosfera magica nel cuore della città

 Gallery fotografica

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Quali sono i risultati economici, culturali e sociali prodotti da Matera 2019?

A questa importante domanda risponde l’attività di monitoraggio e valutazione condotta dalla Fondazione sulla Capitale Europea della Cultura che ha visto Matera e la Basilicata protagoniste in Italia e in Europa nel 2019.
Un percorso collettivo avviato ufficialmente ben dieci anni fa con la nascita del Comitato promotore della candidatura, nel luglio del 2011, e che ha coinvolto diversi soggetti a più livelli, dalle Istituzioni ai cittadini, dagli artisti ai volontari, dalla scena creativa alle imprese, in ambito internazionale, nazionale e locale.

Tutti i risultati degli studi valutativi, realizzati da alcuni tra i maggiori esperti del settore a livello nazionale e internazionale, saranno illustrati il 19 aprile alle ore 11:00 durante un incontro in live streaming trasmesso sul canale youtube del Ministero della Cultura (MIC) e alla presenza dello stesso Ministro Dario Franceschini, che ha seguito le tappe principali del lungo e appassionante percorso della Capitale Europea della Cultura.

La presentazione è quindi una occasione per presentare i risultati economici, culturali e sociali prodotti da Matera 2019, ma anche per lanciare sfide e approfondimenti alla luce dei cambiamenti prodotti dalla pandemia su come la cultura possa trainare l’economia, cosa vuol dire co-produrre cultura per una città ai margini dei grandi circuiti culturali, coinvolgendo in modo attivo anche i cittadini, quali sono i benefici in termini sociali della partecipazione alla cultura e quali le pratiche di welfare culturale, come rispondere alle disuguaglianze nell’accesso alla cultura che rischiano di aumentare ulteriormente nei prossimi anni per effetto della pandemia.

L'incontro si svolgerà alla presenza di Dario Franceschini, Ministro della Cultura e sarà moderato da Marino Sinibaldi, Presidente del Centro per il libro e la lettura nonché guida storica di Radio 3, l’emittente culturale che dal 2011 ha realizzato a Matera la festa di Materadio. Vi prenderanno parte alcuni degli autori degli studi valutativi su Matera 2019: Pierluigi Sacco, Senior Advisor OECD e professore di economia della cultura Università IULM Milano,  Lucio Argano, esperto in progettazione culturale PtsClas,  l’urbanista Mariavaleria Mininni e l’economista Carmelo Petraglia dell’Università degli Studi della Basilicata nonché Michele Somma e Rossella Tarantino, rispettivamente Vicepresidente e Direttrice della Fondazione Matera-Basilicata 2019. 
Le conclusioni saranno affidate al Presidente della Regione Basilicata, Vito Bardi e al Sindaco di Matera, Domenico Bennardi.

Live streaming

--- Updated July 6, 2022 ---

The Board of Directors of the Matera Basilicata 2019 Foundation, meeting on 5 July, proceeded to appoint the general director of the Foundation in compliance with the public notice for the acquisition of expressions of interest for the conferment of this position.
Based on the evaluation of the curricula received and following the discussion between the mayor of Matera and the president of the Basilicata Region, the assignment was assigned to Dr. Giovanni Padula, recognized as the most suitable profile for the relaunch of the Foundation, by virtue of the important experience he has gained.

---    ---

The Board of Directors of the Matera Basilicata 2019 Foundation approved, during the last meeting, the Public notice for the acquisition of expressions of interest in relation to the appointment of the Foundation’s Director-General.

A desire to take up the post may be expressed by individuals who have, among other attributes, at least 5 years' qualified, documented administrative and managerial experience in the public or private sector.

The assignment will be linked to the duties attributed to the Director-General by Article 18 of the Foundation's Articles of Association and will last until 31 December 2022. In the event of an extension of the Foundation's duration (as stated in Article 21 of the Foundation's Articles of Association), the appointment may be renewed for a maximum term of 12 months.

In accordance with Article 15 of the Foundation's Articles of Association, the Director-General is appointed by the Board of Directors

The application, accompanied by the documents required in the Notice, must be delivered to the following PEC address by certified e-mail no later than 6:00 p.m. on 14 January 2021: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Download the Public Notice and the Application form:

Public notice - Appointment as Director-General

Application form (ITA)

The manual “So far, so close. Practices of infra-pandemic closeness” is an operational tool of the performing arts festival “So far, so close. Exercises in closeness”, a collection of strategies and experiences gained within the Festival and in other national and international events during the infra-pandemic period.

Developed in parallel with the events of the Festival that were held in Basilicata from 12th September to 24th October 2020, the manual analysed the various regulatory updates of the DPCM [Prime Ministerial Decree], dealing with the progressive changes regarding the regulations and guidelines for live entertainment, ending precisely in conjunction with the general suspension of public and private events sanctioned in the decree of 26th October 2020.

The manual is not configured as a definitive guide, it is rather the beginning of research made up of various contributions, experiences in the field and design solutions that can be expanded in order to rethink the paradigms of the live entertainment sector.

With the preface by the Minister of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism Dario Franceschini, the Manual is organized into three sections:

SO FAR. Expanding the field of investigation.

This is the part of research and in depth analysis of the issues that gravitate around the new rituals imposed by the virus. It contains contributions from artists, architects, researchers, philosophers, and scientists who have addressed issues of proximity, public space and the pandemic, 

 including, among others, Virgilio Sieni, Antonio Tagliarini, Michele Di Stefano, Annamaria Ajmone, Luigi Coppola, Giulia Fiaccarini and Patrizia Braga (Melting Pro), Maurizio Carta, Maurizio Ferraris, Luigi Civalleri, Patrizia Giancotti, Anna Gesualdi and Giovanni Trono (TeatrInGestAzione), Janet Hetman, Salvatore Iaconesi, Bertram Niessen, Michele Pagliaroni of the Urbino Festival Teatro Urbano, Marco Petroni, Francesco Piersoft Paolicelli , Alessandra Pioselli, Enorme Studio, Post Disaster.

APPARATUSES. Regulations and possible solutions.

It is the collection of regulations, DPCM, articles and projects that have accompanied the research phase.

References and case studies present possible creative solutions or food for thought with respect to the new rules for containing the contagion. The user will also find a selection of manuals, guides and tools available under an open source licence and ready to be used, improved and integrated.

SO CLOSE. Experimentation in the field.

It is the strictly operational section that includes the tools, the survey method, the projects, the structures and the visuals designed, with the analysis of critical issues and the return of the results and solutions adopted.

This ever-changing collection is distributed under the Creative Commons licence, CC BY-SA-NC, in digital and freely printable form. Its main objective

is to contribute to the discussion on culture as a response to the crisis, seeking solutions, sharing results, reflections and good practices.

Read and download the manual here: So Far So Close. Practices of infra-pandemic.

A few hours after the Prime Minister's Decree suspending public events in theatres, cinemas and open spaces, the “So Far So Close. Esercizi di vicinanza” Performing Arts Festival reached its conclusion in Matera on Saturday 24 October.

We welcomed seven artists and companies (Emma Dante, Virgilio Sieni, Chiara Guidi, Annamaria Ajmone, Luigi Coppola, the Compagnia MK and Daria Deflorian and Antonio Tagliarini, who updated their questions in the middle of a pandemic, placing proximity – including in relation to the relationship between interpreting reality and constructing the imaginary – at the heart of their work, and focusing on the relationship between the human and non-human, and between the visible and invisible.

We put on ten works and sixteen repeat performances, including theatre, dance, cinema and public and relational art, characterised by interventions in a redesigned public space using forms of opening that were able to include the public not only in the enjoyment of a finished work, but in very different ways, in the responsibility for constructing it.

Approximately 2,000 spectators attended the performances, while around 50 citizens were involved in the three workshops set up in Matera with the artists.

Matera was not the only location of the Festival programme. Another six municipalities in Basilicata hosted the performing arts of our "exercises in closeness": Montescaglioso, Venosa, San Mauro Forte, Latronico, San Severino Lucano and Cirigliano.

All the events were held in full compliance with the laws on preventing contagion, which were communicated using the arrangements set up by the Open Design School, which over the past months studied and tried out the system for hosting the public so that in spite of the distance, those taking part in a performance would be able to feel that they were fully involved in it and were protagonists in complete safety.

The objective was reached! The data from the monitoring questionnaires at the end of the performances, which successfully involved not only Matera 2019’s loyal public but also a completely new audience, tell us that a fifth of the attendees travelled from Puglia, especially from Bari, Taranto and Valle d'Itria. 70.7% of the participants stated that the physical distancing measures that were adopted did not affect their participation, while 90.4% reported that they were satisfied with the security and the contagion prevention methods that were adopted.

Special thanks go out to our wonderful team of volunteers, who succeeded in offering a warm welcome to the public despite the gloves and masks, and conveyed the kindness and enthusiasm that had distinguished them throughout 2019!

Read and download the manual here: So Far So Close. Practices of infra-pandemic.

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ph. Niccolò Gialain

AVVISO: POSTI ESAURITI

Nell'ambito del Fetival "So Far So Close. Esercizi di vicinanza",  Chiara Guidi coinvolge attori, bambini e insegnanti intorno al METODO ERRANTE, pratica che mette in gioco i due fronti della rappresentazione, l’azione e la ricezione, includendo lo sguardo dei bambini e la loro tendenza spontanea a prendere iniziative.

I partecipanti al laboratorio saranno coinvolti in una struttura drammaturgica essenziale, messa in scena successivamente con l’intervento attivo dei bambini. Nei primi incontri si imposterà il lavoro, che sarà sviluppato durante le rappresentazioni degli ultimi tre giorni; dopo ognuna di queste il laboratorio proseguirà con la verifica dell’esperienza.
Lo spettacolo costruito attraverso l’esperienza del METODO ERRANTE sarà La terra dei lombrichi. Una tragedia per bambini (da Alcesti di Euripide), concepito per mettere in moto l’azione e il pensiero dei piccoli spettatori-partecipanti in maniera immediata, in base a ciò che viene visto.

DESTINATARI
Laboratorio scenico per attrici/attori, educatrici/educatori, insegnanti

CALENDARIO

Laboratorio
martedì 29 settembre dalle 10.00 alle 13.00 e dalle 15.00 alle 18.00, Complesso del Casale
mercoledì 30 settembre e giovedì 1 ottobre dalle 10.00 alle 13.00 e dalle 15.00 alle 18.00, venerdì 2 ottobre dalle 10.00 alle 13.00, Masseria Radogna

Spettacoli
venerdì 2 ottobre ore 15.00 e 17.00, sabato 3 ottobre e domenica 4 ottobre ore 11.30 e 17.00, Masseria Radogna
convocazione due ore prima di ogni spettacolo (durata dello spettacolo 1 ora circa)

È richiesta la presenza per tutti i giorni e gli orari indicati.
Si richiede disponibilità a imparare a memoria il testo.

Il laboratorio verrà effettuato nel pieno rispetto della normativa anti-contagio, come disposto dal DPCM 11 giugno 2020.
La partecipazione è a numero limitato.

ISCRIZIONI 

Le domande devono pervenire entro il 18 settembre all’indirizzo mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. indicando nome, cognome,numero di telefono, provenienza e nell’oggetto "Partecipazione laboratorio Il metodo errante".

TRATTAMENTO DEI DATI PERSONALI

Tali dati sono richiesti ai sensi della normativa anti COVID 19 e saranno conservati per un periodo minimo di 14 giorni successivi alla partecipazione all’evento e in ottemperanza al DCPM dell’11 giugno 2020 in materia di contrasto e contenimento della diffusione del virus Covid-19. Tali dati non verranno diffusi o utilizzati per altri scopi ma esclusivamente per finalità sanitarie legate ad eventuali indagini epidemiologiche avviate dalle autorità sanitarie.

Il METODO ERRANTE. IL LAVORO DELL’ATTORE AGLI OCCHI DI UN BAMBINO è  un laboratorio scenico per attrici/attori, educatrici/educatori, insegnanti condotto da Chiara Guidi

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ph. Massimo D'Amato

AVVISO: POSTI ESAURITI

Dolce lotta è una creazione site specific di Virgilio Sieni ideata per il borgo storico di Matera La Martella nell’ambito del festival "So Far So Close. Esercizi di vicinanza" Il laboratorio è rivolto a cittadini di ogni età, abilità e professione, ma anche ad artisti e performer interessati a prendere parte a un’esperienza artistica fondata sul senso della memoria in relazione al gesto. Il percorso si sviluppa a partire dallo studio di sequenze di gesti inventati, attivando il corpo attraverso esercizi mirati all’ascolto e alla consapevolezza percettiva. Il gesto viene messo in relazione ad un oggetto affettivo, simbolo di racconti, immagini, viaggi. Un oggetto caro ma allo stesso tempo dimenticato, accudito, riposto in luoghi nascosti della casa, inamovibile, che ci ha accompagnato nella vita e che lascia emergere ricordi. Tutti i partecipanti andranno a formare, con i loro oggetti, un grande quadrilatero all’aperto: una sorta di agorà-paesaggio composto da stati d’affezione e gesti rituali. Il laboratorio si concluderà con una performance aperta al pubblico.

Ciascun partecipante dovrà portare un oggetto di dimensioni medie che possa stare in piedi da solo e che sia visibile a distanza (es: vaso, anfora, palla, triciclo, sedia, grande giocattolo, etc..).

DESTINATARI 
cittadini, artisti e performer di ogni età, anche senza conoscenze specifiche di danza

CALENDARIO

Laboratorio

sabato 19 settembre | ore 16.00 - incontro di presentazione del progetto
lunedì 21 settembre | ore 17.30-20.00
martedì 22 settembre | ore 17.30-18.30
mercoledì 23 settembre | ore 17.30-20.00
venerdì 25 settembre | ore 17.30-20.00

Luogo:Teatro Ludovico Quaroni | La Martella, Piazza Montegrappa

Performance

sabato 26 settembre | ore 18.00 (ore 16.00 convocazione per i partecipanti al laboratorio)

Luogo:Teatro Ludovico Quaroni | La Martella, Piazza Montegrappa

Per la buona riuscita del progetto, ogni partecipante dovrà garantire la propria disponibilità per tutti i giorni di prove indicati in calendario e per la presentazione pubblica.

Il laboratorio verrà effettuato nel pieno rispetto della normativa anti-contagio, come disposto dal DPCM 11 giugno 2020.
La partecipazione è a numero limitato.

ISCRIZIONI
Le domande devono pervenire entro giovedì 17 settembre 2020 all’indirizzo mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. indicando nome, cognome e numero di telefono e nell’oggetto "Partecipazione laboratorio Dolce lotta".

TRATTAMENTO DEI DATI PERSONALI
Tali dati sono richiesti ai sensi della normativa anti COVID 19 e saranno conservati per un periodo minimo di 14 giorni successivi alla partecipazione all’evento e in ottemperanza al DCPM dell’11 giugno 2020 in materia di contrasto e contenimento della diffusione del virus Covid-19. Tali dati non verranno diffusi o utilizzati per altri scopi ma esclusivamente per finalità sanitarie legate ad eventuali indagini epidemiologiche avviate dalle autorità sanitarie.

DOLCE LOTTA è un progetto di Virgilio Sieni con la collaborazione e cura di Giulia Mureddu e Delfina Stella

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From 12 September to the end of October, Matera and various remote areas of Basilicata Region will be the venues for the “So Far So Close. Esercizi di vicinanza (exercises of closeness)” Festival of Performing Arts produced by the Matera Basilicata 2019 Foundation, with artistic collaboration from Silvia Bottiroli and Cristina Ventrucci, in partnership with APT Basilicata and ASM Matera and under the patronage of the Municipalities of Matera, Montescaglioso, Venosa, San Mauro Forte, Cirigliano, Latronico and San Severino Lucano. 

The “So Far So Close" programme offers exercises of closeness as a way of re-embracing the existing reality through the performing arts, with a new awareness of our shared lives in an "infected planet", and rediscovering the force of collective action.

The Festival’s leading artists are Emma Dante, Virgilio Sieni, Chiara Guidi, Annamaria Ajmone, MK, Motus, Deflorian and Tagliarini and Luigi Coppola, who for the occasion take a careful, delicate new look at the relationships created by live meetings. Proximity is a central element of their work, including in terms of the relationship between interpreting reality and constructing the imagination, in which the theatre in all its forms and with all its influences – from drama to performance, from the relationship with the cinema and music to dance and from the experience of public and relational art – becomes a tool for studying relations and places through intertwined narratives, and dedicating attention to the relationship between the human and the non-human and between the visible and invisible in a city that has always brought these dimensions together as its vocation.

In Matera and in Basilicata, we propose exercises for a renewed citizenship, in the wake of the experience that made our land a special place for shared creative processes and the relationship between art and space in the course of 2019.

Through the research carried out by the Open Design School, a project that was a pillar of Matera 2019, the Festival is an experiment aimed at putting on live events in the time of COVID by means of a study of new relationships and codes of social behaviour so that notwithstanding the distance between them, participants in the performance can feel that they are fully involved and protagonists in it. Emblematically, the name "So Far So Close" is an expression both of the work that is intended to be done on the new relations among people in the time of social distancing and the new relations that can be constructed between urban and remote areas.

Find out about the full programme of festival events

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Quanto dura un anno a Matera?

A questa domanda proveremo a rispondere giovedì 30 luglio dalle 17:00 in diretta streaming da Casa Cava con la presentazione del report di monitoraggio dell'anno di Matera Capitale Europea della Cultura e il nuovo portale open data.

Nel corso dell'evento analizzeremo le sfide poste già dal dossier di candidatura di Matera 2019: l'investimento sulle produzioni originali, la cittadinanza culturale, gli impatti sociali.

Parteciperanno all'incontro esperti del terzo settore e della cultura tra cui Carlo Borgomeo (Presidente Fondazione con il Sud), Pierluigi Sacco (IULM), Carola Carazzone (presidente Assifero), Giuseppe Bruno (presidente CGM), Marta Ragozzino (Direzione Regionale Musei Basilicata), Giampaolo d'Andrea (consigliere del Ministro Franceschini), Franco Bianchini (Università di Hull), Rossella Tarantino (Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019), Paolo Verri, Giuseppe Laterza (Editori Laterza), Marianna Dimona (Comune di Matera), un rappresentante dei produttori culturali di Matera 2019, da poco costituitisi in Comitato. Concluderanno i lavori i rappresentanti del Consiglio di Amministrazione della Fondazione Matera-Basilicata 2019.

Segui la diretta streaming sul canale YouTube di Matera 2019 e interagisci con i relatori!

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Dal 23 Luglio ripartono le attività laboratoriali presso Casino Padula, con il lancio delle attività del FabLab di Open Design School O.Ma.S. “Open Maker Space”, abbreviato in “O+”, un laboratorio di fabbricazione, analogica e digitale, in cui promuovere la sperimentazione, l’apprendimento, l’invenzione, la prototipazione.  

Se sei esperto potrai usarlo come piattaforma di ricerca e sviluppo di progetti, gli utenti occasionali potranno soddisfare esigenze progettuali individuali, le imprese potranno innovare un prodotto o processo, la comunità dei FabLab lo utilizzeranno per attività condivise e senza limiti di età potrai acquisire nuove competenze.

Il FabLab ‘’O+’’ offrirà l’utilizzo di macchinari avanzati, la consulenza su prototipazione e produzione, i corsi di formazione, lo spazio coworking, gli eventi su temi di interesse dell’utenza. Importante sarà la collaborazione con aziende locali e la sperimentazione della formula del FabLab diffuso, che si avvarrà della partnership con la rete di FabLab locali Officine Mediterranee, con cui Open Design School da tempo collabora. 

La fase di lancio delle attività, in partenza il 23 Luglio e in programma fino al 7 Agosto, vedrà l’attivazione di workshop gratuiti, il giovedì dedicati ai bambini dai 7 ai 12 anni e il venerdì ai ragazzi dai 13 ai 19 anni. 

Le attività che proponiamo sono differenziate per fascia d’età, ma avendo in comune l’approccio non formale, il learning by doing e l’apprendimento tra pari, caratteristiche tipiche dei FabLab e del modello Open Design School. I principali ambiti di formazione saranno il design e la stampa 3D, il coding e la robotica, la fabbricazione analogica e digitale.

Le attività per i bambini dai 7 ai 12 anni si avvarranno di strumenti semplificati, che consentano un approccio alle tecnologie nella forma del gioco e con il raggiungimento di obiettivi immediati. La stampa 3D sarà introdotta mediante l’uso di penne 3D, strumenti che consentono la comprensione della trasformazione fisica della materia e dei principi base della stampa in modo diretto e per mezzo della manualità del bambino. Il disegno 3D al computer utilizzerà il software TinkerCAD, pensato per avvicinare i più piccoli ai principi del disegno virtuale. Il coding sarà applicato all’interazione con semplici robot autocostruiti e alla realizzazione di storie di fantasia in ambienti in cui l’architettura avrà un ruolo fondamentale. Saranno inoltre sperimentate applicazioni ludiche di Arduino.

Con i ragazzi dai 13 ai 19 anni impiegheremo anche gli strumenti tecnologici disponibili in laboratorio, come la vinyl cutter, le stampanti 3D, il taglio laser. L’obiettivo è quello di sviluppare in loro la volontà di proporre e produrre, collettivamente, progetti originali nei campi della tecnologia, del design e dell’architettura mediante l’utilizzo di software professionali e kit Arduino.

I workshop si terranno a Casino Padula il giovedì e venerdì, dalle 18:00 alle 20:00, e saranno accessibili ad un massimo di 8 utenti. 
Per l’iscrizione è necessario inviare una mail all’indirizzo This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. entro il martedì precedente al workshop di interesse.

Di seguito il calendario con le attività:

Giovedì 23/07, ore 18.00 - 20.00 - Bambini 7-12 anni SOLD OUT

Graffiti: utilizzeremo la pittura parietale come esempio di produzione per sottrazione. Realizzeremo un telo, decorato in gruppo con colori a tempera e cartoncini decorati con pastelli a cera per rimozione di strati.

Output: Telo decorato in gruppo e cartoncini personalizzati.

Venerdì 24/07, ore 18.00 - 20.00 - Ragazzi 13-19 anni SOLD OUT

Decoreremo le tazze Matera 2019 con il pattern ODS e il logo O+.

Output: tazze decorate da portare a casa.

Venerdì 31/07, ore 18.00 - 20.00 - Ragazzi 13-19 anni SOLD OUT

Disegno 3D con TinkerCAD

Un’introduzione al mondo CAD 3D mediante un software online gratuito che permetterà di comporre geometrie solide predefinite per ottenere oggetti anche complessi. Adatto a tutti, anche a coloro che non hanno esperienza con i software CAD e desiderano avvicinarsi al design 3D in modo semplice e intuitivo.

Output: un modello  virtuale tridimensionale che sarà riprodotto in stampa 3D nell’appuntamento successivo.

Sabato 01/08, ore 10.00 - 12.00 - Bambini 7-12 anni SOLD OUT

Disegno 3D con TinkerCAD

Un’introduzione al mondo CAD 3D mediante un software online gratuito che permette di comporre geometrie solide predefinite per ottenere oggetti anche complessi. Adatto anche ai bambini, darà la possibilità di acquisire concetti quali la spazialità e la prospettiva.

Output: modello virtuale di un oggetto.

Giovedì 06/08, ore 18.00 - 20.00 - Bambini 7-12 anni SOLD OUT

Con l’utilizzo delle penne 3D creeremo oggetti tridimensionali per un’esperienza di gioco che consentirà ai bambini di acquisire in modo semplice concetti complessi, quali la geometria dello spazio e i principi del disegno e della stampa 3D.

Output: oggetti 3D in plastica ecologica da portare a casa.

Venerdì 07/08, ore 18.00 - 20.00 - Ragazzi 13-19 anni SOLD OUT

Stampa 3D

Una panoramica sulla stampa 3D, i principi di funzionamento e i campi di applicazione. Utilizzeremo la stampante 3D a filamento plastico per realizzare un modello e mostrare come avviene la costruzione di oggetti.

Output: oggetto modellato nel workshop del 31/07.

Tutti i workshop si svolgeranno nel rispetto della normativa anti-Covid, pertanto gli utenti avranno l’obbligo di indossare la mascherina e saranno sottoposti alla rilevazione della temperatura in ingresso.

PUBLIC NOTICE FOR THE SELECTION OF EXPERTS FOR THE CREATION OF NEW SPATIAL FORMATS FOR LIVE EVENTS AS PART OF THE “SO FAR, SO CLOSE” FESTIVAL

(updated 14 August 2020)
After careful selection of the 60 applications received, we welcome the 6 new professionals who will join the new Open Design School working group:

Immacolata Alianelli, Designer, Matera
Vito Battista, Visual Designer, Noicattaro (BA)
Francesco Angelo Convertini, Designer expert in self-construction, Locorotondo (BA)
Francesco Lipari, Designer, Campofranco (CL)
Grazia Mappa, Designer, Grottaglie (TA)
Saverio Massaro, Social Designer, Altamura (BA)

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(REGISTRATION DEADLINE BY 11:59 pm, 27th OF JULY 2020)

Open Design School, the Matera-Basilicata 2019 Foundation design department, is launching the selection of a new multidisciplinary team for the design of new spatial systems and the rethinking of social relations for live events, within the limits imposed by the current pandemia.
The resulting projects, developed together with the artistic team, will be carried out as part of the “So Far, So Close” festival, conceived and created by the Matera-Basilicata 2019 Foundation, that will generate an open source toolkit to facilitate experimentation accessible to all.

OPEN DESIGN SCHOOL
The Open Design School is a laboratory of interdisciplinary experimentation and innovation, born as a pillar project at the service of the cultural program of Matera 2019, and a fundamental part of the legacy of the European Capital of Culture.
It is a horizontal platform, with no rigid hierarchies, that promotes a peer-to-peer and learning by doing approach in a climate of mutual enrichment.
more information here: website - manual

RATIONALE “SO FAR, SO CLOSE”

The Matera - Basilicata 2019 Foundation remains focused on the aims set out in the candidacy dossier of Matera as European Capital of Culture 2019, with particular reference to the wealth and diversity of cultures in Europe, the promotion of culture and the development of cities.
Up until the end of 2022 the Foundation will be committed to consolidating legacy, strengthening the position of Matera and Basilicata within the creativity sector to become a cultural platform in Southern Italy.

As part of this strategy, the “So far, so close” festival is dedicated to the co-creation of live events and public art projects, with a strong regional dimension, through a co-creation process activated by the Open Design School.

Specifically, the Open Design School method provides workshops to bring together professionals from different disciplines from the world, Italy and Basilicata: from epidemiologists to security engineers, from designers to carpenters, from architects to artists to the public itself. It is a research project about new forms of relations and codification of social behaviors, to ensure that, despite the distance, participants in a performance feel fully involved and protagonists of the event, by applying the logic of co-creation,the flagship of Matera 2019.

The projects will cover different thematic areas according to the specificity of the festival venues: suburbs, provincial areas, natural areas and great cultural spaces, such as “Cava del Sole”, a highly iconic space for Matera 2019.
The working group will be coordinated by the ODS team and will work in collaboration with the festival's curator, performers and other experts to creatively face the challenge of planning public events in the time of COVID.

ACTIVITY CALENDAR
03 - 07 August
warm-up
intensive design workshop for the definition of the project guidelines (online attendance is allowed for foreign nationals)

24 August - 30 October
applied research
production of spatial installations, wayfinding and coding of social and spatial relations, study of flows, creation of the open source manual (attendance required).

WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR
The workgroup will be composed of 5 professionals to be selected from the following areas of specialization (check “Call for the creation of an open list of experts of Foundation Matera-Basilicata 2019”, Annex 1 “Specialization areas and income ranges”):
- 2 architects, experts in festivals and events set-up, accessibility, tactical urbanism and landscape [cat.E10]
- 1 designer, expert in self-construction, digital and / or analogical fabrication, DIY and hands-on approach [cat.E10]
- 1 service / social designer, expert in design relations and / or in facilitation of processes [cat.E10]
- 1 visual designer [cat.E11]
The selected participants will be approximately 1/3 from Matera and Basilicata, 1/3 from the rest of Italy and 1/3 from abroad.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
Full-time commitment.
Residency in Matera is mandatory.
Ability to work in multidisciplinary teams.
Good attitude towards sharing.
Knowledge and appreciation of Open Design movement values.
A passion for Matera!
Foreign national professionals (only) can choose to participate online to the warm-up phase.

WHAT WE OFFER
Contribute towards the consolidation of the legacy of European Capital of Culture 2019 and to the national and European debate on new ways to enjoy culture.
Participation in experimental and multidisciplinary research regarding the planning of live events.
Access to a digital and analogue prototyping laboratory to test and self-produce the imagined solutions.
The opportunity to work with a varied creative team, in close contact with the curator, performers, artists and specialized technicians to find innovative answers to a highly topical theme. The opportunity to discover numerous venues of the Basilicata region.
A gross fee total of € 3500 + IVA and/or social and fiscal contributions borne by the Foundation Matera-Basilicata 2019, to be paid on a monthly basis.
Travel expenses reimbursement for foreigners (only) up to a maximum of € 500, for physical participation during the warm-up phase.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Participation to this selection requires registration to the “Open list of experts of Foundation Matera-Basilicata 2019”.
In addition, all interested parties are invited to send their portfolio and motivational letter, to the following e-mail address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
All communications must be received, under penalty of exclusion, no later than 27 July 2020 at 11:59 pm. All the documents must be signed. 
For all information regarding how to apply, minimum access requirements and selection procedures, refer to the “Call for the creation of an open list of experts of Foundation Matera-Basilicata 2019”.
Please note that the CV can also be uploaded in a non-European format.

If you are already registered on the portal, please check the status of your registration and, if needed, proceed with the renewal.

Application to the selection as specified above, does not give rise to any right or expectation that the subject may obtain a professional assignment of any nature from the Foundation Matera-Basilicata 2019.

SELECTION PROCEDURE
The selection will take place through comparison and evaluation of the curricula and subsequent interview for experts deemed to possess the technical and professional requirements for this notice.

CLARIFICATIONS
For more clarifications about the project, interested parties can send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

INFORMATION AND ADVERTISING
This Notice, as well as the results of the comparative procedure, will be appropriately advertised on the institutional website and on the Matera-Basilicata 2019 Foundation dedicated social media.

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Ripartire da alcune delle fasce più colpite dall’emergenza Coronavirus, i malati, gli anziani, gli operatori sanitari e i musicisti, per riprendere il viaggio di Matera 2019 lì dove è stato interrotto. È stato questo lo spirito che ha animato le iniziative che abbiamo organizzato insieme al  Comune di Matera fra la città dei Sassi e Potenza il 21 giugno per la 26esima edizione della Festa della Musica, promossa dal Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e dall’Associazione italiana per la promozione della festa della musica.

In continuità con il percorso fatto nell’anno della Capitale Europea della Cultura, abbiamo deciso di portare la musica nei luoghi emblemi della battaglia al Covid-19 dei due capoluoghi lucani, ovvero gli ospedali e le RSA. Gli Ospedali sono stati, infatti, i presidi dove diverse professionalità fra dirigenti, medici, infermieri, oss e amministrativi, hanno risposto in maniera egregia ed instancabile ad una emergenza senza precedenti, ma anche dove i pazienti vivono ormai da diverso tempo una degenza senza la visita e il conforto dei propri cari. Allo stesso modo, le RSA sono i luoghi i cui residenti e gli operatori hanno vissuto necessariamente in condizioni di isolamento e reclusione. Portare la musica in questi luoghi è stato da un lato un gesto di ringraziamento, di vicinanza e sollievo ai protagonisti di questa fase delicata e dall’altro il segnale che le arti e la cultura sono un balsamo prezioso, capace di alleviare le ferite più profonde dell’anima e della mente.

La giornata è iniziata a Matera con le note della Bassa Musica “Nunzio Paolicelli”- Città di Matera che ha portato allegria nello spazio esterno della Residenza Sanitaria Assistenziale "Brancaccio", per proseguire all’Ospedale Madonna delle Grazie con i violini, il violoncello e il contrabbasso del quartetto "L'altro 900",  esibitosi fra la hall e gli spazi antistanti il reparto infettivi e la zona di osservazione. 

Nel pomeriggio, gli anziani della RSA “Raffaele Acerenza" di Potenza hanno accolto con gioia i brani della migliore tradizione italiana del “Soranno Sax Quartet”, mentre il “Trio Accord” con violino, violoncello e fisarmonica, accompagnato dalla possente voce del soprano, ha fatto risuonare di note e canto l’Ospedale “San Carlo”, fra la hall, il corridoio del reparto di rianimazione e l’ingresso della pneumologia.  Ad emozionare in particolare i presenti, fra medici, infermieri e operatori, l’Ave Maria di Schubert, “forse la più celebre preghiera in musica, in grado di toccare tutti i cuori provati da questo difficile periodo”, come ha sottolineato Giovanna D’Amato, di Ateneo Musica Basilicata, che ha collaborato all’organizzazione dell’iniziativa.

In contemporanea, il Comune di Matera, in collaborazione con l’Associazione Onyx Jazz Club, attraverso una call pubblica ha raccolto sul palco di Casa Cava, a Matera, 18 tra cantanti, cantautori, musicisti e gruppi musicali di ogni età e ogni genere musicale, in un’esibizione trasmessa in diretta streaming fino a tarda sera. 

Dopo i difficili mesi che ci lasciamo alle spalle, la musica, linguaggio universale per antonomasia, è stato lo strumento per donare serenità, ridurre le distanze, riallacciare relazioni, ripartire a fare cultura per e con la comunità.

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Matera passa il testimone a Bergamo a chiusura della prima tappa di Artlab 2020, un'edizione realizzata totalmente online dal 9 al 13 giugno, incentrata sulla condizione del settore culturale durante l’emergenza sanitaria e sulle sue prospettive future. Con il suo percorso di rinascita fino alla nomina a Capitale Europea della Cultura, Matera è diventata un riferimento per Bergamo, città duramente colpita dal Coronavirus e che ospiterà a settembre la seconda tappa di Artlab. Tra le azioni previste per la sua ripartenza, c’è l’unione con la città di Brescia per la candidatura al titolo di Capitale italiana della cultura 2023, proprio sulla scia di Matera 2019. Non un semplice titolo, ma un percorso per ridare entusiasmo al territorio, mettendo la cultura al centro della ricostruzione futura.

In questa speciale edizione di Artlab, che ha visto come main partner la Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019, il cluster Basilicata Creativa e il Consorzio Materahub,  Matera ha scelto di raccontare il suo percorso attraverso alcuni dei processi di rigenerazione a base culturale sperimentati nelle aree interne della Basilicata, inserendosi nella riflessione suoi luoghi marginali del nostro Paese avviata già prima dell’emergenza Covid e riesplosa oggi nel dibattito nazionale.   In diretta dal Centro Polivalente - Palestra di Resilienza “D’amoroso foco” è arrivata la testimonianza di uno spazio pubblico rigenerato per far sì che la creatività giovanile possa essere il punto di riferimento per i cittadini. La comunità è anche al centro del progetto “Wonder Grottole” che lo scorso anno, grazie alla partnership con Matera 2019 e Airbnb, ha dato vita ad Italian Sabbatical, iniziativa attraverso cui 5 volontari provenienti da diverse parti del mondo hanno vissuto per i mesi estivi nel borgo di Grottole, innescando uno scambio di esperienze, competenze e sguardi sul territorio con gli abitanti del posto. La riflessione sul turismo e il concetto di “cittadino temporaneo”, che sposta l’attenzione dai luoghi alle persone, è stato sin dall’inizio al centro del programma di Matera 2019. Una delle strade per evitare la competizione fra residenti e turisti causata dall’overtourism, è stata quella di allargare i confini della città e della regione e, in questo senso le aree interne giocano un ruolo fondamentale.  Diversi perciò sono stati i progetti di Matera 2019 che hanno coinvolto le comunità “remote” della Basilicata, da Capitale per un giorno ad AltoFest, a Gardentopia. In queste comunità la presenza degli artisti, che hanno lavorato sulla valorizzazione dei patrimoni materiali e immateriali del luogo, ha consentito di generare uno sguardo differente sul proprio territorio in chi lo abita e di portare nuovi stimoli.

Il tema dello spazio pubblico è inoltre al centro delle ricerche e delle attività dell’Open Design School, il laboratorio sperimentale di Matera 2019, che ha realizzato una mappatura dei luoghi della Basilicata in cui poter ospitare gli appuntamenti della Capitale Europea della Cultura. Un’attività attraverso cui è stato possibile rileggere il territorio, realizzata con il coinvolgimento di tecnici, ma anche di creativi e delle comunità che hanno svelato tali spazi.  Il concetto di patrimonio culturale in questo modo si amplia, abbracciando anche la valenza sociale dei luoghi, ossia quanto un spazio ha un portato di valore per le comunità che lo abitano. Nei luoghi si sedimentano storie; sono come organismi viventi, che si trasformano nel tempo.

Uno dei luoghi coinvolti per raccontare Matera all’interno di Artlab 2020 è stato il quartiere de La Martella, nato nella periferia della città, a seguito dello sfollamento dei Sassi e frutto della sperimentazione urbanistica di Adriano Olivetti, incentrata sui bisogni della comunità. La piazza centrale del borgo, insieme al Teatro Quaroni, hanno ospitato la performance “Sono qui” realizzata da #reteteatro41, una rete di 4 compagnie teatrali lucane protagoniste di Matera 2019: IAC (Matera), L’Albero (Melfi), Petra (Satriano), Gommalacca (Potenza). Una riflessione performativa sulle nuove relazioni tra spazio abitato e comunità. Un vero e proprio manifesto dei creativi lucani per la ripartenza post-Covid e post-Matera 2019, che mira a rimettere al centro delle politiche culturali regionali il teatro, l’arte, la musica, lavorando insieme alle comunità, negli spazi pubblici di tutta la Basilicata. 

A chiudere l’edizione materana di Artlab è stato il confronto sulle pratiche e le politiche culturali per le aree interne, cui hanno preso parte operatori culturali, policy makers, fondazioni tra cui Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019, Fondazione Simbola, Fondazione con il Sud, con le conclusioni affidate a Francesco Monaco, Consulente del Ministro Provenzano per le Aree Interne e Coordinatore SNAI - Strategia Nazionale Aree Interne.

Sul sito della Fondazione Fizaccaraldo è possibile rivedere tutte le sessioni plenarie, le pillole di approfondimento e i webinar di Artlab Matera.

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“DeuS – European Open Design School for Sustainable Regional Development” is a regional Vocational Educational Training project which aims to co-create a European-wide learning and training approach in design, critical thinking, and entrepreneurship to find creative and cost-effective solutions to local challenges, by unlocking the potential of the cultural and creative sector.

DeuS is a pilot project under the European Commission program Erasmus+ and will run for two years by a consortium of ten partners: Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019 (IT), Consorzio Materahub Industrie Culturali e Creative (IT), Vytautas Magnus University – VMU (LT), XAMK – South Eastern University of Applied Sciences (FI), ECBN – European Creative Business Network (NL), University of Wales Trinity Saint David Royal Charter – UWTSD – Creative Industries Research and Innovation Centre – CIRIC (UK), Creative Region Linz & Upper Austria GmbH (AT), Creative Business Cup Foundation (DK), Valletta 2018 Foundation (MT), Creative Industry Košice – CIKE (SK). 

DeuS is shaped around Open Design School, the pillar project of Matera 2019. Its methodology -  a design laboratory using a peer-to-peer approach, where professionals of any discipline work together sharing knowledge and expertise and testing the design solutions with the local community - will be used for DeuS training activities.

This training methodology will be used to develop a toolkit that will be made available on a Creative Knowledge Platform where the education system, in particular VET (vocational and educational training), and the cultural and creative industries (ICC) professionals will be able to draw on an open source training offer, based on a participatory and co-creation approach. The platform also aims to establish a community for the different target groups across the ICC sector, encouraging cross-sector and cross-border collaboration and promoting the meeting between creatives, policy makers and citizens.

Users can expect high-level and user-friendly training, tools, and sources in support of lifelong learning in the cultural and creative industries with a focused and pragmatic response also to the critical needs of the CCI sector apparent as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Alongside the digital universe, the project will organize collaborative problem-solving sessions across Europe.  The project will challenge the concept of sustainable local development by focusing on the transformative power of the cultural and creative industries.

The DeuS projects’ ultimate goal is to put human capital, local communities, and the creative and cultural operators at the forefront of regional development strategies, which is exactly what the combination of the Creative Knowledge Platform and the physical training and co-creation events can provide. The goal is to foster open dialogue with policymakers and to show them that the community of educators, creatives and local forces that the project is building is the key to enabling the innovative, sustainable and lasting solutions we need. 

DeuS has launched a set of four surveys to understand the current needs of the cultural and creative industries.The aim is to hear from the stakeholders to gain insights and an in-depth understanding of needs, challenges, barriers and innovative solutions in place across the cultural and creative sector. The information get from the study will go towards creating an optimised training programme and resources for the benefit of cultural and creative industries across Europe.

Through the DeuS project the legacies of the experience of Matera European Capital of Culture 2019 are beginning to be harnessed. The wealth of skills and good practices developed in this path from Open Design School,  will be transferred to an international think tank, offering innovative solutions for the benefit of the local and European creative and cultural sector.

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With an extraordinary year (2019) and path (the one that led us to 2019) behind us, the Matera-Basilicata 2019 Foundation is now working towards the future. It is true that due to the COVID-19 emergency, some projects have been postponed, others are being developed (also in light of the new perception of reality and our way of enjoying culture that will surely undergo changes), and others are still flourishing in these days and are a source of support to those who are on the front line of the current Coronavirus emergency.

With the experimental design workshop “Open Design School”, which was a pillar project of the Matera 2019 programme and legacy, thanks to various tools and professionals, 500 face shields have been created for the healthcare workers of Basilicata.

At the request of the Basilicata emergency services and in coordination with the Regional Civil Protection for the distribution, makers, professionals, digital and medical craftsmen have become involved in these activities included in the widespread digital manufacturing project developed by Officine Mediterranee, a network of Southern Italy fab labs, coordinated with the Syskrack association of Grassano (MT). The latter also launched a fundraiser for the purchase of the materials necessary for the production of another 500 face shields built with materials recovered and repurposed by the makers themselves: plastic supports created with 3D printers, elastic bands, rubber supports, PVC/PET sheets, etc.

Furthermore, for the intensive care unit of the "Madonna delle Grazie di Matera" Hospital, Open Design School has produced, in partnership with local makers, a plexiglass case that reduces exposure of the health workers to contamination when carrying out intubation and other high-risk procedures on the airways of COVID-19 patients, providing an additional protection system. The idea came from a proposal put forward by Dr Francesco Zuccaro, doctor at the Matera hospital, as well as an open data and open culture enthusiast, who suggested to the ODS team the creation of an "aerosol box" designed by a Taiwanese doctor and validated in an article in "The New England Journal of Medicine" by a team of doctors from Boston who tested its protective efficacy through simulations. Following the success of this first experiment, the Open Design School team will create new cases for other hospitals in Basilicata.

Finally, Open Design School will provide support to the tailoring workshop of the Silent Academy of Il Sicomoro Co-operative, where the boys and girls of the SPRAR project and the operators have started a small-scale production of masks made with African fabrics, with the common goal of making themselves useful at such a difficult time for the whole community.

Matera 2019 is also present online.

Collective productions, collaborations between cultural inhabitants, exchanges between different artistic identities to set up important and profound co-productions: what would cultural spaces be without the visitors, spectators, listeners, participants, and mere onlookers of the planned initiatives? That's why, for about a month now, with Matera 2019 we have fully accepted the appeal of MiBACT to spread the beauty of our artistic and creative heritage online, involving and entertaining the public at home as much as possible.

We are doing this via our social media channels both by retracing the beauty of what has been in stages and by reworking in different ways the contents collected in an immense archive of images, videos and sounds, and by bringing together excellent initiatives at a national and international level, to communicate how much beauty -despite the current circumstances- is circulating thanks to the digital grapevine, narrating the amazing miracle of amazement that is taking place on the web.

Whether they are those promoted by our partners or by small and large cultural institutions, every day we have made available our virtual spaces to share beauty and wonder, putting ourselves at the service of those who right now are following us "from home", the only place from where it is possible to look at the world today. And we will do it again. Therefore we invite you to continue to follow us and to keep us company in compliance with the main rule: stay at home!

"Diary of an encouter (Diario di un incontro)" is the title of the publication, available in Italian, English and Japanese, in which we wanted to bring together all the initiatives carried out for Matera European Capital of Culture 2019 together with our partner EU-Japan Fest, a Japanese association of private companies that for 30 years has collaborated with all European Capitals of Culture to create opportunities for exchanges and shared work between Japanese and European artists.

Not just a meeting between artists, but between cultures, between populations and, ultimately, between people. The most emotive images of this meeting, which can be seen by browsing the catalogue, primarily portray the smiles and kindness of the Japanese volunteers who arrived in Matera with the Volunteers Exchange programme. Our friends have shown incredible enthusiasm in making their contribution to some important Matera 2019 projects, while at the same time finding a great welcome among the local volunteers and the Matera community.

And then there are the cultural productions, which involved many artists from Japan: the actress Ema Tashiro in the show 'Humana Vergogna', part of the project 'Poetry of Shame' co-produced by #Reteteatro41; the artist Kaori Kato in the workshops on paper and the creation of installations for 'M.E.M.O.RI. - The Euro Mediterranean Museum of Re(f)used Objects' co-produced by Luna al guinzaglio; the juggler and contortionist Hisashi Watanabe, of the Atama to Kuchi company, on stage with 'Inverted Tree' as part of the project dedicated to the contemporary circus 'Circus +'; the artist Takashi Kuribayashi, with his two artistic installations 'Entrances' and 'Cielo Capolvolto'; the multimedia artist Ryoichi Kurokawa with his audiovisual performance 'Subassemblies' for the 'In Vitro - Artificial Sonification' project co-produced by LOXOSconcept; the artist Hiroaki Umeda in the digital art and dance performance 'Intensional Particle' for the 'Quantum Danza' project; the architect Gakutoshi Kojima, who in 1974 participated in the international competition for the recovery of the Sassi stone districts, protagonist of a design workshop and a talk organised by the Open Design School.

Through the 'City Pop Up' project, Open Design School also hosted the Solar Cooking Club workshop with Japanese architects Yoshiharu Tsukamoto and Momoyo Kaijima of the Atelier Bow Wow studio, while for the Artistic Residencies project, thanks to the collaboration with the Basilicata Chamber of Commerce, the Japanese artist Yu Arak, who has worked with the network of companies linked to Casamatera, came to Matera. Another artistic residency was that of the 'European Eyes On Japan' project, which brought photographers from the European Capitals to Japan, observed through the shots taken by a ‘European eye’, and the 'Passport Programme', a joint programme of cultural exchanges between artists and culture experts from Basilicata and Japan.

All of the above and other content are included in this volume that we have created as a sort of diary in verse, disseminating between the pages, triplets, in homage to the tradition of Japanese haiku, written by Edoardo Delle Donne, the Basilicata author of the 'Manifesto for Matera', an emotional map in eight points from which the artist Kuribayashi obtained the verses that constituted the verbal material of his installation 'Cielo Capovolto'.

Meetings that are intended for deeper bonds and exchanges. Because a meeting is not only in the moment, it lasts over time... people to people!

Diary of an encouter (Diario di un incontro) / Catalogue

11 December 2019 and 21 February 2020. Two dates that are reference points for months of research, assembly and construction of the story of stories, that of a wonderful journey to be preserved and shown to the world. The faces, the projects, the spaces, the workshops, the exhibitions, the events, the emotions: all that has been Matera 2019 is today part of the large open window on the Google Arts & Culture platform, an immense online museum where you can retrace the extraordinary year of Matera European Capital of Culture 2019, reading about it from exclusive and emotional points of view.

Matera 2019 is the first European capital of culture to be present on the Google Arts & Culture platform, alongside the most prestigious cultural institutions in the world such as the New York MoMA, the Palace of Versailles and the Venice Biennale.
The presence of Matera 2019 on the platform developed by Google to promote and preserve online culture does not simply aim to tell the material heritage of the city, but above all to enhance the stories and processes that accompanied the 2019 initiatives.

Unlike other institutions, in fact, we worked and concentrated on the processes and stories that made this exponential global visibility in the cultural field possible. The narrations are therefore dedicated to the volunteers and citizens that were the protagonists of cultural productions, to national and international artists who have enriched the cultural offer, to large and more immersive exhibitions, to film productions, to the Cava del Sole that became a vessel for all the music of the world, to the great workshop of Matera 2019, to underground Matera (the productions hosted in the underground spaces), to the expanded city (the activities in Piccianello, in the village of La Martella, Serra Venerdì, the quarries, the Murgia, the prison, the Tre Torri Theatre), to the whole of Basilicata, which in 2019 lent itself to welcome and produce various cultural and creative processes, to the Sassi stone districts as a stage for the European capital of culture (Inhabiting the Opera, Open sound, Heritage Games, Matera Alberga, to name a few) to the great co-productions (Rai Radio3, Teatro San Carlo, Teatro delle Albe, etc.), to the murals that today colour the centre and the periphery (but not only) of the city of Matera.

After the launch of the dedicated page and the first stories, which took place in December 2019, in February 2020 the narrative process was complete, enriched with other stories and elements, of which people and places are the protagonists. Many multimedia pieces and routes mapped for the first time with Street View, with added photographic and video content, dedicated to the events of the Matera 2019 cultural programme, for a total of 519 elements accompanied by a narrative available in Italian and English, for a highly representative story of the major thematic strands of Matera 2019.

An important result therefore, the result of a great collaboration between the digital communication team of Matera 2019 and the editorial staff of Google Arts & Culture, who have approved all the proposed content, confirming both the quality of the materials and the choice of storytelling method.

2019: an extraordinary year lived intensely. But what was the perception of permanent and temporary citizens who took part in the Matera European Capital of Culture journey?

On 19 February 2020, in the Conference Room of the Basilicata Chamber of Commerce in Matera, during a meeting aimed at 'Connections and Reflections' there was a presentation of the results of a survey commissioned by the Matera-Basilicata 2019 Foundation and carried out by the company Datacontact, which provided useful and important food for thought and the stimulus to take on new challenges, areas for improvement and opportunities arising from the legacy left behind by this great event.

Based on a sample of almost 5000 permanent and temporary citizens, both from Italy and abroad, who were asked to complete a questionnaire either face-to-face or online, it immediately catches the eye that almost all of the interviewees now believe that Matera is a more international and well-known city, compared to the pre-candidacy phase, whilst 77.9% consider it to be more culturally vibrant. There are also important data that highlight how around 85% of citizens have taken great pride in the path taken by the city, with 87.4% and 82.5% who are now open and willing to welcome both tourists and citizens coming from other cities or countries, and those with different abilities.

Furthermore, 60% of the interviewees felt sufficiently involved as a protagonist and not only a spectator of the cultural programme, a feeling that has increased the desire to personally take part in the future, and around 70% of the respondents have stated that, thanks to the Matera Passport 2019 (the cost of which was considered by the majority as fair if not negligible compared to what was on offer), they felt more motivated to participate in the events and activities of the cultural programme. Indeed, 83.5% said that the Passport also helped to bring more spectators to the cultural events in general, broadening the horizons of the public and attracting those who did not usually attend this type of event.

Richness and variety, as well as originality, are the most suitable adjectives to describe the perception of the content proposed by the cultural programme, which corresponds to an appreciation for the enhancement of new spaces (such as Cava del Sole), the unprecedented use of some (Matera prison, for example) or the rearrangement of others (especially the museums).  The survey, in fact, shows that 85.9% of the most attended events were exhibitions, 73% were shows and performances (theatre, opera, dance) and 64.3% were concerts and events at Cava del Sole.

In addition to widespread sadness for the intense year that has just ended and that many would have liked to continue (31.7%), the most perceived feeling is that of happiness for having had such an exceptional experience (36.8%): these feelings, in fact, affect almost 60% on average of citizens who are hoping for a future in which Matera and Basilicata remain places where culture is produced and where international events are still organised. There is a hunger for shows, music and events at the Cava del Sole, a desire for exhibitions, opera and theatre, and a strong hope of even more engaging activities for young spectators.

It is also important to note that the year of Matera European Capital of Culture influenced 68.1% of the choice of the city as a holiday destination, significantly increasing the number of temporary citizens in the city.

The results of the survey on the perception of Matera, European Capital of Culture 2019

Altofest is the story of an original and provocative response to the theatre crisis. Faced with a continuous decline in audience numbers, in Naples, the intention was to deconstruct the idea of theatre space, and to strip it down to its bare bones, taking it to private homes. Thus, Altofest was born, a festival that brings the artist to the spectator's most intimate place and transforms their house into their home theatre.

This initiative subsequently gave rise to 'Altofest-Abitare Futuro', a special edition, conceived for Matera-Basilicata 2019, of this work-system that fits neatly into the socio-urban fabric. From 4 November to 8 December, for two weeks each, 29 artistic residencies involved the municipalities of Melfi, Venosa, Moliterno, Sarconi, Montalbano Jonico, Tursi, Tricarico, Grassano, Montescaglioso, Miglionico and Matera, to testify how much interest the internal areas of the region continue to hold for Matera 2019. Of these residencies, 27 took place in the private homes of Basilicata citizens and 2 in 'special venues': a pool hall and a school bus. Over 2,500 spectators had the opportunity to witness the staging of works by national and international artists, known in the most diverse fields, from dance to videomaking, from theatre to music.

The concept behind the whole festival was the exchange relationship between the host family and the artist. Citizens became 'space donors' whilst the artists edited their work based on the space in which they were living, and the interpersonal relationships established with the hosts. From this perspective, the family unit was a comparative element for the artist, allowing or denying the distortion of the space around and, sometimes, constituting as an integral part of the work.

This was not just because of hospitality but also constant dialogue, which reached its maximum potential in the open debates organised around the tenth day of the residency, on the eve of the artist's final performance/restitution. In these moments of exchange, it was highlighted how, quite unexpectedly, the residencies stimulated a common aesthetic reflection on the performances and on the act of restitution itself.

It now remains to be seen what precious heritage 'Altofest-Abitare Futuro' has created in terms of relationships and the building of communities and, above all, how not to waste their potential.

The cycle of 32 artistic residencies of the Gardentopia project, located in 26 municipalities throughout the region, has come to an end.

In total, there were 3800 participants, 2850 trees and plants put in the ground, 64 workshops and 14 redeveloped gardens. In addition, 13 patches were allocated to individual citizens and 7 to public schools, while as many as 14 performances were held (including performative installations, theatre, dance and music). There were also 4 meetings with all the Municipalities and gardens involved (the 'Green Night', as well as the 3 Gardentopia Days). The results of the project are summarised in 4 original publications and 2 films.
But beyond the figures, which report the project's success in the most direct and flattering way, it is useful to reflect on the legacy of a process like Gardentopia.

Starting from the '4 gardens' pilot that was initiated in 2016 (Agoragri, Pascoli and Giardino dei Momenti in Matera; Boschetto Orizzontale in Potenza), the aim was to replicate the experience of proactive sharing of a public asset throughout the Basilicata region. Thanks to the profile of the resident artists, the outcome exceeded all expectations, triggering a dynamic that could be summarised with the expression 'bidirectional knowledge', which refers to a continuous exchange between the citizens' own knowledge of the region and the artists' ability to create a new ideal.

Evidence of the intense work behind Gardentopia remains, leaving behind a utopia that has opened up new horizons for public spaces by experimenting with innovative practices that bring citizens together.

What appears to be clear and which, most probably, constitutes the most tangible result of the path started by Gardentopia in 2019, is that the citizens, having taken on board some spatial awareness skills, have succeeded in transforming the suggestions given to them by the artists into real practices that they have carried out independently. In this context, the central theme and consequently the project's most important legacy is participation as a constant practice of direct interaction with public heritage.

The year of Matera European Capital of Culture is coming to an end, but the special events are not over yet.

19 days, 19 hours and 19 minutes of theatrical entertainment, musical and digital dance performances, workshops organised by Samsung, exhibitions and a festival dedicated entirely to the crossover of culture and the digital world, one of the central themes of the candidacy dossier that looks to the future as a legacy of this extraordinary journey.

The Open Culture Festival includes a series of initiatives dedicated to digital culture and technological innovation, hot topics for the cultural offer of the future with interactive experiences, multimedia games, entertainment and testimonials from the most important players in the digital market.

Every day until 20 December we will be counting down to the big Open Future, Together! party, featuring famous international musicians who will perform in Cava del Sole in the presence of a welcoming and festive audience.

For more information on everything that is happening between 1 and 20 December, see the 'special countdown' schedule on Matera Events and follow Matera 2019 on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

There are 32 artistic residencies that awakened the curiosity of, and continue to interest Basilicata, within the wider framework of the Gardentopia project. Individual and collective artists are embarking on a journey through the gardens, the vegetable patches and, more generally, the region's public areas to reflect, together with the citizens, on their function, trying to translate into virtuous practice the concept of an asset that is no longer just public but communal.

The artistic residencies have taken on various formats, from short workshops to longer investigations into the region's intangible heritage right up to the widespread initiative that has seen public places become areas of interest from the artists' viewpoints.

Following the residency model, workshops were held with specific targets that did not invest in the aspect of physical space. Knowledge was transferred or networked by the artist to the citizens, who, in turn, transferred their own knowledge to the artist. One example of this is Otobong Nkanga's residency at Casino Padula, in Matera, and in Pietragalla.

On the other hand, a different format was used for the residencies of Martina Muzi and Nomedas and Gediminas Urbonas, in Sasso di Castalda and Vaglio Basilicata, respectively. The residencies were longer than the previous ones, in which field research was carried out by citizens, focusing not only on the communal garden or vegetable patch, but on the entire surrounding area. The study and re-working of the physical and intangible heritages have been a means of restoring centrality to the region, leaving citizens the legacy of a constantly evolving and never completed common space.

The third, and final, model of Gardentopia residencies reflected on the transformation of public spaces. Landscape artists and architects have imagined new forms of managing shared assets and opened up discussions on the sustainability of spaces. Two examples of this approach were the residencies of Volumezero in Montemilone and Lavello and Luigi Coppola at Casino Padula in Matera.

Gardentopia's cycle of residencies is coming to an end. However, reflection on the new ways of thinking about communal spaces will certainly continue.

From 31 October to 2 November, through 15 different games, citizens of all ages had the chance to explore secret corners of the city, look for clues, solve mysteries, work together and compete, challenging other players and trying to come out on top.
The Fusion Urban Games Festival used virtual reality to inject new life into urban spaces and help participants rediscover traditional games through encounters with ghosts, porcelain dolls and strange personalities looking for gems and tails, the mystery of the death of CountTramontano, ecological tasks and urban poetry. The festival, which was produced with Plovdiv 2019, the other European Capital of Culture, was three days of pure enjoyment, and also part of a larger joint programme of activities called “Plotera weeks – Plovdiv and Matera together for an Open Future”. The games were designed by a team of game designers chosen from a public call published across Europe that rewarded projects from Russia, Poland, Bulgaria, Germany, England, Slovenia, Romania and Italy. From its first day, the Fusion Urban Game Festival's playing field included the outskirts of Matera, including Serra Venerdì, for the game dedicated to ecology called the "Clean Game" and Agna Le Piane and Casino Padula, the location of the Open Design School, where one of the two Villages dedicated to the event was set up. Here, using a special VR set, participants were able to immerse themselves in virtual reality while they hunted for the ghosts of legendary personalities with their smartphones. There were also sessions of ancient games that were unknown to digital natives. During the same period, another part of the Village was established in Piazza San Francesco, the central point from which the routes followed by some of the games started and an info point for temporary and permanent citizens alike where they could register for some of the games and find information and promotional materials on Matera's twin European Capital of Culture, Plovdiv 2019. The games on offer included "Detective among the Sassi", a fascinating game for lovers of thrillers, who had to use a series of clues to discover who was responsible for the death of Count Tramontano in 1514. There was also the "Case of the Red Lady", the "Narrative Puzzle" and the "Urban Poem", which fully involved the participants in the festival of urban games. The urban game known as "Penombra", an "international" version of the project co-produced with the "Il Vagabondo" Association, also caused excitement with its journey into a dystopian future of Matera in 2119, which was transformed, divided and under a mysterious threat.
After Matera, the festival was also held in Plovdiv from 8 to 10 November, confirmation that it was an important tool for social activation and territorial inclusion for both cities.

Stories, legends and fantastic characters returned to life in the fourth exhibition put on by I-DEA,
"The Land of Cockaigne", curated by Navine G. Khan-Dossos and James Bridle. The exhibition
was an artistic project based on Basilicata's extremely rich archival heritage, and told the story of
the role of imagination in our lives. It was opened in the hangar at Cava Paradiso on 18 October,
and bore witness to the great vivaciousness of the history that has given life to Matera and Basilicata, and how it still has a major impact on our lives today. From musical instruments built
with wood from its trees, to skins and the green screens from cinema sets, the fourth I-DEA
exhibition put the many symbols of the land and its meanings on display. From the donkey
Nicoletta, the symbol of the anti-nuclear protests in Scanzano, portrayed by Tony Vece in a
number of photographs in the exhibition, to artefacts made by citizens in papier maché workshops
under the coordination of artisan Raffaele Pentasuglia. Navine G. Khan-Dossos and James Bridle
also left a number of precious elements from the previous exhibitions-including Lionetti's
engravings and Luigi di Gianni's films- in the space, which was designed by Elisa Giuliano, Martha
Schwindling and Antonio Elettrico for the Open Design School.
Following “The Land of Cockaigne”, I-DEA will be preparing for another transitional phase from 18
November before putting on its fifth and final exhibition of 2019, "Inhabiting the Archives, Life,
Movement and Collection". This is the final stage of the project, and takes the form of an exhibition
curated by Pelin Tan and Liam Gillick. The project is based on archives selected as part of the
research carried out by the internationally renowned curator and the artist, and represents a critical
approach to modernism, in line with the history of the territory from the 1950s to today.
The “Land of Cockaigne” draws on the ancient, the living and the future. Inspired by the spirit of
Cockaigne, the curators have brought together ancient plants and modern forgeries, pre-war
documentaries and modern successes, bagpipes and satellites and science and rituals with the
aim of demonstrating the many ways in which the wealth of the present gives new life to the past.

The exhibition has been drawn from numerous different archives, from the Accademia Nazionale di
Santa Cecilia, the Archivio di Etnomusicologia, the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, the Centro di Geodesia Spaziale Giuseppe Colombo, the Archivio Domenico Notarangelo, the Archivio Luchino
Visconti, the Fondazione Gramsci, the Archivio di Stato di Matera, the Alberico Larato private
collection, the Gianfranco Lionetti private collection, the Nicola Scaldaferri private collection, the
Consorzio di Bonifica della Basilicata, e-GEOS, the Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna, NASA, the
Volontari della Parrocchia B.V.M. del Carmelo, Wikimedia Commons and Titanus Film. A fountain
with a cuckoo sculpture designed and created by Francesco Mitarotonda has also been prepared
specifically for the exhibition.

Update 5 December 2019

The list of selected participants has been published.

Update 27 November 2019

The deadline to send your application has been extended to 11.59 pm of 30 November 2019. The list of selected participants will be published on the workshop website by 1 December.

We planned two different workshop activities for Matera 3019, the project that closes and reopens Matera 2019: with Teatro delle Forche, involving girls and boys, we will cross Matera envisioning the possible futures; with La Scuola Open Source and Open Design School we will work on a digital tool capable of enabling conversations to build new tomorrows.

It is an opportunity to reflect, summarize, to have a vision and understand what happened and launch proposals on the cities we crave. 

The project XYZ2019 with La Scuola Open Source includes a digital platform (website), a process of community development, networking and animation of the same, for the following purposes:

• collect, measure, systematize and enhance what was done during Matera 2019 (events, reports, contents, ideas, etc.);
• connecting all the people who participated in the activities, promoting self-organization and collaboration;
• build a digital platform that effectively enables independent cultural production.

Participation is free and open to all those interested in taking part in the process, coming from any professional / academic background.

Participants will be selected based on their own motivation and experience (formal or informal). The workshop will be held at the Open Design School; the laboratory activities are concentrated in the days between the 7th and 15th of December.

To join XYZ2019 lab you must fill in the following application form by 11.59 pm of 22 November 2019. The list of selected participants will be published on the workshop website by 22 November.

Applications require a motivational letter and a résumé (a short self-presentation with a list of your experiences). You can also attach a portfolio. To know more about the call and to send your application click here.

A new philosophy linked to gesture filled the month of September. Thanks to Virgilio Sieni's workshops, developed for the project Thauma - Atlas of Gesture, dozens of citizens have been able to rediscover, reinterpret and give new dignity to ancient gestures perceived up to now as mere complements to an action, to another goal.

The re-elaboration, slow pace and reflection have allowed those who have tried their hand in the spaces of I-DEA or in those of the Teatro Quaroni in La Martella (reopened for the occasion) the possibility of rethinking the gesture and understanding its deeper nature, through an exploration of one's most intimate self.

That was the case, with perhaps the most emotionally powerful workshop 'Agorà Mothers and Children'. A workshop that turned out, in the final performance, to be a profound sublimation of pregnancy and its final moment, birth. Letting bodies and expressions speak, six mother and child pairs explored their relationship, in its more physical, sensorial aspects, linked to that memory of the body that is sometimes drowned out by everyday life. A way to talk about oneself and tell the story of an unbreakable bond that is consolidated by taking care of the child but is rooted in the animalistic nature of procreation.

With the workshops 'Frontier Dances' and 'Officina Tattile', citizens have denied the gesture of its function to reflect on its nature. Ancient gestures, repeated for centuries and then forgotten, have rediscovered their own dignity, by disconnecting them from the work of the land. Action is thus perceived independently, leaving bodies a new awareness, "giving the gesture more weight than if it were done thoughtlessly" says one of the participants enthusiastically.

Another citizen, Vittoria, who took part in the Teatro Quaroni workshops, reveals the profound meaning of her experience with Virgilio Sieni. "Thinking of the gesture" - she affirms - "as a moment of communication, not of imitation, through an expressiveness that makes it more direct, more effective - in some ways unfiltered".

Between art and dance, the third I-DEA Thauma - Atlas of Gesture exhibition, from 13 September to 7 October, was a heartfelt search for lost gestures. A journey that started from the study and exploration of materials from the archives of Basilicata and other Italian regions to create another archive of the gesture through exhibitions, installations, practices, choreographic actions, performances and special projects. Virgilio Sieni, former director of the Venice Biennial Dance Sector from 2013 to 2016, is one of the most iconic dancers and choreographers on the European scene, and he was the curator behind this extraordinary exhibition for the first time. In Cava Paradiso, Thauma -Atlas of Gesture hosted a series of tables on the exploration of the body in search of the disappeared gestures that contained drawings, photographs, annotations, sequences,objects, videos and maps. A real atlas of gestures was enriched every day with research materials in the field, becoming a study platform and a permanent research and creation workshop, in a participatory process that actively involved citizens. The set-up, the pulsating and living body of the project in constant evolution, has retained some elements of Studio Formafantasma's previous exhibition, as always happens in the transition from one exhibition to another within the I-DEA project. A rich programme of performances, actions and practices on the gesture accompanied the exhibition throughout the month of September. On the occasion of the inauguration on 12 September, we attended 'Domestic Dances' accompanied by live music performed by Roberto Cecchetto on guitar: dances created with some citizens previously met in their homes by Virgilio Sieni and his team, who collected gestures and objects to transform them into choreographic installations created starting from ritual gestures and recovered objects.
From 11 to 16 September there was a Workshop to build wooden sprites and elves for children between 6 and 11 years old, conducted by Viola Tortoli Bartoli, and inspired by the tradition of characters from Lucan folklore. The programme of choreographed actions continued on 13 September with the 'Dances toward off the evil eye', which the Compagnia Virgilio Sieni (with live music performed by Michele Rabbia on percussion) presented as installations on tuff pedestals, on 15 September with Agorà Mothers and Children, duo dances performed by mothers and their children, the result of a creative process carried out with Sieni, and live music by Roberto Cecchetto on guitar, on 19 and 22 September with the Frontier Dances, on the disappeared gestures, interpreted by citizens and born of a process of immersion in the nature of the gesture. Between 23 and 28 September, Officina Tattile breathed new life into the Quaroni Theatre in Borgo La Martella, the space designed by Ludovico Quaroni at the request of Adriano Olivetti for the great utopian urban intervention conducted in the 1950s by the entrepreneur, who brought together architecture, enterprise and attention to the community.
Performances, workshops and dialogues alternated in this wonderful space given back to the whole community for a week. The programme was completed, still within the Theatre and the Spazio Tattile workshops, in collaboration with the visually impaired dancer Giuseppe Comuniello (with whom they will also produce the short work Blind Dance), with the performance 'In front of the eyes of others' with Virgilio Sieni. Finally, on 28 September there was the 'Communal Dance', where Sieni led a final collective dance open to all, citizens, dancers and performers of all ages and
backgrounds, created on the spot basic instructions on the simple gestures that form us as individuals: a sequence of movements freely performed according to one's abilities, creating a series of repetitions. A project accompanied by musicians Spartaco Cortesi and Naomi Berrill. The I-DEA space for 'Thauma - Atlas of Gesture' is in transition and will gradually be transformed into 'The Land of Cockaigne' curated by Navine G. Khan-Dossos and James Bridle, the fourth exhibition that will open on 18 October and will remain open until 18 November.

Thauma - Atlas of Gesture was an unprecedented search for postures, for physical but also emotional resonances of the people put into dialogue with the images recovered from the historical archives of Basilicata.

Update 3 October 2019

The results of the Call for Artists are available online. 

Are you a game designer? Would you like to present your game or your workshop for the first edition of Fusion - Urban games festival?

This open call, published jointly by Matera 2019 and Plovdiv 2019, is the right occasion to present your game or your workshop and apply to participate in the first edition of Fusion - Urban games festival! During two weekends (25-27 October 2019 in Plovdiv, and 31 October - 2 November 2019 in Matera) we will explore crowded streets and forgotten corners, blooming parks and concrete jungles, steep hills and mysterious undergrounds. With combined forces of local experts (citizens of Plovdiv and Matera) and urban game designers from all around the world, we will create fusion and try to discover again and rethink urban spaces in two cities. Games make it as easy to test different ways of designing the city, solving social problems, living together, being together close or distanced. Games are a tool to help us understand complex systems that make up our everyday life: they are to be treated as a new form of being together, of communicating and of self-experience. 

For Matera and Plovdiv, the European Capital of Culture 2019 games and, in this case, urban games have always been considered as important tools of social activation, of territorial inclusion and as sustainable ways of creating a network virtuous citizens. In pursuit of the objectives envisaged by the Matera-Basilicata 2019 Foundation Dossier and the Plovdiv 2019 Foundation, they intend to co-produce the FUSION Urban Games Festival, with the aim of enhancing the territories through the rediscovery and revelation of the city dimensions and criteria for the proposal of a stable network of permanent and temporary citizens interested in active participation in civil life.

Before submiting your application please read all the information you will find in the dedicated section under Transparent Administration. Click here to apply.

If you have any further question, please write at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Application deadline: 22 September 2019, at 23:59.

A great procession as a form of art has united the inland areas of the South of Italy in an embrace. Over the course of ten days, Trenodia, the public art project created by Mariangela and Vinicio Capossela, crossed the inland areas of Calabria, Campania and Basilicata between 20 and 30 August, involving citizens and artists in a procession of tears towards what is at mortal risk in our world. The "first fire", which left from Isola Capo Rizzuto in Calabria, was the "Factory of the Black", a performance of fabric dyeing, musical laments and civil orations preceded by the proclamation of the Calabrian municipality as a European Capital of Culture for One Day. The experiment was inspired by the Ministry of Cultural Assets, in order to take the original experience carried out by Lucanian municipalities in Basilicata outside the borders of Lucania. 

Trenodia’s next stage was in Alta Irpinia, on the occasion of the Sponz Fest in Calitri, an annual event that was held there for the seventh consecutive year under the artistic direction of Vinicio Capossela. Here, too, the municipality was awarded the title of European Capital of Culture for One Day. Still in Irpinia, the event moved on from Calitri to Cairano and Lacedonia. The dates in Basilicata were the 27th in Tricarico, the home town of Rocco Scotellaro and Antonio Infantino, with civil orations by Pietro Laureano and Vinicio Capossela, and Thursday 29th in Matera, where the afternoon funeral procession left from Rione Piccianello for Cava del Sole, where Vinicio Capossela's final concert brought this extraordinary journey to a conclusion. A special concert, an unprecedented hymn to black, the colour of fertility and shadows, as well as the South, mourning and shelter. With Trenodia we rediscovered a dreamlike world which has its roots deep in the popular tradition of the entire South.

Trenodia was conceived and directed by Mariangela and Vinicio Capossela and produced by Matera 2019 with Sponzfest Sottaterra 2019, the annual festival directed by Capossela in Alta Irpinia.

photo credits: Giuseppe Di Maio 

The three days between 13 and 15 September see the return of Materadio, the ninth edition of Radio 3's festival in the European Capital of Culture!

Matera has been on a long journey with Rai Radio 3, with not-to-be-missed appointments with original productions and great names from the world of music, theatre and Italian and international cinema. This year, Materadio was based on an important topic, "The Souths", using different moments during the festival to discuss a part of the world that has been defined both by its geography and by a historical dialectic of critical moments and opportunities.

There will be a preview of Materadio with the great Italian singer Teresa De Sio de Sio on 12 September at the "Essenza Lucano" space in Pisticci Scalo*, a magical location where the ties between Basilicata and Amaro Lucano, the Essential Partner of Matera 2019, can be fully understood.

The curtain officially rises on Materadio in the Gervasio Auditorium in Piazza Sedile at 4:00 p.m. on Friday 13 September, with a major tribute to Andrea Camilleri through the words of Roberto Nobile and Mimmo Cuticchio. During the festival, cultural radio programmes such as Fahrenheit, Radio3 Scienza, Tutta la Città ne Parla and Radio3 Mondo will be broadcast from the Gervasio Auditorium of the Conservatory in Piazza Sedile. The stage for the theatrical and musical events (Teresa De Sio, Filo Rosso and many others) will be set up in Piazza San Francesco, and a series of conferences, encounters and presentations will take place in the space set up by the Open Design School. The major evening concerts will be held at Cava del Sole, with numerous special guests, including the great saxophonist Jan Garbarek and his quartet and Trilok Gurtu , who will be performing a brand-new production created with Gezziamoci, the festival organised by the Onyx Jazz Club of Matera on 13 September. On 14 September, the "La Notte della Taranta" Popular Orchestra will be taking the stage at Cava del Sole. The orchestra, which is conducted by Maestro Daniele Durante, is made up of pizzica and popular music musicians from all over the Salento. There will be no lack of surprises during the evening, with international guests performing.

This year, the final moments, when goodbyes are said to the city of Matera and this edition of Materadio, will include a symbolic passing of the torch from Matera 2019 to Galway 2020, the Irish city that, with the Croatian city of Rijeka, will be the next European Capital of Culture. The only artists who could mark this bridge between Basilicata and Ireland are the Modena City Ramblers, the Italian group that has most successfully expressed a relationship of sounds, ideas, faces and struggles, with an incendiary live set including their successes from the band’s 25 year history, to which we must add three of the most important artists in this genre, straight from Traidphicnic, the major festival of traditional Irish music that takes place in Galway every year: Gearóid Ó Murchú, Ruairi Liam Mac Con Iomaire and Rebecca Ní Éallaithe. The most highly-anticipated guests this year also include the astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, the first Italian woman to be a member of the European Space Agency’s crews, who will tell the story of her experience among the stars exactly fifty years after the first moon landing.

The programme for this edition of Materadio is a way for us to understand the Souths by offering ideas, voices and sounds that will help comprehend the extraordinary complexity of this part of the world.

Discover the full programme on Matera Events here!

* Essenza Lucano can be reached via a shuttle service from Matera. It costs €5, and leaves from Piazza Matteotti at 7:30 p.m., returning at 10:30 p.m. For information and reservations, please contact Ridola Viaggi, Via Domenico Ridola, 54 (MT) | 0835/314233 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. www.ridolaviaggi.it

The story told by the citizens who took part in the staging of the prologue to Cavalleria Rusticana, directed by Giorgio Barberio Corsetti, was a reappropriation, and in some ways a reconciliation. The travelling performance at the Sassi, a modern version of the Seven Deadly Sins viewed from a "Capitalist" standpoint was an integral part of the "Inhabiting the Opera" project, accompanying audiences towards Pietro Mascagni's work, which was performed in Piazza San Pietro Caveoso by the Orchestra of the San Carlo Theatre of Naples.

It was a unique experiment uniting people from very different contexts who came together to form a company that enlivened the ancient streets, which were not just a splendid backdrop but an essential component of the performance. Citizens and professional artists joined together to bring one of the most important productions of the year as European Capital of Culture to life.

Reappropriation was achieved in part through the Sassi. The citizens who made up the chorus that backed up the scenes acted by the artists sang traditional songs from the city and the entire region. On one condition, however, that was very clear from the outset: the choir’s purpose was not to search for a pure dialect that is sometimes claimed to be the mother tongue, only to be humiliated through usages that only seek self-satisfaction. The raison d'être of popular songs was to communicate a universal message that transcended a kind of localism of identity. Singing these songs today in the same streets where they had resounded thousands of times with a different sort of awareness was the challenge faced by the citizens who took part in Inhabiting the Opera, a challenge they can be said to have met. 

The same can also be said of the artists – some of whom were originally from Matera – who told of a kind of reconciliation. It is a phenomenon that enables you to make peace with yourself and your land after you have left it and only return to it and take it in hand when you are an adult.
It is in this sequence of intimate, profound feelings that inspired those who took part in this unique experience that the unusual strength of Inhabiting the Opera can be found.

Milo Rau either answers the e-mails he receives immediately or not at all. It was from this story that the collaboration between the Swiss director and the Consorzio Teatri Uniti di Basilicata on Tòpoi. Teatri e nuovi miti was born: with a simple e-mail in which the Consortium suggested a collaboration with Rau on a project for the European Capital of Culture.

Milo Rau is fascinated by the ancient calmness of the city of Matera, and has decided to shoot a film about Jesus here, in the land that formed the backdrop for Pasolini's "Gospel According to Saint Matthew" and Mel Gibson's "The Passion". What would the prophet preach if he were to return in the 21st century? Where would he go, and whom would he choose to be his apostles? These questions form the basis for "The New Gospel", an interdisciplinary project in which the director will once again use theatre and cinema to talk about human injustice.

During his first field trip to this Southern Italy on the border with Europe, Milo Rau and his team travelled around the various "ghettos", the camps where migrants who pick oranges and tomatoes live in inhuman conditions. This is the true story "The New Gospel" will tell: Jesus himself was a revolutionary who worked as a carpenter on the great construction sites of the Roman Empire. His rejection of the global system of exploitation of his time, and the combination of revolutionary commitment (only subversive people were crucified at the time) and the search for a new form of solidarity were the director's inspiration.

Returning to the roots of the Gospel and presenting it as the passion of an entire civilization, the cast of refugees and small farmers driven to bankruptcy by the agri-industry will rewrite the manifesto of solidarity with the poorest people, a performative uprising for a more equal and more human world. As in Christ's Palestine, a place inhabited by people without a land, migrants in Europe today will be the first to be considered as the new apostles.

One fundamental event of the research stage was the encounter with Yvan Sagnet, who helped the troupe understand how the ghettos and gang-masters work, and why they exist. Yvan is a Cameroonian who arrived in Italy in 2007 to study Telecommunications Engineering at the Turin Polytechnic University. Following a poor result in an examination, he lost his scholarship, and in 2011 went to work as a tomato picker in Nardò, in Salento, for Masseria Boncuri. After coming into contact with the gang-masters system, which recruits tomato workers illegally and exploits them, Yvan became the spokesperson for a month-long strike against the inhuman working conditions, which led to reforms and the first trial on enslavement in Europe.

Yvan will play the new Messiah. His experience will be a precious aid for understanding what happens in those non-places that are part of a highly-developed global system, of which tomato picking is just the tip of the iceberg.

Who will follow him? Just as in the Gospel, it is Yvan, who plays Jesus, who seeks disciples in Italy's largest refugee camps with whom he can carry out his "Revolt of Dignity". During their visit, the troupe came across an unexpected truth that newspaper investigations will never be able to describe properly. As in a utopian documentary, this truth will be filmed, and will become part of the final story, in a contrast between biblical scenes (the first part of the film follows the story in the Bible exactly) and the making of the firm.

Alongside the men the troupe met in the camps will be professional actors like Enrique Irazoqui, Pasolini's legendary Jesus, who will play John the Baptist, and Maia Morgenstern, who played the Madonna in Mel Gibson's The Passion, who plays the mother of the black saviour Sagnet.

With Matera 2019, the search continues for temporary citizens to take part in the filming and be members of the cast. On 21, 22 and 26 August, amateur actors and anyone else who may be interested in taking part in the production of this extraordinary project will be able to participate in the casting for the selection of a number of key figures, including Pontius Pilate, Barabbas, the Pharisees and Roman soldiers. No particular experience is required, but there must be an interest in or a particular tie to the character applicants wish to play. When confirming participation, it is important to take account of the dates in which applicants are available for filming, and participants must send an e-mail giving the reasons why they would like to play the role they have selected to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

At the end of September and beginning of October, Matera will first prepare with the filming of the entry to Jerusalem, followed by the Passion and the Crucifixion of Christ, who will preach his Sermon on the Mount and will be tortured and crucified, to be finally resurrected before the eyes of hundreds of tourists. The production will be open, in line with the beliefs of Milo Rau, for whom the theatre is not a product but a process to which the general public must have access.

Photo Credits: Yvan Sagnet and his disciples Jeremiah Akhere Ogbeide, Papa Latyr Faye, Mbaye Ndiaye and Anthony Nwa-chukwu on the beach. (©2019 Fruitmarket/Langfilm. Photo Thomas Eirich-Schneider)

"The Revolt of Dignity" and "The New Gospel" by Milo Rau are part of the Matera 2019 project "Tòpoi. Teatro e nuovi miti“,  and are an interdisciplinary production including a campaign, a performance and a film.

The campaign is organised by IIPM (the International Institute of Political Murder) in collaboration with Associazione No Cap - Contro ogni forma di caporalato, the Comitato dei Braccianti della Felandina, Ghetto Out Casa Sankara, Spin Time Lab Roma, the Osservatorio Migranti Basilicata, Agricola Leggera, Campo Libero, Altragricoltura – Confederazione per la Sovranità Alimentare, UILA Taranto – Unione Italiana lavoratori agro alimentari with the participation of European Alternatives, the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), Medico International and FUTURZWEI – Stiftung Zukunftsfähigkeit.

The performance is a co-production between IIPM (the International Institute of Political Murder), and the Matera-Basilicata 2019 Foundation, Teatro di Roma and NTGent, in collaboration with Teatri Uniti di Basilicata, Fruitmarket and Langfilm, and with the participation of ProLoco Ginosa and the Universität für Angewandte Kunst, Vienna. 

The cinema project is a Fruitmarket and Langfilm production, co-produced by SRF SSR and ZDF, in collaboration with Arte, IIPM (the International Institute of Political Murder), the Matera-Basilicata 2019 Foundation, the Consorzio Teatri Uniti di Basilicata and Teatro di Roma , with support from Kulturstiftung des Bundes, the European Cultural Foundation, Filmund Medienstiftung NRW, the Office of Culture (FOC), Zürcher Filmstiftung, DFFF - Deutscher Filmförderfonds, Kanton St.Gallen Kulturförderung / Swisslos, BKM - Die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien, Volkart Stiftung, GEA – Waldviertler, Stadt Lausanne und Kanton Waadt and the Fondo Etico di BCC Basilicata.

The workshop “Tactile Space” will be led by Virgilio Sieni and Giuseppe Comuniello, a blind dancer, and is part of the project Tauma Atlante del Gesto, research carried out by Virgilio Sieni within the program I-DEA and produced by Matera 2019.

The workshop will be held in the Teatro Quaroni at La Martella (Matera) and is open to dancers, performers and actors (over 18 years old) who want to develop the theme of tactile space, which means exploring the relationship between men and the environment as a mean towards inclusion.

The workshop will be held from the 23rd to the 27th of September 2019 every day from 3pm to 5pm.

Every applicant will need to email a copy of their CV to the address This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and fill in the following form.

It will be possible to apply until Tuesday September 10th, the decisions of the choreographer will be communicated in the following days.

Workshop Description:

The workshop “Tactile Space” will be led by Virgilio Sieni and Giuseppe Comuniello, a blind dancer, and is open to dancers, performers and actors (over 18 years old) who want to develop the theme of tactile space, which means exploring the relationship between men and the environment as a mean towards inclusion. Through the workshop a variety of themes will be explored, and participants will learn how empathy developed through gestures and closeness can transform our relationship with others and our surroundings. Openness and inclusion will be the main focus of the workshop, deriving directly from the research on tactiles spaces. 

Jova Beach Party, one of the best shows of summer 2019 will stop in Basilicata on the beach of Policoro, in the locality Torre Mozza. 

A great show with the most popular songs of Jovanotti, some of the most famous Italian hits. 

If you already have your ticket for this event, you are allowed to come to our *infopoints and to buy the Matera 2019 passport for only 12 euros instead of 19 euros, the all-in-one ticket that includes unlimited access to all the official events of Matera European Capital Of Culture 2019 throughout the entire year. 

* Matera 2019 infopoints

Matera | Via Lucana 125-127 

Matera | Museo Nazionale d'arte medievale e moderna della Basilicata di Palazzo Lanfranchi

Metaponto | Museo Archeologico Nazionale 

One of the most intense moments of the Matera 2019 cultural programme was performed between 31 July and 3 August: Abitare l’Opera (Inhabiting the Opera), a major cultural production produced with one of the oldest theatres in the world, the San Carlo Theatre of Naples. Bringing opera to the great natural stage of the Sassi on a walkway in the middle of the audience, which brought it into direct contact with the action on stage, proved to be a great success with the public, and a winning gamble.

Over a thousand spectators applauded "Cavalleria Rusticana” in a Piazza San Pietro Caveoso that had been transformed into a stage, using the façade of the Church of Santa Maria di Idris for the spectacular video projections. The event was broadcast live on Rai5 on Saturday 3 August, directed by Giorgio Barberio Corsetti, with orchestra and choir conducted by Juraj Valcuha and a cast including Veronica Simeoni, Roberto Aronica and George Gagnidze. 

The prologue to "The Seven Capital(ist) Sins”, which denounces excesses in liberalism, involved dividing citizens into stations. At each station, a choir of citizens sang popular songs associated with the various sins – pride, sloth, lust, wrath, gluttony, envy and greed – with the extraordinary scenery of the Sassi at sunset creating a theatrical setting.

The long, evocative pathways were characterised by modernity and tradition, recounting the weaknesses of humanity in performances, followed by two large masks set opposite each other – good and evil, which often represent both sides of the same coin in our everyday lives.

Greeted with applause and standing ovations, the performances of Abitare (Inhabiting) offered its audiences an extraordinary immersive experience. “Cavalleria Rusticana” was broadcast on television throughout Switzerland, and Arte also broadcast the event in Switzerland, France, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, the Principality of Monaco and French-speaking countries across the ocean. From the middle of August, the opera will be presented in Japan, Hungary, Slovenia and Greece. Between 2019 and 2020, “Cavalleria Rusticana” will be distributed to cinemas in Europe, Korea, the United States and Latin America. It will be available on DVD from Spring 2020.

The "Matera Seen from the Moon" festival, which took place from 15 to 24 July, comprised a rich programme, including world premieres, concerts, urban design, book presentations and film screenings to recall the first man on the moon and Rocco Petrone, the great Lucanian who guided the Apollo 11 mission.

The festival included 10 days of performances accompanied by lunar installations in the streets of the city centre and major concerts at Cava del Sole.

The festival programme was previewed at Cava Paradiso at 6:30 pm on Monday 15 July with “Nanogagliato Festival meets Matera 2019”, at which scientists from the Academy led by Mauro Ferrari discussed the worlds of science, nanotechnology and space with the audience. The occasion offered the opportunity for a guided visit to Studio Formafantasma's “Visione Unica” exhibition, part of the I-DEA project.

On the morning of 16 July, the Giardino dei MOMenti in Piazza Semeria hosted a series of Lunar Experiments, a workshop for young scientists from the Gagliato Nanoscienze Junior Academy, where the very young carried out a series of experiments, from the phases of the moon to the role of nanoscience in space. In the afternoon, Sasso di Castalda, Capital for One Day, put on a rich programme dedicated to Rocco Petrone, one of the most famous citizens in the history of this extraordinary Lucanian village.

At 6:00 pm on Wednesday 17 July there was a meeting in Piazzetta della Cittadinanza Attiva with the poet and author Davide Rondoni on the occasion of the presentation of his latest book "'And like the Wind. The Infinite, the strange kiss of the poet in the world" 200 years after Giacomo Leopardi's work.

Terrazza Lanfranchi formed the backdrop to a screening of "Italian Moon. Rocco Petrone and the Voyage of Apollo 11". 50 years after the moon landing, it is a documentary produced by the Istituto Luce-Cinecittà for A&E Networks Italia, sponsored by the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (Italian Space Agency) in collaboration with NASA, and directed by Marco Spagnoli. The evening began with the presentation of a new edition of the book "From the Earth to the Moon" by Renato Cantore dedicated to Rocco Petrone, an extraordinary story combining emigration and the American dream.

At Cava del Sole on Thursday 18 July, the multimedia performance "Apollo Soundtrack" was Matera’s celebration of scientific progress in space exploration 50 years after this extraordinary event. The highlight of the evening was a performance of a multimedia show written by Brian Eno, Roger Eno and Daniel Lanois, which was played for the first time outside the United Kingdom by the British band Icebreaker, with B.J. Cole and Roger Eno and special guest Gyda Valtysdottir, the Icelandic cellist. In the splendid open-air area of Cava del Sole, the audience experienced the emotion and mystery of the Apollo 11 mission in a synaesthesia between visual stimulation and spatial sound. The performance included blow-ups of NASA images from the day that marked the beginning of a new era, as well as content provided by Leonardo, the exclusive sponsor of the event, and images of the Earth taken from space.

On 18 July, the children's book "DI LUNA IN LUNA. STORIE DI UN’ESPLORAZIONE CHE É APPENA INIZIATA (FROM MOON TO MOON: The history of an exploration that has only just begun)" by Stefano Sandrelli, published by Feltrinelli, was presented at the Ipogei di San Francesco.

Two events were on the schedule for 19 July. In the afternoon, "COSTELLAZIONE. IL CIELO IN UNA STANZA (CONSTELLATION. THE SKY IN A ROOM)" opened in collaboration with the Brera-Milano Academy of Fine Arts. This collective, unitary, permanent real-virtual work of art, which started life at ExpoMilano2015, was shown at Matera 2019 in the Giardino dell’Angelo, in the heart of the Sassi. The evening saw the Matera leg of Subsonica's "8 Tour" at Cava del Sole, a mixture of spatial and electronic music that has been amazing audiences across Italy for over twenty years. It was a special evening that sent the Cava del Sole audience into a frenzy!

On 20 July, the "Matera Seen from the Moon" festival also presented some of the projects that were a part of the lengthy process of co-creation with cultural bodies from the area to put the Matera 2019 programme together. They included “The Sound of the Spirit”, co-produced by Matera 2019, Ateneo Musica Basilicata with its Suoni di Pietra – MaterArmoniae project and Lams Matera with Voices of the Spirit | Suoni dai mondi paralleli alle caverne, which were developed in two separate stages. There was a homage to the spiritual side of vocal skills through a kaleidoscopic view of different cultures, touching on Syria and Russia, thanks to the presence of artists of the calibre of the Mirna Kassis Ensemble, Sajncho Namčylak & Actores Alidos, Caterina Pontrandolfo and Nina Nikolina, the Bulgarian artist who attended with the collaboration of Plovdiv 2019, the other 2019 European Capital of Culture, with a concert entitled "Animus Mundi".

This was followed by the world premiere performance of the "Missa Vox Dei", which had been composed for the occasion by Maestro Nicola Campogrande. It was played by the Orchestra di Matera e della Basilicata and the Orchestra Filarmonica Federiciana accompanied by the Coro Giovanile Italiano Feniarco and the Coro ABaCo from Potenza (Coro Polifonico Melos), the Coro Irsina (Coro Angelo Candela) and the Coro Tricarico (Coroeuterpe). Campogrande's God is an angry God who responds to human prayer and intervenes in a Mass in a hard, thundering voice. The Maestro included an instrumental section – the Vox Dei – in the traditional structure that evokes divine turmoil, and even indignation, but it concludes with an Amen with a sweet yet decisive human response.

A rainbow parade invaded the streets of the European Capital of Culture in the afternoon with the historic first city Pride, the Matera Heroes Pride. The celebrations for the first 50 years since the first Stonewall movements, which opened the way to global demonstrations demanding equal rights for LGBT persons were combined with those for the 50th anniversary of the first conquest of the moon through the wonderful feeling that unites them.

With its ties to the ideas of a journey as an opportunity for new knowledge and discoveries, the travelling theatre event "Aware. The Enchanted Ship" arrived in the space opposite the La Martella railway station after crossing Basilicata with a variety of stopovers for performances in the region. The project was co-produced by the Gommalacca Teatro theatre company and Matera 2019.

Guided visits to the “Visione Unica” exhibition by Studio Formafantasma, part of the I-DEA project, were held at Cava Paradiso on 22 July, followed by a screening of the film MOON by Duncan Jones (2009) in the evocative setting of the Jazzo Gattini Visitors' Centre.

The "Matera Seen from the Moon" programme closed on 24 July with a grand concert of symphonic music in the Cava del Sole, in which the Rai National Symphonic Orchestra conducted by James Conlon played a programme entitled "Sinfonia per l’Europa (Symphony for Europe)" in a concert beneath the stars and the moon to close an intense week of events with fine music.

The "Matera Seen from the Moon" festival was organised by Matera 2019 in collaboration with the Polo Museale della Basilicata and the Municipality of Matera.

After two months, the travelling museum of fragments, traces and small re(f)used objects collected for the M.E.M.O.RI. project, and co-produced by La Luna al Guinzaglio, has closed its doors.

The museum developed out of a journey through Europe and the Mediterranean in search of souvenirs and handmade objects, stopping off in the five port cities of Genoa, Malaga, Marseille, Tetouan and Tunis and within the borders of Lucania in Bernalda, Matera, Muro Lucano, Potenza and Venosa. As the various places were visited, the purpose of the study changed, as did the very sense of souvenirs, leading to a transformation from typical to topical objects.

What are re-fused objects? They may be bottle caps, plane tickets, packaging, pieces of paper or objects found by chance in a pocket or in the street. The Museo Euro-Mediterraneo dell'Oggetto RI-fiutato's collection exhibits object that have not been rejected because of what they are but because they are "sensed again". They are objects we dispose of automatically, and often unreasonably: they are objects that can have a new life.

M.E.M.O.RI. is a pop museum, a popular museum that might be put together by anybody, because it is made up of small things, trivial objects that are a result of chance encounters: fragments of stone, thread and fabric reinterpreted through kaleidoscopes, handles and magnifying glasses.

From 3 May to 7 July, in the setting of the Chiesa Rupestre Santa Maria de Armenis, which reopened its doors after years of being closed so that it could host elements of the Matera 2019 cultural programme, all these objects, reworked as a sign of respect for the memories they carry with them and as a gesture towards saving the planet and ourselves, were on show. The magic of M.E.M.O.RI. lies in telling the story of these discarded objects and encountering them interactively. Visitors are invited to undertake a "manu-mission", using their hands as a way of establishing a direct contact with the found objects and accessing their internal memories.

In the 30 days it was open, M.E.M.O.RI. was visited by some 1,300 temporary citizens from Italy and abroad, above all from schools, universities, associations, foundations and summer camps, involving adults and children, educators, teachers, members of associations and disabled persons.

The collection is divided into an "Anarchivio" and five sections called Stanze, spaces where people are invited to stay, give themselves time, slow down and explore. The Anarchivio is an unusual kind of archive that conserves the memory of the objects on display and the research methods used in the investigation process through a collection of documents and testimonies. The Stanza dei Segni is a room for hands that touch lightly, squeeze and immerse themselves as ambassadors for our bodies, which as they touch, leave a sign or a feeling, and enshrine their movement. The Stanza dei Frammenti is a space of fragility and small things, in which things speak as remnants and details rather than as complete objects. The Stanza delle Cadute is where the humblest of remnants collected from floors while passing through artisans' workshops can be found; it is where things that fall and are lost can talk: shavings, threads, leftovers from a manufacturing process or buttons. In the Stanza delle Ripetizioni, the collection of remnants celebrates cycles, returning, circularity and the forms of materials. The final room, the Stanza delle Chimere, which opened on 27 May, was inspired by artistic elements on the universe of myths suggested by the Japanese artist Kaori Kato. It is a space in which we move towards the future, riding ideas that have their roots in the past – objects, artefacts and tools – where visitors become a part of the same creature, and components of the same structure.

Each room presents a loaned work that is tied to a Spontaneous Museum, a wide-ranging online network of museums opened in various places by citizens, individuals and associations. They are M.E.M.O.RI.’s external sections. Using a real museum protocol as regards their preparation and inauguration, they are opened in other locations by anyone who wants to turn their own private collection into an exhibition, a narration or a place of hospitality: there is one in Potenza in the home of an artist, one in Genoa in a tai chi gym and one at the Liceo Artistico in Matera, and there are others elsewhere in Europe. By using the MemorAbilia app, which was designed especially for the project, more can be discovered about the loaned work, what it was, who has it and its dimension in the Mediterranean area. The app, which can be downloaded on to both Android and iOS smartphones, enriches the use of M.E.M.O.RI. with an audio guide in English and Italian, scientific information, 3D animations and stories in rhyme.

A long series of events and appointments preceded, supplemented and enriched the exhibition dimension of the M.E.M.O.RI. museum, to encourage new reflections on the Mediterranean, relations, languages and art. Guests of the workshops include the founder of the Museo Tolomeo, Fabio Fornasari, the anthropologist and journalist Duccio Canestrini, the fantasiologist Massimo Gerardo Carrese, the photo journalist Antonio Politano, the artists Kaori Kato, Hassan Echair and Farah Khelil, the curator Maria Rosa Sossai, Fabio Bonelli and the author Gianluca Caporaso.

Now that the exhibition in Matera has closed, the M.E.M.O.RI. collection will be on the move again, first to Potenza, then to the Genoa Science Festival, and then on to Bologna, Antwerp and Malaga. Who can tell? I may be enhanced by more objects to re-sense, rework and protect.

Contemporary art enters the heart of Basilicata with the Gardentopia Day #2 community gardens tour, a large-scale project that promotes green culture and active citizenship thanks to new synergies between citizens and artists.
An opportunity to bring together the citizens who work to manage these urban green spaces and for them to participate in the artistic and social interventions that are created here by artists from all over the world, selected by the curator of the Gardentopia project, Pelin Tan.
Between food, cultivation and philosophy, the day's programme started in Matera, where at 9.00 two buses departed with more than 100 citizens, to start a Gardentopia tour between the municipalities of Basilicata, covering two different routes.The first section included a first morning stop at the Irsina community garden where the public participated in the ‘Community Radio’ artistic intervention with the Radio Instabile performance from the artists Futurefarmers and Maria Pecchioli who worked with the local inhabitants, plants and one another to collectively imagine a new ‘tale of wonder’. The story was transmitted locally via radio and through a series of seed-shaped speakers, migrating from hand to hand throughout the area. The second stage went through the community garden of Campomaggiore where at noon there was a community picnic with music from Pu.Ba.La selectors and made even more tasty by the infusions of the mobile tea house. In parallel, the second section included a first stop at the Metaponto community garden with the Epicurean garden performance from the Greek collective Errands, composed of architects, visual artists and sociologists. The group has created an epicurean garden according to the life models of the Greek philosopher Epicurus. The second stop at the community garden of Stigliano was the site for the community picnic with entertainment from Euroband, La Murgia's street band. At 19.00, all the buses then found themselves in the community garden of Castelsaraceno for the ‘Community Dinner’, accompanied by two different activities: the performance by the Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija, known for creating social relations in the artistic spaces and widely recognised as one of the most influential artists in socially engaged art; and a talk by the philosopher Nicola Perullo.
The Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija ended Gardentopia Day #2 with a lively cooking performance and installation in the garden, cooking with local and Thai ingredients at the NaturalMensa of Castelsaraceno, an eco-sustainable canteen with an experimental lunch service based on organic products.

With the beginning of spring the first Gardentopia Day transformed the gardens of Matera into community places. This marks the start of the second phase of a large-scale project that promotes green culture and active citizenship, also thanks to new collaborations between citizens and artists. The sociologist and historian of Turkish art, Pelin Tan, will be in charge of the development of the project during 2019. The first Gardentopia Day opened in the morning with the creation of the new community garden at Casino Padula, home of the Open Design School in Matera, thanks to the involvement of students and teachers from the IC Padre Semeria school, Don Milano campus, Briganti Agricultural Institute and C. Levi School of Arts. The students were the protagonists of the performance of ‘Evolutionary Garden - 100 trees for Gardentopia’ by the artist Luigi Coppola, activist and promoter of public art projects. With this inauguration, planting began of the first of the 100 trees of many varieties of berries destined for the public gardens of the Basilicata network. In the afternoon the trees were handed over to the representatives of the 22 municipalities of Basilicata that joined the project by responding to Matera 2019’s call to all of Basilicata in collaboration with the regional ANCI, namely Bernalda, Stigliano, Salandra, Oliveto Lucano, Campomaggiore, Pietrapertosa, Irsina, Palazzo San Gervasio, Vaglio di Basilicata, Pietragalla, Montemilone, Lavello, Maschito, Barile, Rionero in Vulture, Rapone, Muro Lucano, Vietri di Potenza, Sasso di Castalda, Chiaromonte, San Costantino Albanese, Castelsaraceno, as well as Matera and Potenza. Planting these trees in community gardens was a symbolic act to start a network across the region facilitated by the presence of artists who will use art as a tool to engage the community. The ‘Evolutionary Garden’ project illustrated by the artist Coppola works on the theme of biodiversity overcoming the idea of ​​monoculture just as thanks to agriculture, plants that have arrived from the most diverse places have become plants that we today consider as ours, having accepted them and integrated them into our territory. A rickshaw and electric bike tour amongst the three community gardens of the city of Matera, each featuring entertainment for the public, livened up the afternoon of Gardentopia Day 1. The Garden of Moments in the Lanera district, managed by the MOM Association - Materan Mothers at Work, hosted the magic show by the Association ‘Lacaposciuc ASD’. At Agoragri there was food design with Cozinha Nomade while in Pascoli, in the Spighe Bianche garden on Via Lazzazzera, there was a performance from the Cantori Materani conducted by Alessandra Barbaro. The tour ended with a return to Casino Padula to participate in a Contini performance and spend the first spring evening with a DJ set.
Coldiretti donated the hundred trees, the hundred bales of hay that marked out the space of the great outdoor amphitheatre of Casino Padula and also the fruit that was given to the participants. ‘Evolutionary Garden’ is a participatory project that wants to create, with an extensive network of collective gardens, an open vision of the practice of plant reproduction, trying to escape the logic of domination of nature, uniformity, monoculture and embracing interspecies hybridisation, fusion, circulation and complexity.

Do you work in the art or culture environment and live in Basilicata? Would you like to host a Japanese artist in 2019 who will offer you hospitality in Japan in 2020?

The aim of the Passport Program is to launch a two-year reciprocal cultural exchange program for Italian and Japanese artists, to foster an exchange of ideas and knowledge and develop strong and lasting bonds between Lucanian and Japanese artists. 

In 2019 Lucanian artists and professionals will host a Japanese artist or citizen resident in Japan, while in 2020 Japanese artists and professionals will return the hospitality to Lucanian artists by hosting them in Japan. The Program is managed in partnership by Matera 2019 and EU-Japan Fest, a Japanese non-governmental organisation whose mission is to support cultural contacts of all kinds through the European Capitals of Culture. 

The call is open to artists and professionals in the cultural sector who are resident in Basilicata and work in any artistic domain (including arts and crafts, design, graphic work and architecture). 

To take part and host a Japanese artist please read the application information carefully and fill in the registration form you will find in the dedicated section under Transparent Administration. The completed form then needs to be sent to the following email address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Lucanian artists or professionals will be responsible for the Japanese artist’s food and accommodation expenses for the entire duration of their stay in Italy (i.e. from a minimum of 5 to a maximum of 10 days, excluding days for travelling to and from Japan). Matera 2019 will contribute a share up to €20 per diem for each artist hosted, up to a maximum of €200. To find out more, see the application information. The deadline for applications is 31 October 2019.

The I-DEA project expresses the power of archives in experimental and contemporary ways in one of the most cutting-edge exhibition spaces in Matera 2019: the Hangar Paradiso, situated in the Paradiso quarry on the outskirts of the city.
On 22 March the photographer Mario Cresci opened this amazing artistic journey with ‘The Two Cultures. Artefacts and Archives’ based on research he carried out which shed completely new light on the South of Italy and Lucania. Using archive material including photography, craftwork, science and machinery, Cresci proposed his view of the area from the mid 20th century to the first decades of the 21 st century, with Leonardo Sinisgalli and Mimmo Castellano, sculptures in wood by Di Trani and his son, also revisiting prehistory through Gianfranco Lionetti’s personal archive.

Mario Cresci’s exhibition was followed by ‘Unique Vision: Cultures of Environmental Manipulation’ by Formafantasma, which opened on 8 June and will continue until 15 September. The two Studio Formafantasma designers are some of the most interesting on the international design scene and for I-DEA they presented a video-installation consisting of 5 projections, 10 digital screens and a small group of vernacular objects.
Distributed in space as if to create a complete panorama, and placed at the entrance to the exhibition, the screens and their contents can be seen by visitors either individually or as part of a whole. Unique Vision focuses on the impact of human activity on the land, on actions that people have taken to shape the environment where they live. One of the main features of the I-DEA displays is to keep some elements from previous displays. So for Unique Vision by Studio Formafantasma the curators decided to leave in place the wood carvings by Giovanni and Giuseppe Di Trani, who was custodian at the Museo Ridola in Matera in the 1960s and 1970s, which represent human figures linked to nature, reality and country life.
The exhibition was mounted by the Open Design School and sponsored by Bawer SPA, a bronze partner for Matera 2019.
I-DEA is curated by Joseph Grima and is one of the main projects of Matera 2019: an experiment that considers archives and collections as living organisms that can be used to interpret the complex layers of history of Matera and Basilicata. Five artists and designers will alternate at the Hangar Paradiso, leaving as a legacy in the exhibition space part of the previous exhibition, so as to continue the process of rediscovery of our great cultural heritage.

The timeless beauty of numbers and mathematical relations with the universe of art.
This is the theme of ‘The Poetry of Primes’, reflected in the content of the third great exhibition of Matera 2019, under the scientific direction of the eminent mathematician Piergiorgio Odifreddi with installations by the Open Design School. This amazing exploration of the art of numbers, produced with the Museum Service of Basilicata, started at the National Archaeological Museum of Metaponto with the exhibitions
‘Numbers in time. Counting, measuring, calculating’ curated by Claudio Bartocci and Luigi Civalleri and ‘Filling the void. From the symmetries of M.C. Escher to contemporaries’ curated by Federico Giudiceandrea.

From Metaponto we move on to Matera, where Palazzo Acito reopened on Sunday 23 June with the inauguration of three exhibitions: ‘Numbers’ with works by Ugo Nespolo, who has always created images relating to mathematics and to reason; ‘Elements of transcendental
calculation’ with works by Tobia Ravà, a symbolic approach through the infinite possibilities of combining numbers; and ‘Computed Art’, with works by Aldo Spizzichino, interwoven with mathematics and incredibly profound. Three visions, three different pathways that explore the close relationship between art and mathematics.
Elsewhere, in the unique setting of the archaeological area of Metaponto around 1,500 visitors attended the stellar ‘Night with Pythagoras’ on Saturday 22 June. This special event featured performances by actors David Riondino and Valeria Solarino, who played Pythagoras and Hypatia from an original text by Piergiorgio Odifreddi with musical interludes by the pianist Alessandra Celletti. This was followed by the
eminent Piero Angela, the star turn of the evening, who gave a biographical talk on ‘Science and technology in modern society’, focusing on the key themes of communication, the falling birth rate and ageing.
The long night continued with a fascinating lecture by Guido Tonelli who explained the origin of the stars, accompanied by Eleuteria Arena on the cello. At dawn people stretched their tired muscles with a yoga lesson by Rosalia Stellacci and Andrea Stella to the sound of a beautiful concert by the pianist Alessandra Celletti, who played music from her latest wonderful album, produced in vinyl and inspired by the
maths of Pythagoras.
The long weekend closed with two interactive talks in the Auditorium of the University of Basilicata: ‘Prime numbers and their applications’ by the British mathematician Ian Stewart and a reading of ‘Mathematical Adventures’ by winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature John Maxwell Coetzee, alternating with readings by Piergiorgio Odifreddi.

Campo aggiuntivo 5:

Credits photo: Salvatore Laurenzana

Contemporary dance and the performing arts have been the protagonists of this first part of Petrolio, a project co-produced by Basilicata 1799. From 11 to 23 June site-specific entertainment and performances were the focus of a dialogue on the great, as yet unanswered, questions concerning the Anthropocene – the geological era in which human behaviour has directly affected environmental equilibrium and generated a new dimension of cohabitation.

Original productions, rehearsals and meetings with the artists explored the theme of the relationship between Man and Nature in a new aesthetic. The vision, ideas and actions are changing; people are no longer the centre of the universe and Nature is beginning to have real importance.

The performances were held in a natural setting without stage lighting in the field, wood and countryside of the Parco del Castello Tramontano in Matera, chosen for its position rather than its architecture. Almost all the shows lacked specific boundaries: the difference is in the way the public and the performers interact with the space. 

We start with Giacimenta (Deposits), curated by Francesca Corona and Michele Di Stefano. Their project consists of four episodes of artistic production, designed as an exercise in vision and an exploration model, in which they seek total complicity between the artist and the landscape, between places and people. The choreographers chosen for this episode, which plays with geological, social and human ‘layers’, are internationally renowned.

First was Alessandro Sciarroni, with a Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement award, considered one of the most revolutionary choreographers on the European scene. Starting from his observation of animal migration phenomena, his work focuses on ‘turning’, not only meaning ‘to turn’, but also to change or evolve. Bodies revolve round their axis in an emotional psychophysical journey. 

Sciarroni places one element at the centre of the creative process and repeats it relentlessly, using ballet to suggest something different. Unusually, youngsters also twirl incessantly en pointe. In the Matera version of Turning he chose five dancers through a call launched last November.

Another internationally famous artist, performer and choreographer in the Giacimenta section was Maria Hassabi from Cyprus. Her performances are examples of great symbolic value that link tensions and instincts between the environment and the individual in an expanded ritual temporal dimension. Minimalist movements and a gentle slowness, which suggest the need to slow down and a different way of experiencing the flow of things.

Hassabi’s Figures (2019) is a very delicate, complex and sophisticated work and for the first time she chose to use her way of working with a group of very young girls selected through a call launched in May. 10 dancers were chosen from the Lucania area to take part in this extraordinary experience, working with a professional who has performed in theatres, museums and public spaces worldwide, including MoMa in New York, the Pompidou Centre in Paris and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. 

Closing the first weekend of performances was choreography by Silvia Rampelli, who in a preparatory workshop presented movement, action and dance activities for senior citizens. Once a week the residents of the Brancaccio rest home in Matera took part in a gentle and novel activity, eager to try a small breathing exercise, about being together, perception and vision. With Child’s portrait we wonder: where are we? When are we? What’s around us? 

The final performance event in this section was Le Merende by the artist collective Industria Indipendente, mainly devoted to performance, theatre and visual arts. Le Merende occupied this space following the principle of sharing, free giving and offering as a way of informing artistic practice. A place transformed into a natural habitat, where you can take a break between one performance and the next, with everyone present and a lively DJ set.

On the second weekend, opening the Sedimenti section were contemporary dance performances and live music with a DJ by WHO CARES? | Ecologia del dialogo. In a co-creation project four young choreographers – Bassam Abou Diab, Yeinner Chicas, Olimpia Fortuni and Leonardo Maietto – from opposite ends of the Mediterranean and two musicians – Ayman Sharaf and Stefano Zazzera – joined together to present a performance around the themes of the Anthropocene.  

The scene was an imaginary piece of land in the Mediterranean, a geographical location that defies association with any particular people or places and represents the styles of architecture and traditions of the Lebanon, Italy and Spain, the countries where the artists come from.

As well as performances, meetings with the artists and rehearsals to kickstart the creative process, dialogues also started in the section Geo-logical Thought with Marcello Di Paola, an expert in environmental philosophy. Events planned for September include the team of architects, landscape architects and gardeners Volumezero, Bartolomeo Dichio, Alba Mininni, philosopher Emanuele Coccia and lecturer Gianfranco Pellegrino. 

This was not simply a participatory event – it was a journey that made every citizen an integral part of Dante's work.

This was the intention behind 'Purgatorio, a Public Call for 'Divina Commedia, by Dante Alighieri', and this is what it turned out to be. The performance was produced by the Teatro delle Albe and directed by Marco Martinelli and Ermanna Montanari, and involved not just IAC actors from Ravenna and Matera, but above all hundreds of local people. The idea behind the entire project was to construct a performance that would deal with the present, one that aimed to engage with what is happening today. When they took on this colossal work, Martinelli and Montanari decided to make use of to two distinct, yet complementary, theatrical traditions: sacred mediaeval events and the Russian people's theatre of the early twentieth century. It was this approach that provided the power behind the process, and which made it possible to go beyond the classic concept of participation, which can sometimes be bound to what is almost a deliberately amateurish approach, and to attain a fusion between the work and the citizens.
Purgatorio was built around local residents in such a way that they became a vital part of it, and without them it would have had no reason to exist.This is why it was essential to follow the protagonists of the process, to understand their hopes and emotions, and finally to be able to appreciate their development. Four local people of different sexes, ages and origin decided to tell their stories and to have them told during the construction of this collective performance. What emerges from the words of Tiziana, Maurizio, Antonella e Claudio, who joined hundreds of other citizens as part of the chorus of Purgatorio, is the explosive power of chorality, and at the same time the sometimes therapeutic function of the theatre, which has given our protagonists a serene new kind of awareness.

Campo aggiuntivo 5:

Credits photo: Néstor Boli Galindo

The things Felicia and Gianluca, the two Matera 2019 volunteers who were in Plovdiv just one month ago, tell you when you ask them about their experience in the other European Capital of Culture 2019 are almost like an unanticipated love story. It was a case of love at first sight, as surprising as the chance to make the trip, which they accepted instantly, and which led to them falling in love not just with the Bulgarian city, but above all with a lifestyle.

They constantly use one particular word, Aylak, in all their answers. They translate it as an exhortation – 'relax!' – which, they say, embodies the profound sense of a way of facing life they discovered during their trip. Felicia and Gianluca stayed with volunteers, and so they had the opportunity to experience the Aylak spirit in full. They talk about it happily. It is as if the suggestion had first surprised, then engaged and finally captivated them, all thanks to the fact that they learned it directly from volunteers like them, by working side by side.

During their stay, the two Materan volunteers worked on preparations for the 'Aylak Parade', a kind of procession involving huge papier maché dolls and strange costumed characters. They helped prepare the dolls, working with a Bulgarian theatre company, which allowed them to discover what happens behind the scenes of the event. Even the physiological moments of tension, they point out, did nothing to undermine the calm way of taking things that they discovered in a land they had known nothing about until a few days previously.

Perhaps it was this new perspective that enabled these two young people to relish every moment of an experience that took them to live among their Bulgarian colleagues. One just has to listen to their stories, to the word 'family' they use to describe the people who hosted them, to understand that Felicia and Gianluca have been on more than just a simple journey. 'We are doing everything we can to go back there soon as possible', they say in unison, as if to confirm that they are not going to allow this wonderful discovery get away from them.

The final curtain has fallen on Purgatorio, a wonderful spectacle that moved the entire community, a collective experience that became an extraordinary artistic production!

Two weeks of planning, 300 citizens directly involved in the performances and a wonderful response from audiences, with all the performances sold out.

The relevance of Dante's Purgatorio to our everyday lives can be found in the human vices and virtues represented in the extraordinary monologues by Ermanna Montanari and Marco Martinelli, the creators, artistic directors and directors of the joint stage event they put together call after call around people of all ages, languages and origins.

From 17 May to 2 June 2019, this splendid artistic production by the Ravenna Festival-Teatro Alighieri with Matera 2019, in collaboration with the Teatro delle Albe-Ravenna Teatro, also involved local theatre companies, including the IAC - Centro Arti Integrate. 

Marco Martinelli and Ermanna Montanari's visionary gamble of transforming Dante's masterpiece into a theatrical event involving numerous incursions into important current topics – politics and sociology, and love and hope – was a success, from the intense, heart-breaking scene of women killed violently by their husbands, fathers, boyfriends and brothers to Pia, who becomes every woman in the world, and the final scene, in which four little Greta Thunbergs with pigtails made us think about the fragility of our planet caused by the irresponsibility of adults and those in power.

The show ended with loud applause in Via del Riscatto, the location of the splendid Cappella delle Monacelle and a metaphor for a great, prophetic spiritual rebirth.

Exhibitions, residencies, artistic performances, cooking classes, workshops and shows – and one single undisputed protagonist: bread.

Breadway, the project co-produced by Murgiamadre, was a journey and an experience through the streets of the Piccianello district reviving the tradition of bread between 6 and 9 June along a route that included bakers, the former mill and other iconic locations of the Rione.

The 'bread festival' united the telling of the story of local traditions with contemporary artistic expression. Temporary citizens and cultural inhabitants were involved together in an immersive experience that brought them closer to a heritage of knowledge and flavours.

Two exhibitions reopened the doors of the former Mulino Alvino, the first mill to be built in Matera at the end of the 19th century. They marked the start of the festival with an exhibition of the work by the students of the IED in Barcelona and the projects that had answered the call launched by ADI to design new kinds of bread.

The students of the European Institute of Design worked on various aspects of breadmaking: from the beginning, starting with the ingredients that make it up, to stale leftovers. Bread that feeds our bodies, bread that becomes a design item and makes it possible for us to try things out and create a new object while also recycling what is left.

The call launched by the Associazione per il Design Industriale in February, on the other hand, invited participants to create and propose new types of bread using a formula that was not limited to the strictly food-related aspect, but looked beyond it, as the great chefs have accustomed us to seeing. Cooks and designers share an extremely free creative process – they are two very closely-related professions, the only difference being that in the former case, the results are ephemeral and usually disappear after a few bites.

Design projects and performances by five international artists and food performers selected by Indisciplinarte both started out from a long creative construction process revolving around the subject of bread.

Rares Augustin Craiut and Xavier Gorgol took us though the Panificio Perrone for a lesson in anatomy in which the body that was being cut up was the bread of Matera, a megaphone of memories of journeys and migrations through stories collected from a call to people who have left the city. 

Floriane Facchini & Cie pulled memories of all kinds out of the cupboard, interviewing the inhabitants of Piccianello, whose faces and stories enriched the facades of its houses. For the final Cucine(s) Matera performance, a lively parade led visitors to the various stages of this temporary installation, with bread as its common thread.

With a characteristic mobile bakery, Catalina Pollack Williamson listened to stories from the participants and blended their contents together, starting out from memories and traditions. In the bucolic location of the Chiesa Rupestre di Cristo La Gravinella, Gosie Vervloessem performed a mystic ritual that brought a magical creature to life. Finally, together with Harinera Panem et Circenses, the Chilean Andrea Paz and Colectivo Harinera Site Specific, we relived the ancient tradition of crapiata through a contemporary version.

As well as the performances, there were also numerous workshops, including the Cooking Class run by the Associazione Cuochi Materani Derado Vandemoortele and the Consorzio I.G.P. Pane di Matera, children's workshops run by Cozinha Nomade in the shade of the pine trees in the courtyard of the Scuola Marconi and the collections and archives of Paneuropa, a redesigned map of Europe based on the various types of bread found on the continent.

The warm summer evenings were enlivened by a concert by Musica da Cucina, where utensils become instruments, ska with indie and reggae influences by Skanderground, Route 96's cooking blues show and the swing, jive and Dixieland sounds of the Spaghetti Brothers.

With Breadway, Matera and bread became a symbol of sharing, religiousness, holiness and creativity to create a new informed community. Breadway was a rediscovery of conviviality and the pleasure of being together in the name of bread.

Would you like to become a protagonist in 'Inhabiting the Opera'? We are looking just for you for one of Matera 2019's most highly-anticipated projects, which will be produced in collaboration with one of the world's oldest theatres, the Teatro San Carlo of Naples!

Citizens will be directly involved in the staging of Pietro Mascagni's opera ‘La Cavalleria Rusticana’, which will be set in the Sassi di Matera, an open-air theatre like no other in the world.

The performance will be divided into two parts: the first, which is a travelling show called 'Prologo sui Sassi', or 'The Seven Capitalist Sins', will involve the participation of citizens, and consists of short scenes inspired by the seven deadly sins illustrating the excesses of contemporary neoliberalism, while the second is a production of Pietro Mascagni's opera ‘La Cavalleria Rusticana’, directed by Giorgio Barberio Corsetti, which will be performed in the picturesque setting of Piazza San Pietro Caveoso and the Church of Santa Maria di Idris.

Citizens will be asked to take part in both the scenes of 'The Seven Capitalist Sins' and in some brief crowd scenes in Pietro Mascagni's opera that will require simple theatrical actions, choruses and choral dances. All those wishing to take part in creating the opera will be involved in the following activities: workshops from 17 to 22 June, performance rehearsals from 10 to 30 July, a pre-dress rehearsal on 31 July, a dress rehearsal on 1 August, a first performance on 2 August, and a second performance on 3 August.

The workshop for citizens will be held between 17 and 22 June from 18.00 to 21.00 at the Casale in Via Madonna delle Virtù in Matera.

All citizens may take part in the workshop, based on their own availability.

Rehearsals for the show, which are scheduled to take place at the Teatro Quaroni in the La Martella district in July, will be held no more than three times a week during the afternoon or evening, so that everyone will be able to take part.

If you require further information, please send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., adding ‘ABITARE L’OPERA’ in the subject line.

You must have a Matera 2019 Passport if you wish to participate in this public call.

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Sport and urban art merge, energise and transform public spaces, so people can enjoy the city beyond the historic centre. This is the guiding spirit of Open Playful Space, a project produced with Uisp Basilicata, which culminated in the Festival that ended last week.

This urban regeneration operation uses games, sport and urban art in a new way, by discovering and regenerating spaces for people to experience as accessible cultural places.

From 29 May to 2 June, with a preview on the weekend of 25 and 26 May, a large number of residents were involved in generating a new vision of public spaces and returning them to the whole community by highlighting what is usually invisible.

The festival preview featured a variety of games and circus arts, attracting the attention of children and families. The preview concluded with a 5-a-side football tournament, bringing together young people from Matera, European volunteers and migrants in an atmosphere of friendship and solidarity. 

Since 29 May the Festival has taken over the streets, squares and parks of the city with taster workshops and advanced ones for a more experienced public. The two symbolic places of the project were Piazza Cesare Firrao and Piazza degli Olmi, where regeneration work had already been introduced through street art, with the collaboration of students from the Istituto Comprensivo Bramante and the residents’ association of Piazza degli Olmi.

During the Festival street art was relaunched through two art installations. On the steps of the skating rink at the Parco Papa Giovanni Paolo II a brand new work was designed and made specifically for this space by Giorgio Bartocci, a street artist who explores the complex relationship between people and the local area. Bartocci enhanced the urban architecture that resembles an upturned boat with signs and symbols in gold, silver and copper.

The second installation was by designer and muralist Skolp, who added a vertical work to the actions he performed in previous months in Piazza degli Olmi, continuing with regeneration work on a public space belonging to a community that has already been involved in Matera 2019 activities. This artist from Bari signed his work with the geometric shapes and composition principles characteristic of his art, while students from the Scuola Bramante ‘adopted’ the columns in the square, using paint and varnish.

All of the Festival workshops were coordinated by leaders of international standing. The Art Du Deplacement workshops (an arts/sport discipline that combines freedom of movement with free thought) were coordinated by Laurent Piemontesi, one of the founders of this discipline which was established in France in the 1980s, with Muvt ASD. Lots of enthusiasts and keen participants got to grips with ADD and learned to overcome obstacles, walking and running along urban routes with amazing acrobatics, jumps and climbs.

The workshops focusing on circus arts, juggling and capoeira also featured professional artists with many years of experience, like the young Anglo-French family The Sprockets, the Pachamama company and the Brazilian Mestre Aranha from the Sao Salomao centre.

On the evenings of 1 and 2 June, the final event of the Festival was a performance in the Parco Giovanni Paolo II and Parco del Castello Tramontano of the multi-disciplinary show TransformAction directed by Pino Di Buduo, founder of the Teatro Potlach, a renowned and long-established Italian contemporary theatre company. 

The concept of TransformAction derives from the local area where it is performed. Green spaces and open spaces become a natural stage for the performance, which follows a winding artistic path for half a kilometre. The spectators become travellers in search of performances located in various places in the two parks, which are completely transformed by lighting, sets and projections on the central keep and lateral towers of the Castello Tramontano.

Performances included juggling, acrobatic dancing, stilt walking and circus arts accompanied by percussion rhythms, live music and Brazilian songs. On previous days a peaceful colourful caravan went through the city’s streets, astonishing local people with this invasion of their space by music and acrobatics.

Through Open Playful Space, Uisp Basilicata and all the partners involved want to send a clear message: the residents themselves can be the real protagonists of change, starting with young people capable of regenerating urban spaces and relationships by means of sport and street art. This great social phenomenon starts from the local area and drives a cultural revolution that improves lifestyles and health, representing an opportunity to which everyone has a right.

The project was carried out in collaboration with the following partners: ISCA, Uisp, Teatro Potlach, ADD Umbria Academy, Muvt ASD, Momart Gallery, Lacaposciuc ASD, TeatroPAT, Associazione Giallo Sassi, Associazione Joven, Basilicata Board and ASD Sk8ong Team.

Update 4 July 2019

Selection of participants for the Inclusive Dance Workshop for the project Movimento Libero is now closed. Below is a list of the admitted candidates.

The outcome of the selection 'Public Call - Inclusive Dance Workshop for the project Movimento Libero'.

Update 20 June 2019

The deadline for the call has been extended. Applications can be sent up to and including June 27th. Consequently, the outcome of the selection is also postponed to the 4th July.

This inclusive dance workshop is the second phase of the project MOVIMENTO LIBERO that explores the relationship between art and disability. This ‘Dance Workshop’ is a chance for disabled and non-disabled participants to explore the exciting contribution to dance made by disabled dancers.

Stopgap - Community Dance:

The workshop will be led by the world-renowned Stopgap Dance Company (U.K) who create contemporary dance productions with a cast of disabled and non-disabled dancers. It values ​​a pioneering spirit and is committed to making discoveries about integrating disabled and non-disabled people through dance.

Stopgap conducts creative learning projects and workshops for schools and local communities, to demonstrate how dance is accessible to all and to observe how integrating disabled and non-disabled people through such projects promotes active citizenship and social cohesion.

By filling in this form, you can apply for the Public Call to participate in the MOVIMENTO LIBERO inclusive dance workshop, led by Nadenh Poan and Siobhan Hayes, members of StopGap Dance Company, within the framework of Nessuno Resti Fuori - a theatrical, city and citizens festival. The Workshop is scheduled from 23 to 27 July 2019, it will be a 5-day course animated by English artists and open to disabled and non -disabled people: it will represent a new vision of performative art, enhancing skills through artistic expression . The workshop concludes with a performative outcome, seen as a restitution to the community, scheduled for 27 July and which will be repeated on 19 October at the opening of Stopgap’s ‘Artificial Things’ dance production.

This public call is launched by the Matera-Basilicata 2019 Foundation, the project MOVIMENTO LIBERO is a co-production with the British Council and in collaboration with IAC - Centro Arti Integrate and  Oriente Occidente Dance Festival.

Registration deadlines and conditions:

Registration will end on June 20, 2019. The outcome of the selection of participants will be published on www.matera-basilicata2019.it within 10 days from the end of the registration.

In a journey that leads citizens, both temporary and permanent, to become not only spectators but also active cultural builders, the selected candidates must be in possession of the Matera 2019 Passport in order to participate in the workshop. Concessions are available for disabled people.

Any travel, board and lodging expenses are at the expense of the participants.

Registration includes a commitment to participate in all the sessions of the workshop, the performance outcome of 27 July and the rehearsals and replication on 18 and 19 October.

Who is the workshop for and what is the selection criteria?

The laboratory is open to everyone, disabled and non-disabled people who are interested in exploring new forms of movement and relationship with their own body and with others.

Minimum age: 18 years

Maximum number: 20 people

Disability must not be an obstacle to participation, we guarantee full accessibility of the location in which the laboratory will take place. The workshop will be conducted in English with Italian translation. If necessary, additional communication assistance will be made available including Italian sign language.

The selection process will be carried out by the project partners and the laboratory conductors. We will use the registration form to evaluate:

• Your experience in the dance world: as a professional dancer, dance student, amateur dancer, spectator; (We know that disabled dancers have fewer opportunities, so we will consider "experience" in a very broad sense of the term)
• Your motivation to take part in this workshop;
• Your opportunities to apply the knowledge acquired in the laboratory in Basilicata and to share it within the local artistic sector and Italy;
• The general artistic context of the laboratory and public performance.

Laboratory

23 July - 27 July 2019 - from 9:30 to 13:00

Gym of the Istituto Comprensivo Pascoli - Primary School, via Lazazzera, Matera

Performative outcome July

27 July - afternoon/evening

Piazza Giovanni XXIII (in front of the church of San Pio X)

Performative outcome July

18 October - general rehearsals, time to be defined

19 October - show, time to be defined

Sala Pasolini, il Circo, Matera

Fill in this form to participate! 

Science and the arts seen as products of biological and cultural evolution: a reciprocal source of inspiration and an important channel of communication. These are ideas that the Matera2019 programme explores with a view to defining the relationship between humanist culture and scientific culture, in particular through one of the themes of the European Capital of Culture application dossier’s cultural agenda: Distant Future. This theme focuses on the age-old relationship with space and the stars – a relationship that follows in the steps of Pythagoras, one of the most illustrious residents of Basilicata – and explores the ancient universal splendour of science.

This was the starting point for Schisi, a series of five e-books created with Doppiozero, in an online cultural magazine edited by Marco Belpoliti. The five e-book articles on science and the arts are curated by Agostino Riitano – a project manager supervisor for Matera2019 – and focus on five authors who investigate interdisciplinary aspects, combining the rigour of their research with particular attention to the accessibility of the texts. The first volume is by Mario Porro with the title 'Margins of Science'. You can download the book for free here.

Collaboration with Doppiozero will generate one issue per month up until September, when two projects from the cultural programme will be presented to the public, blending science and the arts together emblematically: Wave and Quantum Dance. This Matera2019 event benefits from collaboration with major Italian and European scientific institutions, including the ASI/Space Geodesy Center in Matera, Trieste 2020 European City of Science and CNR.

The series has one objective in particular, which is to chart a course between the humanities and the pure sciences.

One of the leading lights of the Lucanian revival – the Egidio Romualdo Duni Conservatoire in Matera – has performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls in Europe, even in Salzburg, Mozart’s home city!

For the Duni Europe project, produced with the Italian Chamber Music Society over four venues, Duni musicians took up the challenge of making chamber music accessible to everyone through a series of new international concerts. Following the great success of the performances held on 30 April at the Conservatoire’s Auditorium in Matera, on 1 May in the town of Ariano Irpino and on 3 May at Casale Monferrato in its magnificent Municipal Theatre, the orchestra performed in one of the most famous concert venues: the Mozarteum in Salzburg. The Symphony Orchestra of the Egidio Romualdo Duni Conservatoire of Matera, conducted by Francesco Di Mauro, was the highlight of a concert which opened and closed with two works by contemporary composers from Lucania: Antonello Tosto and Damiano D’Ambrosio.

The concert featured the soloists Aiman Mussakhajayeva (violin), Adolfo Alejo (viola), Chungwha Lim (soprano) and the piano duo Sergio Marchegiani and Marco Schiavo. The programme also included the following works by Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 10 for Two Pianos and Orchestra in E-Flat Major (KV 365), an aria from Don Giovanni (‘Mi tradì quell’alma ingrata’), the Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola in E-Flat Major (KV 364) and two traditional Korean pieces, Dumulmori Arirang (Arirang of Love) by Geung-Soo Yim, and Mukungwha Arirang by Deok-Ki Chung. The versatile musician Antonello Tosto – who has composed music for various ensembles, including bands – dedicated his work to Matera, the city where he has studied and taught. In the Canto dei Sassi, Damiano D’Ambrosio – a composer from Lucania and tutor at several conservatoires – is inspired by his homeland, through music. The sub-title, Symphonic Postcards from Matera, is a suite for orchestra and reciting voice, which combines research and local tradition.

The ethnographical research, which brings people together through music, includes the two traditional Korean pieces. An Arirang is a Korean folksong, which has also listed by UNESCO.

Duni Europa combines musical traditions and cultures, which are expressed in the heart of the city that symbolises western music.

The number of community projects that the commission has deemed suitable from all of those proposed by citizens for citizens, and constructed thanks to the support of communities that network and share resources and enthusiasm, rises to 18. Some of these projects are scheduled to take place on several dates: there are already 38 days of events planned for the initial projects.

One of the most interesting aspects of the selected community projects is the regional dimension of the outputs. These initiatives are not only proposed by citizens and associations coming from municipalities throughout Basilicata, but they build bridges between distant places and realities of this region. Of the 18 projects launched, 6 will be implemented in the municipalities of Calciano, Genzano di Lucania, Miglionico, Montescaglioso, Noepoli and Pisticci, 2 have been designed by Matera institutions and will be located around the region between Barile, Ferrandina, Lauria, Potenza and Rotondella and 2 will be carried out in Matera but come from other places in Basilicata.

Since the month of April the first connections and networks that are animating the whole region have been implemented.  And this is indeed the case of Basilicata in… Cammino, a project conceived by the Il Carrubo A.P.D. Sports Association in partnership with other organisations that, throughout the region, are involved in spreading the culture of walking and the discovery of the territories. Through Trekking and Nordic Walking these associations offer itineraries aimed at exploring the territory and stimulating cultural exchange and networking between participants from each municipality of Basilicata, tracing and outlining paths of regional knowledge capable of uniting the different cultures and traditions. The value of this project lies above all in the future of these ties and in the regional design that makes it possible to strengthen and disseminate knowledge that can belong to the whole region.

Of a less regional character but no less widespread is the project The city meets Carlo Levi’s “Christ Stopped at Eboli” proposed by a group of members of the UNITEP (The University of Third Age and Permanent Education) who decided to carry around the neighbourhoods of Matera the text that has forever changed the history of this city by asking for hospitality from the citizens who open their homes, their gardens, their work and living spaces to readers and participants. 6 scheduled dates, of which 3 are still to take place, can be seen at Matera Events. The first 3 meetings were held at Casa Abiusi in the heart of the Sassi Districts, at Casa Francione in the village of La Martella and in the Integrated Multi-purpose Centre of Serra Rifusa and were attended by around 200 people. Amongst the participants there are also many temporary citizens who enjoyed the rare chance of being welcomed into the homes of the Matera people and listening to the personal stories of the inhabitants that are closely linked to the stories in the famous novel by Carlo Levi.

To celebrate World Book Day, the Alloper@ Association proposes for 28 April a day dedicated to reading, a real Book Festival for avid readers and enthusiasts who can play and share books and thoughts. The programme of activities, which also includes many moments dedicated specifically to children, is based on the exchange of books (BookCrossing) with a series of devices - old televisions transformed during workshops into Librovisori - that allow participants to donate and receive books.

All the initiatives proposed within the scope of Community Projects are free admission subject to availability and can be consulted on the official platform for Matera 2019 www.materaevents.it in the section dedicated to Community Projects.

A series of concerts, live performances and book presentations dedicated to food and its role not only as food but as a tool for socialising and creativity and an essential commodity for the well-being and economy of a community that can influence environmental equilibrium and stimulate social responsibility. Edible Orchestra offered a programme of innovative activities aimed at spreading these principles which, with the involvement of Italian and European artists, has seen the active participation of citizens.

The initial choice of venue for these events was the fruit and vegetable market, a meeting place and symbol of spontaneous gathering where it is possible to choose and express stances and which lent itself well to the message to be disseminated. The not too favourable climate did not stop the activities but unfortunately meant that they were transferred between the nearby Community Centre of Matera 2019 and the Gervasio auditorium.

On 9 and 10 April, the food designer Nick Difino led dozens of cultural inhabitants and temporary citizens in the preparatory workshops for the performance on Thursday of Les Tableaux Mangeants, an installation consisting of edible elements where food transcends the plate and becomes a palette of colours with which to experiment and seduce. Three days in which we went from talking about foods from memory and tradition to a shared selection of dishes to be cooked, from a lesson in the history of art to sharing the essential notions behind the choice of dishes that responded at the same time to both sentiment and the aesthetics of the work.

Before the artist's performance, there was a presentation of the book by Federico Valicenti Dalla tavola lucana al paradiso, a reading to be decanted like a fine wine. The Basilicata-born chef spoke to us about food as a metaphor for life and sharing because at the table you must be in good company to truly understand the essence of the dishes.

On 12 April the presentation/performance format was repeated with the journalist Stefano Liberti who in the afternoon transported us to the world of large-scale distribution with the book written together with his colleague Fabio Ciconte 'Il grande carrello. Chi decide cosa mangiamo'. At 20.00, Daniele De Michele as his alter-ego Don Pasta presented UNITED FOOD OF MATERA, an original multimedia performance based on the testimonies of eight citizens of Matera and their authentic relationship with food and cooking followed by a 'Cooking DJ Set': vinyl and pots, mixers and blender for a spicy DJ set of sounds from the whole world, including funk, reggae, South American and Mestizo London. A performance where you give yourself over to the excitement of food, its aromas, colours and forms.

On the final evening of Saturday 13 April, the headline event, a concert from the Vegetable Orchestra, was the first of its kind in the world. The distinctive feature of the Viennese ensemble is to perform only with musical instruments made from fresh fruit and vegetables, which for Matera 2019 were created together with temporary citizens.

Aided by drills, knives and screwdrivers, musicians and citizens have turned carrots into flutes or xylophones, leeks into violins and radishes into saxophones. For the concert in Matera an exceptional vegetable, the Crusco pepper, was used to introduce an original version of Stravinsky’s 'Le sacre du printemps', renamed by the orchestra as 'Le Massacre du printemps'.

The mix of sounds produced by vegetable instruments create an unusual and extremely rich universe of acoustics (not to mention the aromas that flood the environment) that could not be achieved with traditional instruments. And the effect is surprising from the very first notes.

Here are a few figures on the vegetables used: 30 aubergines, 5 cucumbers, 3 kg of dried beans, 170 carrots of different sizes, 2 cabbages, 10 Savoy cabbages, 3 large pumpkins, 20 leeks, 5 bunches of parsley, 5 bunches of spring onions, 25 white radishes, 3 bunches of salad greens, 8 celeriac, not to mention a number of large red, yellow and green peppers, onions, potatoes and courgettes.

At the end of the concert, which lasted about an hour, the audience gave a standing ovation not only for the Vegetable Orchestra that has been performing all over the world for 20 years, but also, and above all, for their message: the products of nature are indispensable for the community and must be defended at all costs.

The vegetables were provided for this occasion by Coldiretti Basilicata and, after the performance, they were donated to Don Angelo, pastor of the Church of San Rocco, to make a large soup to feed the poorest members of the parish.

An opera composed with the community, a collective story written by 150 hands that starts from an exploration: the silence that tells of a brusque interruption in the lives of the residents of Matera, once so crowded and noisy. This is Silent City, a story that starts with people, whose privileged voices are those of children and senior citizens – silent generations which lend their voice to the opera, together with composers, musicians, writers, singers, actors, drama tutors and international artists.   

The project is co-produced by the Compagnia Teatrale l’Albero, an art collective directed by Alessandra Maltempo and Vania Cauzillo, which has already experimented with new forms of artistic creation for the opera’s new audiences. The innovation of Silent City is to start with a challenge: take the opera where there is no operatic tradition or an opera house. The idea is to recreate the need for a genre, rediscover belonging to a language – the language of theatre in music, which today seems so remote from people.

The community takes on the role of composer and rediscovers opera as a genre for self-expression, in which people can recognise themselves. This is a unique experiment in Italy by Community Opera, which actively involves informal communities coming together in evoking how people lived in ancient times in the Sassi of Matera.

Each phase in the creation of the opera (history, music, libretto, sets and costumes) involves the input of the community, starting from the stories collected by the playwright Andrea Ciommiento – a set designer and curator of relational art projects – who met dozens of children, their families, students, young professionals and senior citizens over 60 in Matera, Potenza and Melfi. The collective story starts with a shared memory: three children from the present who one day escape from the forgotten part of their city – an ancient rocky place where they meet the silence child.

In the next phase the British composer Nigel Osborne, a pioneer in the use of music for children in war zones, Tommaso Ussardi, conductor of the Orchestra Senzaspine and Ubah Cristina Ali Farah, an Italian-Somali librettist and poet, collaborated in writing the music and libretto for the opera, inspired by the stories collected and reworked in the earlier workshops.

After months of work on the co-creation of this novel contemporary opera, the vast journey of Silent City is now nearing its conclusion. In order to stage the opera, the Compagnia Teatrale l’Albero, the Orchestra Senzaspine and Opera Circus (partners in the project) are looking for singers resident in Italy and Europe to join the cast of Silent City. There are various parts that can be applied for and the deadline for applications is 5 May 2019. The call published on the website by the Company provides all the information needed to apply.

The artists chosen will have the opportunity to be the protagonists of a project that represents an open culture in every possible way: open because it is available to everyone; open in its philosophy and emotions; and open because it is founded on dialogue with the places and communities.

The sounds of IN ViTRØ ~ Artificial sønificatiøn will soon start to echo through the cisterns, subterranean areas, castles and abbeys of Matera and the rest of the region. IN ViTRØ is a sound art project co-produced by LOXOSconcept which explores the relationship between sound and silence with interactive art events and workshops. Exhibitions, installations, performances, residencies, labs and workshops discover the silence that never ceases to involve sound and require its presence.

Significant and everyday places from the past are ideal scenarios in which to start reflecting on how our modern environments are bombarded by sound, but also to suggest how we might move towards a new acoustic ecology. The work Echi d’Acqua (water echoes), for example, offers an artistic interpretation of the Palombaro Lungo, the largest cistern for water collection hidden beneath the central Piazza Vittorio Veneto. The art installation will emphasise the relationship between sight and sound through the sound sign found in the music of five composers. The specific acoustic features and important architectural elements of the Palombaro will be enhanced through visual and musical stimuli: the presence of water, its forms, geometry and flow, sensorial impact of the walls and their colour, the impression of acoustic resonance phenomena.

The Sound Art Exhibition in September still has a call open for artists across the world of all ages to propose a reflection on sound and silence. The art installations, performances and sound sculptures, chosen by a special international committee representing leading art centres, will descend on Matera as expressions of the latest trends in sound art, which will be a veritable sonic invasion!

The competition is in two sections: the first is for existing sound art works to be displayed in the exhibition, while the second is for projects to be developed and presented in the art residencies that will take place in the picturesque locations of the Monastery of Santa Chiara in Ferrandina, the Bottini di Irsina and the Abbey of St Michael Archangel in Montescaglioso. The deadline for submitting proposals is 15 May 2019.

Thanks to the European partnership with ZKM [Center for Art and Media] (Germany), Gaudeamus Muziekweek (the Netherlands), Tempo Reale and Spaziomusica (Italy), EU Japan Fest (Japan)  and CeReNeM (UK) the works produced and selected may also be shown in 2020 in other parts of Italy and in Europe, to encourage art mobility.

The IN VITRØ project will launch in May with the section MUTE [silent film mutations] and focus on silent films, in particular on sound and music aspects, in collaboration with the Keyhole Association and the EDISON Studio collective. IN VITRØ concludes in late September 2019 with a new production: a preview performance in Italy of work by the famous Japanese artist Ryoichi Kurokawa.

Information about all the project events can be found on the official calendar, which is regularly updated.

The results of the Call for Matera 2019 artistic residencies are available online. Many people participated in the call, with half of the 115 forwarded applications being submitted by associations working all over the region. 9 out of 35 eligible projects, which were selected by the board, will be funded.

Many of the submitted projects stand out for their high quality and final decisions were made based on the slight difference between projects intending to create cultural productions and projects seeking to exploit the opportunities offered by an artist-in-residence programme.

The winning projects deal with very different topics. "La radio da quaggiù" by the Association Al Parco Onlus of Satriano di Lucania deals with radio, a medium that Matera 2019 has chosen over the years as its favourite means of communication because of its intangible characteristic and wide reach.

"InsideSouth", by the collective PLUS APS of Pisticci, is a photography residency aimed at taking pictures on what is not apparently visible as well as building a collective reflection on the fragility of the territory and on the potential re-use of abandoned or underused historic building heritage.

"Comics storytelling" by the Association Supertramp of Viggiano aims at regenerating the mountainous suburbs through the gaze of cartoonists.

“Torre Stormita” is a residency organised by the Association “Terre Joniche Magna Grecia” which gives artists the opportunity to be hosted in Medieval towers overlooking the sea.

The “Centro Carlo Levi” of Matera submitted an urban regeneration project called “Icone per il futuro” that will involve important street artists. “Qualcuno che ne carpisca il segreto” is a project by the cooperative Synchronos, which will bring together Basilicata and Sardinia in sewing workshops held by internationally-renowned artists and fashion designers. The association Basilicata Link suggests activities on the almost abandoned rural suburb of Borgo Taccone and aims to re-write its history and future with the project “Esto También pasarà”.

The Regional Committee of Arci Basilicata will create “Un atlante del paesaggio rupestre” (An Atlas of the Rock-Hewn Landscape), which is a map of stories, stones and legends hidden between Matera and Montescaglioso, within the mysterious area of the Murgia and the Calanchi. The association Lucania Documenta will implement the “Gens - Mutazioni” project, which will tell the story of the past, the present and the future of Rivello through the voices of its inhabitants.

This link shows the list of all eligible projects that will be funded, the eligible projects that cannot be funded due to lack of resources, non-eligible projects as well as the projects that could not have been evaluated.

On 30 March the institutions that submitted the 35 eligible projects, which obtained a minimum score of 50, were invited to submit their project ideas to the community and to take part in a co-creation day in collaboration with European partners. The meeting focused on cross-border mobility and sustainability.

Matera 2019 commits itself to continuing the work started on 30th March so that further funding and participation opportunities may be highlighted to build up a community of residence curators. The opportunity of allocating mobility microvouchers ("go&see") to all the holders of eligible projects is currently being examined. It was already done with the Project Leaders and it proved successful in setting up international networks of European partnerships.

A blue box containing a map of the city, a bookmark with a list of emotions, a few crayons and some sheets of drawing paper for you to record important places in your life. This is the starting point for the long journey of emotions, collected and preserved in the Atlas of the City’s Emotions. Over 300 of Matera’s residents, aged between10 and 80, have been given this box and asked to draw their own ‘emotional map’, identifying places in the city where significant emotional events in their lives have taken place. 300 residents, 300 emotional maps, 3,000 secrets: a first kiss, the route to school, a quarrel, the streets where their grandparents lived, places which are still there, have changed, or have disappeared.

On 23 and 24 March La Secretissima Camera de Lo Core was opened – a site-specific multisensory installation divided into different areas, where residents’ memories bring to life the soul of places. The Chamber, which is the first chapter in the project ‘Atlas of the City’s Emotions’, co-produced by the Teatro dei Sassi, is an innovative way of visiting the city. Secret tales of the city become the spark that illuminates Matera’s streets. The installation will remain open for any visitor with a Matera 2019 Passport until 31 July in the Library, where the cultural heritage of the city is stored.

Some important international partners have contributed to the project. The stories of the ‘emotional map makers’ have been read and adapted by the author Alessandro Baricco with young writers from the Holden School in Turin who, acting as a link between the life of the city and the feelings of its residents, have produced a fascinating and diverse collection of stories ‘from the heart’ of Matera.

Closely connected with the maps drawn by residents are 37 works by the artist Stefano Faravelli – well known for his travel log – and by a group of over 40 artists under his direction, half of whom are from Lucania.

During the inauguration of ‘La Secretissima Camera de Lo Core’ visitors were entertained by choreography designed by the German dancer and choreographer Heike Hennig, who was inspired by the emotional maps, the works by the artists who took part in the ‘apiaries’ directed by Faravelli, and the first stories of young writers from the Holden School.

The design of the Chamber is also the work of Paolo Baroni, who makes theatrical devices and artisan lighting, while the artistic director is Massimo Lanzetta of the Teatro dei Sassi.

The literary and artistic adaptation and the community that collected memories, secrets and stories, have together created a great ‘Mother Map’: an emotional itinerary through the city produced by Stefano Faravelli on rice paper, which describes 15 stages of a novel route including unusual features of Matera and contains the wonderful scroll written by Alessandro Baricco. From 2020, the ‘Mother Map’ will be produced in a pocket-sized format and distributed to visitors who want to follow the ‘emotional places’ route through the city. On returning home, visitors will find a moment to reflect on their experiences of the journey and share them on the Atlas website with all the other ‘emotional travellers’.

The Circus+ festival closes having achieved great interest and participation with the numbers saying it all. 5 weekends of shows dedicated to the 5 themes of the candidacy bid-book during which the Matera 2019 audience watched the most amazing and riveting circus shows in Europe.

23 international circus companies were involved along with 112 artists coming from 10 different countries and from the South of Italy, and 5 bands took turns on stage at both the Grand Chapiteau (Big Circus tent) and the Petit Chapiteau (Small Circus tent) from 14 February to 17 March.

A packed programme of sold out events  - 37 shows, 6 events including the presentation of a book and projections of films about the circus world as well as tens of shows with about 10,000 audience members who were welcomed heartily by 160 enthusiast volunteers. Moreover, Matera 2019 social media reported a huge number of reach and online engagement. Pictures, videos and the whole livestream of one of the performances reached 19,000 Facebook views, 3021 Linkedin views, and obtained 275 Instagram likes on average as well as 1594 views on the Youtube channel.

The artists used many traditional and unusual  tools and equipment, such as ropes, cords, trapezes,  fabrics, clubs, bolas, balls, ladders, spheres, Chinese plates, hats, magic ropes, mini bikes, rola bolas, roue cyrs, hula hoops, unicycles, Chinese poles, diabolos, comic balls, lampshades, spinning ropes, water hoses, plastic bags and whirling skirts.  

During the first weekend the first act named Circus as transformation was dedicated to Roots and Routes, the theme of the candidacy bid-book that links tradition to its contemporary forms. The shows are the outcome of the contamination of different cultures and disciplines melting with performing arts, which range from dance to theatre.

Two couples of artists, with different knowledge and vocations, performed in an avant-garde synthesis. The actor and performer Antonio Rezza and the artist and author Flavia Mastrella, the Uruguayan aerial acrobat Fabiana Ruiz Diaz and the Italian multidisciplinary artist Giacomo Costantini of the company El Grito took turn on stage.

Water, wind and other natural elements were the protagonists of the shows of the second act, Circus as transition, dedicated to Utopias and Dystopias, the theme of the change. This week, Phia Menard, who gave two performances, and the dervish Ziya Azazi also dominated the circus stage.

During the third weekend, the third act named Circus as aggregation  was dedicated to the theme of Continuity and Disruptions and we set up gymnastics shows  in which the tools were works of art and merged with the artists. Three international artists stepped up: the French Cécile Mont Reynaud, the Italian  Martina Nova and the German Jorg Muller followed by the Belgian Clown Duo Okidok.

The team spirit that characterises the best circus groups was the focus of the fourth act titled Circus as collaboration. The artists demonstrated mastering arts and disciplines which require coordination and overall view. It was a reminder of the collective intelligence in order to challenge human abilities. The show by Groupe Acrobatique de Tanger, which is made up of 12 acrobats and 2 musicians from Morocco, defies the law of gravity in collective and exhilarating acrobatics whilst the Forum Nuovi Circhi gathered almost all the Italian Contemporary Circus companies: Circo Paniko, MagdaClan Circo, Side Kunst Cirque, Circo Zoé, Arterego, Circo Krom, Circo Patuff, Teatro Nelle Foglie, L'Iglù and Circo Baraka with 46 elements overall.

In Circus as innovation, which is the fifth act linked to the theme of Ancient Future, circus tradition was challenged through the contamination of arts by five out-of-control acrobats/dancers The Black Blues Brothers, Mister David and The Family DEM and El Grito.

See the pictures of all the performances and the video tale of the whole Circus +.

European Circostrada Network and European CircusNext Label collaborated to Circus+ .

Circus+ is supported by the Embassy of France and the Institut Français.

Sensors built with a class of students to measure water levels in a river. A road race where all competitors ‘have their cross to bear’. Workshops to help disabled children make papier-mâché angels for the Carro della Bruna (the float carrying the Madonna della Bruna). An abandoned railway station turned into a stage for a play. Carlo Levi’s famous novel re-read in itinerant meetings.

What do these projects have in common? They are designed and planned by residents for the residents. People from Matera and Basilicata who have responded to the Public Call for Community Projects  submit their ideas for a project, which will be included in the Matera 2019 official programme.

The Public Call aims to promote projects which are created by the community, agreed by residents and which reflect ‘the grass roots’. The successful projects promote processes that foster new skills acquired from involvement in culture-related activities, by creating the opportunity – at local and European level – for people to connect and relate.

The first 11 projects selected, with support from Matera 2019, will focus on people’s aspirations, logistical and organisational needs, challenges and opportunities. Collaboration is key in enabling projects to take shape and qualify as community projects.

The Public Call process, in which all the projects have taken part, consists of two stages. In the first, the project ideas are developed so they can become community projects. The proposals designed and delivered with the support of community project leaders and of Matera 2019 can then proceed to the second stage, where a more detailed form needs to be filled in. The proposals are then judged by a committee.

The first projects approved after the second stage  will soon be launched, with the signing of agreements and the deployment of the first practical initiatives for their implementation. Any new project ideas in line with the criteria set out in the Public Call must be submitted by 30 July 2019, only via the online form available on the website (under Get Involved). The deadline for projects to reach the second stage is 14 September 2019.

Update 27 June 2019

The results of the Call for Artists are available online. 

Inhabiting the Opera is a project co-produced with one of the oldest theatres in the world, the Theatre San Carlo in Naples, which intends to stage “Cavalleria Rusticana” by Pietro Mascagni in the heart of the Sassi districts from 2nd August to 11th August.

Experimenting with a new model for culture production and valorisation, citizens will be involved in this project that is mainly focused on strengthening cultural citizenship and direct community participation.

The Opera will be performed outdoors and the audience will be engaged in writing the script of the Opera that will be set in a contemporary context.

The itinerant performance will be made up of two parts. In the first part the protagonists will be involved in choirs, collective dances and theatre actions in a "Prologue on the Sassi" titled ‘THE SEVEN CAPITAList SINS. The disasters caused by Neoliberism”. During the second part the real performance of the Opera by Mascagni, directed by Giorgio Barberio Corsetti, will be staged in the beautiful setting of Piazza San Pietro Caveoso dominated by the Church of Santa Maria di Idris.

Actors, dancers, parkourers and street dancers are invited to apply for the development of the Prologue for the creation of the Opera.

Applicants should email their CVs and a self-introduction video by 7th April. The auditions to select the candidates will be held at the Theatre San Carlo of Naples from 13th April to 14th April. The selected artists will attend two workshops in Matera. The first workshop will be held from  22th April to 30th April for a further selection of artists. The second workshop will be held from 17th June to 22nd June.

The artists selected during the two workshops will take part in the rehearsals and in the performance planned from 3rd July to 11th August.

Details about the application are available in the transparent administration section of our website. During the auditions the director will give further information about the artistic performance.

Wuyeh and Savane are both tailors. Wuyeh is a young Gambian boy who arrived in Italy when he was a child, after moving from place to place for two years. Savane, instead, had to escape from the Ivory Coast because he made suits for an important politician and at the outbreak of the war, his name was on the list of the people to be persecuted. Trèsor was enrolled in the faculty of architecture and managed a building company in the Congo that employed 20 citizens. He left his country with his children and his wife who died at sea during their journey. Tessy is a Senegalese single mother and Mohammad is a Pakistani boy who escaped from the Taliban, who wanted to kill him because he was involved in rescue activities during big disasters on behalf of an NGO.

These are just a few stories that the Silent Academy tells through everyone’s skills and abilities within a project relying on the values of equality, integration and contamination among different cultures. Nowadays, immigration is one of the key issues in National and European debates whilst elsewhere walls are being built and bridges are being destroyed. Matera 2019 and Il Sicomoro,  which is a social cooperative set up in 2002 to give voice to “Silent people”, respond with a message of inclusion starting from the awareness that talents are everywhere in the world.

Matera 2019 Silent Academy enhances the migrants’ artisan skills within hosting communities. It has set up a school of craft skills to foster the acknowledgement of professions of those people who escape from war and famine as well as to acknowledge the professional experiences acquired in their countries of origin, which they skillfully use within their new homes.

The workshops are held by a migrant teacher and a local expert, who together with participants gather skills and traditions to make products with a new identity. Savane and Wuyeh are the tailors of the sewing workshops, Trèsor will be one of the experts in decoration and plastic design, Mohammad  works Matera’s tufa stone and Tessy has participated in a fashion parade along the streets of the city. She wore a golden dress made with the fabric of an isothermal blanket, which is the same type of blanket that migrants put on when they arrive ashore. This golden dress was made by the Ivorian tailor Ibrahim and the artist BR1 from Turin.

Following a co-creation and capacity building process, the Silent Academy made its debut from last June to July. It organized 20 days of public art and social craftmasnhip during which collective works were made together with foreigners and local people coming from different towns of Basilicata: Rionero in Vulture, Nova Siri, San Chirico Raparo and Matera. It was a journey through the places, the histories of the towns and the people living in them, regardless of their skin colour.

In 2019 a long series of workshops opened to all the holders of the Matera 2019 Passport and involved 230 temporary citizens. On 20 March the first performance titled Sotto lo stesso manto (Under the Same Cloak) will be staged. The clothes made by the fashion designer Eloi Sessou will be worn for a collective performance curated by Mariano Bauduin, which takes inspiration from an ancient icon of the town of Matera, “la Madonna del Terzo Settore”.

A modern “symphonic poem” specially composed by Bauduin and performed by the wind Orchestra from Grottole and by "Corale per San Giovanni" from Naples will celebrate diversity searching its harmony, from the “tamurriata” (translator’s note:the dance on the drum, typical folk dance of Campania) for the Virgin Mary, to a revised orchestration of “Missa Luba”, created in Afro-American form.

This event is inspired by a big seventeenth-century painting (la Madonna del Gonfalone) which hangs at the back of the church. The painting depicts the Virgin Mary wearing a special cloak, who is the Matera icon belonging to the fraternity which bear the same name. This painting shows the brothers on one side and on the other the “entrusted” -  the poor and the forgotten. They are all under the same cloak and the fraternity helps and “entrusts” them to the “Mother”.

An installation evoking the scenic action will be set up in the Church of Santa Maria of Costantinople, within the complex of the Museo Diocesano (Diocesan Museum), where it will be possible to admire the original painting the event took inspiration from until 24 March.

This event will start the restoration of the big painting of "Madonna del Gonfalone", which will be funded by the social cooperative Il Sicomoro.

Information about the project, the events organised by Silent Academy and the ways you can participate in the next workshops are available on both the Matera 2019 website and on the Il Sicomoro website in the project-related sections.

Silent Academy tries to tell a different story about immigration -  a new story made up of opportunities rather than resentment, of humanity rather than divisions. Culture belongs to everybody. This is what Silent Academy wants to tell us.

The project The Poetry of Shame has completely reached its goal, which is telling the story of a “redemption” through theatre and performative language. It showed that when we reverse our shameful and vulnerable side we can unlock our human potential.

The project is co-produced by #reteteatro41, with Franco Ungaro as coordinator and Antonella Iallorenzi of ‘Petra’ theatre company as art director. Together with the theatre company ‘L’albero’, ‘IAC Centro Arti Integrate’ and ‘Gommalacca Teatro’, Antonella has founded #reteteatro41, a cultural organisation that develops relations and actions supporting territories, institutions and operators at regional, national and international level.

The project is included in the theme ‘Continuity and Disruptions’ and follows the relevant guidelines planned in the Candidacy bidbook. It investigates the concept of shame as a positive impulse towards a collective process of self-analysis, self-criticism and self-improvement, which can generate new strength and greater optimism about the future.

This important theme is based on the assumption that the investigation on shame, which characterised the history of both Matera and whole of Europe, may lead to change its meaning, by starting up a dialogue among different cultures and creating connections between Eastern and Western Europe in order to build up a common cultural area based on shared values.

Humana Vergogna was staged from 1st to 9th March. It was also performed at Teatro Paisiello in Lecce on 11th March. It is the outcome of a long process of artistic research and creation that has turned shame into beauty. Shame is seen from a range of perspectives – shame for one’s own body, family, failure, sex as well as for being different. The live performance brought art into the jail of Matera and, despite its apparent lightness, it dealt with the innermost features of our identity.

The investigation on the word ‘shame’ starts from a deep analysis carried out by performers which then explodes in entwined bodies that explore every nuance of the theme through dance moves and thundering words accompanied by a soundtrack mixing pop music and opera. Daily fragility, humiliation and embarrassment, private and collective shame – all of them find a place in this sparkling performance that provides a careful and sensitive analysis of the most intimate of human shame and of the relevant poetic visions.

The ad hoc production was entrusted to Matteo Maffesanti and Silvia Gribaudi. The latter has been working for years on the embarassment experienced by people with “conspicuous” bodies. Her work aims at freeing them from stereotypes and desecrating them with beauty. The performers, including actors and dancers, were selected during the artistic residence that took place in Skopje from November to December 2018. Artists include Mattia Giordano, Antonella Iallorenzi and Mariagrazia Nacci, from Basilicata, Simona Spirovska from Macedonia and Ema Tashiro from Japan. On their return from the capital of the Republic of North Macedonia, the artists started to work on the performance in the village of Satriano di Lucania where they engaged the local community in theatre and shared ideas and suggestions on the concept of shame with citizens and students.

‘Humana Vergogna’ is part of the project ‘The Poetry of Shame’. It is the result of a process in performing arts, which was started with workshops held at the ‘Accademia Mediterranea dell’Attore’ of Campi Salentina (Lecce) last year. In this first phase, open calls addressed to international actors, dancers and performers were announced with the aim of giving young artists a chance of training abroad and of contributing with their critical work to the development of the idea underlying the project.

The first workshop, was held from 8th to 12th May and directed by Massimiliano Civica, who was awarded the Ubu Prize in 2016 and in 2017. The second workshop took place from 3rd to 7th November and was directed by Radoslaw Rychcik, one of the most renowned directors of Polish theatre.

In the second phase of the project, the research continued with the workshop ‘Shamelab’, held in the jail of Matera from 19th September to 23rd November by Antonella Iallorenzi, an expert on social theatre and founder of #reteteatro41. The workshop’s aim was to investigate, with the prisoners, the word ‘shame’ and play with the connected stereotypes in order to break the pattern and free the mind. The research ended with a performance open to the public, an intense and evocative moment that joined prisoners and the community of Matera.

During the third phase of the project an artistic residence took place in Skopje at the end of 2018 with the collaboration of partners from the Balkans. The artists to be involved in the performance were selected during the drama workshop led by Sharon Fridman, the top dancer and choreographer in contemporary Israeli dance, and in the dance-theatre workshop led by the former director of the National Theatre of Kosovo, Jeton Neziraj, and the coreographer, director and performer Silvia Gribaudi.

Besides theatre workshops and performances, the research planned in the project ‘The Poetry of Shame’ was carried out also through international meetings involving renowned people in the Balkan and European culture and theatre. The first meeting was held in Matera at the beginning of November. Its aim was to deepen the reflection on ‘shame’ in a multidisciplinary context involving cinema, literature, anthropology, poetry and architecture thanks to the contributions by Mario Desiati, Mario Bianchi, Giuliano Geri, Misumi Misuki, Cristina Amenta, Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers e Fatos Lubonja. The second meeting was held in Skopje and was aimed at talking about the connections between the capital of the Republic of North Macedonia and Matera, moving beyond national borders and shame towards an open Europe. The third meeting was held in Matera at the end of the first performance and focused on the theme of internationalisation of arts. It saw the participation of international art directors and programmers supporting the dissemination of the performance.

This is the end of the co-creation work with #reteteatro41, which started from the long capacity building programme that Matera 2019 created in order to strengthen practices that remain on the Lucanian territory, thus leaving a significant legacy even beyond the year as European Capital of Cuture.

We live in an era where information travels fast and is at times superficial. The challenge posed by Future Digs is to give rise to more profound reflections with some of today’s most authoritative personalities – historians, scholars, researchers and intellectuals – who will bring  Matera to the centre of the European cultural debate. The outcome of the first events on the programme has been positive, opening with “Lezioni di Cinema” (Lectures on the Cinema) – a series of showings and meetings  organized with the Lucana Film Commission as a partner.

On February 7th, the Cinema Piccolo set the stage for a collective reflection on contemporary film-making entitled “Ieri. Andreotti e il cinema: I modelli produttivi nella prospettiva europea” (“Yesterday. Andreotti  and cinema –productive models in a European perspective”). In this  full-scale show, Tatti Sanguineti, the exceptional mentor of this series,  engaged experts and authoritative partners such as writer and journalist Bruno Gambarotta and Paride Leporace, the director of the Lucana Film Commission. This lecture on cinema showed how depth and lightness could be joint in a conversation that offered an attentive audience intriguing details on the leading role played by “Il Divo” ( translator’s note “the Star”, as Andreotti is often referred to ) in the history of the cinema after the Second World War.

On February 9th the cultural baggage of Future Digs was moved to Casa Cava for the inauguration of the series (“Lezioni di storia. Oltre I confine”) “Lectures on History. Beyond borders”, organized in cooperation with Editori Laterza. It tells of the never-ending need of peoples to cross geopolitical and cultural borders in a continuing transformation of the self and of others.

The lecture series was opened by an expert popularizer – Alessandro Barbero who took part in the meeting “Ai confini dell’Europa: da Adrianopoli a Poitiers” (“On the borders of Europe: from Adrianopolis to Poitiers”) dealing with the great invasions from the late Roman Empire up to the time the Muslims appeared on the scene. The lecture was very well-attended and a large audience could also follow from home thanks to YouTube streaming, with over two thousand viewings registered.

After the kick-off with the historian Barbero, on Saturday February 23rd Casa Cava was again the venue chosen for the lecture (also on livestream) held by Franco Farinelli, the Dean of the Philosophy and Communications Department of the University of Bologna and chairman of the Association of Italian Geographers (Agei). Views were exchanged on the evolution of spatial models used to represent the world during the event “Ai confini della terra: da Colombo a Google” (“To the boundaries  of the world : from Columbus to Google”). How is our idea of the world being reshaped with the advent of the Internet? What do you think about the concept of ‘boundaries’? Questions such as these ones are what we attempted to answer together with the students of the schools who took part in the discussion. In this article they tell us how, in their view, the concept of boundaries has changed.

Lezioni di Storia (Lectures on History) is an event fully in tune with the spirit of the European Capital of Culture – looking to the past with a look towards the future.

After the lectures on cinema and those on history on February 27th, it is time to open the chapter regarding lectures on democracy. After  the first meeting in Milan, “People have the power” will be launched in Matera with five dates organized in cooperation with the Fondazione Giacomo Feltrinelli in order to gain insight into the processes of grassroots participation.

The lecture entitled “Democrazia è: il potere di realizzare” (“Democracy is: the power to make things happen”) was moderated by the Huffington Post journalist Angela Mauro and featured the following speakers: the sociologist Giovanni Moro, Michelangelo Secchi of the Centro Estudios Sociais of the University of Coimbra, Elio Manti of Basilicata Region and Silvana Kuhtz of the University of Basilicata.

And that is not the end of Future Digs: in order to bridge the distance between citizens and institutions , citizens are invited  to bring their ideas and energies to the gatherings on the 6th, 7th and 8th of March for another set of lectures on democracy, cinema and history.

The 8th of March is a special date as it marks the opening in Matera of the Biennale di Democrazia, a cultural  event promoted by the City of Turin and organized  by the Fondazione per la Cultura Torino and the Polo del ‘900 with the contribution of Compagnia di San Paolo and the support of Intesa Sanpaolo. For further information, please access the official Matera 2019 calendar of events.

The 14th February will witness the return of the magic that charmed audiences during the Opening Ceremony. For 5 weekends in a row at the Parco del Castello Tramontano in Matera, Circus+ will host performances that have never been seen in the South of Italy.

Over 10 circus companies and artists from Italy but also from Morocco, France, Turkey, Belgium, Germany, Japan and Kenya will bring the best of contemporary circus performances created in Europe to Matera.

Two circus tents, shows, get-togethers with artists, moments of discovery specifically catering to small children and all the magic of the Nouveau Cirque in its most innovative international expressions. It will be a journey to discover the universe of circus art divided into five parts, from traditional circus acts to the most visionary frontiers, following the thread of the five themes contained in the Matera 2019 bid-book. Each date focuses on a specific relationship between the theme, the artists’ poetic expression and the audience.

This is the magic of a circus that comes closer and closer to the world of the theatre and  dance, blending its own repertory with the repertory of the performing arts. The traditional forms are revisited, reaching surprising experimental accomplishments.  

The Matera 2019 Passport will enable holders to attend the many contemporary circus performances where top artists like Flavia Mastrella and Antonio Rezza, Phia Menard of the Compagnie Non Nova, Jörg Müller, Ziya Azazi and many more will take turns on stage.

Each day will be divided into two different programmes – one at the Grand Chapiteau where booking is required and the other at the Petit Chapiteau where entrance is free up to a maximum seating capacity of 250.

The Grand Chapiteau will host performances by theatre companies from 9pm to 10.30pm  from Thursday to Saturday and on Sundays from 7pm to 8.30pm.

The shows are all suitable for a range of spectators including small children, but the performances of "L’Après-midi d’un faune" on Wednesday 20th and Saturday 23rd at 5pm are especially meant for children, young people and families.

In order to attend all the performances at the Grand Chapiteau, you need to show your Matera 2019 Passport as well as your booking which will be considered valid until 15 minutes prior to the performance. No one will be admitted to the Chapiteau after the show has begun.

Performances may be booked online on the official Matera 2019 calendar of events and at the Info Point at 125 via Lucana in Matera. Every Thursday, it will be possible to book the shows of the following week.

To get a taste of contemporary circus art with the mini performances and live music gigs at the Petit Chapiteau, no bookings are required. "Palco Aperto – Circo in Pillola" ("Open Stage – Circus Capsules") is a space that will entertain all spectators on Thursdays and Fridays from 7pm to midnight, on Saturdays from 8pm to midnight and on Sundays from 5pm to 11pm. In addition, on Saturdays from 6pm to 8pm, spectators can watch the “CineCirco – Circo in pellicola” (“CineCircus – Circus Shows”) where films devoted to circus art will be shown.

Admission to Petit Chapiteau requires no booking, but the Passport Matera 2019 must be shown at the entrance.

In order to facilitate the purchase of the Matera 2019 Passport and bookings, during the Circus+ days, the Info Point on via Lucana will stay open one hour longer in the evening, until 9pm. It will be closed only from 1.30 to 2.30pm.  To cancel a booking, you may send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or come to the Info Point personally.

Check the official Matera 2019 calendar of events to discover all the Circus+ performances (see the special section).

Circus+ is realized in collaboration with Circostrada European Network and Circus Next European Label and supported by Embassy of France in Italy and Institut Français.

Three hundred volunteers, male and female, an important part of the city’s population, who wanted to add their contribution to the realisation of not just an event, but the first stretch of an itinerary that will last the whole year. Three hundred people, all different, who by participating unveiled the meaning of the word community. It is their faces, their words, their looks, all different and unique, that tell in the best way how 19 January represented the important confirmation of new community bonds, a new way of living and crossing through the area.

It is an identity that was built through the sharing of spaces and actions, that integrates without absorbing, not flaunted but serene. There is a retired woman who found it natural to work hard for her city, after having seen it change over the past fifty years. There is a man who smiles and talks about how his first thought when waking up was to put on his volunteer’s sweatshirt and welcome his Dutch guests so they could feel at home. And there is also a boy who, in collective participation, glimpses the possibility of a rebirth that involves everyone, none excluded.

The bet on involvement was the most difficult to win. The volunteers, all of them, showed that collectivity can move together, can find, not in one day but along a road, a common land of exchange and enthusiasm and so become a community.

This was the positive power that invaded the city, from Cava del Sole to the food-laden tables in the neighbourhoods, from the information points to the roads animated by musical bands. Each and every volunteer took part in the successful conclusion of a moment that they could feel as their own, a collective rite created by many different individualities and many different histories.

The enthusiasm and power of this new open and evolving community represent one of the fundamental resources, precious blood, needed to complete the itinerary that has only just begun.

And if pride is to be highlighted, is to tell about what kind of air was breathed in by the volunteers, it has to be taken at its most joyous meaning. No retreat into themselves, but an extraordinary desire to open and welcome. An enthusiasm highlighted by the continual reference to Europe, a concept that returned constantly in the words of those who worked hard so that this day could be successful. “Matera embraces Europe,” said a moved, tired but happy volunteer before the curtain fell on the opening ceremony. Then again, Matera is Europe, and will be so a bit more from now on. Matera is the European Capital of Culture, also thanks to these wonderful three hundred people.

More than 50,000 people poured into the streets on 19 January to celebrate the opening ceremony of this extraordinary 2019 during which Matera will be the European Capital of Culture.

Three days of celebrations that gave a preview of what we will see throughout the whole year. There were plenty of important moments during a ceremony that lasted 72 hours and which had already started on Friday 18 with Matera Alberga and the artistic installations of Filippo Riniolo, Dario Carmentano and Alfredo Pirri in hotels, respectively Locanda di San Martino, Le dimore dell'Idris and Corte San Pietro. The project, devised by Francesco Cascino and curated together with Christian Caliandro, recreates the neighbourhoods of long ago in the most suggestive structures of the city, immediately giving local and temporary citizens an important moment of sharing. Then came the itineraries for visiting the city, marked by light installations from the Lumen/Social Light project, followed together with the other European Capitals of Culture that attended the Opening Ceremony.

The presentation of 19 January started with Open Sounds, presented by Doris Zaccone, Filippo Solibello and Francesco Giorda. It was a moment when the Lucan and European bands, directed by maestro Giovanni Pompeo and followed by the State Police band – which also included musicians from the Arma dei Carabinieri and the Guardia di Finanza – animated the restored Cava del Sole by playing Ode to Joy, one of the symbols of the European Union, in front of around 5,000 citizens.

The great institutional symposium, presented by Marino Sinibaldi from Radio3 with the interventions of the authorities, among which the European Commissioner Tibor Navracsics and the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, was held inside the multifunction space of “Serra del Sole”, which was presented to the city for the first time with the on-stage performance of harp player Giuliana De Donno and the Bulgarian soprano Valya Balkanska.

1600 band musicians then flowed into the 12 districts of the city involved in Open City, the second moment of the Ceremony, when the colours and symphonies of all Europe accompanied the 1500 meals served on tables that were filled by the citizens. With Open Lights 2500 lit candles reflected the starry sky in Sassi. It was a moment that catalysed the emotions of the morning: the hypnotic gazes of the citizens looked towards the scenic design of Sassi lit up by a thousand tea lights, accompanied by two polyphonic choirs (Cantori Materani and Pierluigi da Palestrina) which, from Piazza Duomo, echoed into Sasso Barisano. From there a moon-shaped hot-air balloon, visible from all of Sasso Barisano, moved upwards, accompanied by the acrobatic performance of Compagnia dei Folli. Open Show was dedicated to the RAI live presentation, that was presented by Gigi Proietti and in which important guests such as the singer Skin, the actor Rocco Papaleo, the composer Stefano Bollani took part, without forgetting the exhibitions of the Supernova company and Arturo Brachetti.  

Almost 5 million viewers in Eurovision and live coverage on Facebook from all the Enit headquarters in the world took part in this great moment, which ended with the inaugural salutations of the Italian President Sergio Mattarella, who reminded those present of the value of Matera as a symbol of Southern Italy that wants to renew.

With Open Future the parade of bands, the performance of the lit horses of Compagnie des Quidams and the celestial air carillon of Transe Express enchanted the packed and exultant roads of the centre.

The last moment of the Ceremony was filled by Open the Night, with 12 bars in the city that remained open until the first light of dawn. The natural closing of these 3 extraordinary days of celebration ended on Sunday 20 January, with the inauguration of the exhibitions Mater(i)a P(i)etra and Ars Excavandi in Matera and with the celebration of the Lucan districts with the performance of the hosted bands.

Titolo link 1: Information of Public Interest, Security and Accessibility

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The curtain goes up on our extraordinary year.

From the morning on, bands coming from all the villages in Basilicata and from Europe will enliven the city, marching with their instruments on the 19th of January, although three days of celebrations will take place in Matera during the entire weekend of the Opening Ceremony.

Here is the full program of the weekend of the Opening Ceremony of Matera European Capital of Culture 2019 starting from 18th of January until 20th.

SIGHTS MAP OF THE OPENING AND USEFUL INFORMATION

THE PROGRAMME OF THE OPENING WEEKEND

18th January
Discover the light installations of Lumen | Social Light and the artworks of Matera Alberga

Prior to the opening ceremony, discover the city and its new artistic and luminous installations. Two projects reflecting the heart of Matera 2019, with citizens at the centre!

Lumen | Social Light
curated by Giovanna Bellini and Open Design School
Project supported by Enel and Calia Italia

Fifteen original light installations, to illuminate the past and the future of Southern Italy and create new ways to explore the city. Lumen rediscovers the ancient tradition of street illuminations, built by the local community and renowned specialised companies from Southern Italy. Guided tour whilst places last. To discover the Lumen light installations, tours departing from Porta Pistola at 6:00 pm.

Matera Alberga
curated by Francesco Cascino and Christian Caliandro
in collaboration with Consorzio Albergatori Matera and Municipality of Matera
Project supported by the Carical Foundation

Contemporary art leaves the museums and moves to spaces that have always been a symbol of hospitality between inhabitants of a city and its visitors: hotels. With installations of contemporary art that evoke the ancient neighbourhoods of the Sassi of Matera, the Matera Alberga project reflects on the relationship between contemporary art and everyday life.

Visit the art Installations and meet the artists from 11.00 to 5 pm: Alfredo Pirri at Corte San Pietro, Filippo Riniolo at Locanda di San Martino and Dario Carmentano at Hotel Dimore dell'Idris, all located in the “Sassi” area.

19th January
Opening Ceremony of Matera European Capital of Culture 2019

A full day of celebrations throughout the city to kick-off the year as European Capital of Culture! The entire region of Basilicata comes to Matera and Matera welcomes Europe: 2019 musicians from capitals of culture all over the continent and regional towns and villages will unite and perform in the streets of Matera. From the Cava del Sole, to the residential neighbourhoods and up to the Sassi, the city will be filled with music, lights and colours!

The program of the day

1_Open Sounds / from 10:00, Cava del Sole

All citizens are invited to the opening ceremony at the Cava del Sole with music and anthems from all over Europe. On stage Filippo Solibello from Radio 2 and Doris Zaccone from Radio Capital, presenting the performance of the first 14 bands, 7 from Basilicata and 7 European.

Cava del Sole will be open to the public from 9.30 to 11.30. The road to Cava del Sole will be closed to cars. There is an organized shuttle service leaving at 9.00 (last departure at 10.45) from Zona Paip 2 (zona mercato) and from Piazza Matteotti.

02_Open City / from 13:00, Rioni di Matera (neighbourhoods)

Borgo La Martella (Teatro Quaroni), Serra Rifusa (Parrocchia Maria Madre della Chiesa), Villa Longo (Associazione Anziani Uniti di Matera), San Pardo (Guinness Pub), Piccianello (Scuola Primaria Marconi), Spine Bianche (Parrocchia S. Pio X), Serra Venerdì (Scuola Primaria Pascoli plesso Nitti), Lanera (Scuola Primaria Padre Giovanni Semeria), Cappuccini (Caritas), Agna-Le Piane (Casino Padula), San Giacomo (Scuola Bramante Piazza degli Olmi).

Musicians will bring Matera to life and be welcomed to the neighbourhoods by locals in a great convivial moment. The city becomes home: as the doors of houses, schools, parishes and associations are opened to welcome the bands.

03_Open Lights / from 16:30, Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso - Piazza Duomo

As the sun goes down, the Sasso Barisano, like a meteor, will sparkle with thousands of lights; the voices of two polyphonic choirs will resonate from Piazza Duomo and in contrast the technological installations of Lumen/Social Light will shine from Sasso Caveoso.

04_ Open Show / from 19:00, Piazza San Pietro Caveoso

Musical performances will be conducted by Stefano Bollani with both national and international guests on stage whilst live on RAI presented by Gigi Proietti after the greeting from the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella. A spectacular show of fireworks will follow.

Please note that this part of the Ceremony has limited access for security reasons.

05_Open Future / from 20:00

A party on the move The show will spread from the Sassi to the alleys and streets, under the stars and in the bars, with performances by national and international artists. A great procession of 2019 musicians into the streets of the city: from Via Ridola, via del Corso, to Piazza Vittorio Veneto.

From 5pm to midnight shuttle service will be provided from Zona Paip 2 (zona mercato) to Piazza Matteotti.

Music venues, bars and clubs will be hosting dj sets, live music shows and performances during the whole night.

OPEN THE NIGHT
After-party bars

1806 Cafè - Via Lucana 238
Swinging to 2019
Dj set by Babysan: swing, rock'n'roll, 60s beat and vintage sound

Area 8 - Via Casalnuovo,15
Gigi Procino & Rocky Labarile + PLAY!GROUND LIVE NORDIC with Aarhus Band
Dj set Nu Disco-Funky-Deep House

Bollicine - Via Casalnuovo, 18
Swing for Matera 2019
Live swing music with Di Marzio Band

Mosto - Via D. Ridola, 18
Dj set with electro music marked by contamination of ethnic music

I Due Sassi Cafè - Piazza del Sedile, 24-25-26
Rockin'Sassi
Country, swing e rockabilly with Crash Boom Bang.
Special guest: Antonello Gravela

Birrificio 79 - Via delle Beccherie, 56
Capital Night Party
Dj set by Debora & Dario: jazz, soul and hip hop

Agriristories - Via Sette Dolori, 62
WUNDERKAMMER, Basilicata in a room
Contemporary Art and vernacular performance. Music by folk band Matera

Donna Bruna - Via Madonna delle Virtù, 29
Matera in Jazz
Jazz, soul, r&b with Overwander

Grieco Collezioni Donna - Via XX Settembre, 22
"Profumo di Donna della Magna Grecia"
Art Exhibition and jazz music

Loris Garage - Via Ascanio Persio, 34
Welcome Capital
Dj set house commercial

El Tablao - Via C. Beccaria, 10
"Napoli e dintorni"
Neapolitan folk music

The opening ceremony will continue on 20 th January as the European and local bands perform in the squares of the towns of Basilicata.

20th January
Exhibitions co-produced with the Polo Museale of Basilicata

ARS EXCAVANDI
curated by Pietro Laureano
“Domenico Ridola” National Archaeological Museum
from 12.00, entrance with passport

The first main exhibition of Matera 2019 will open after the opening ceremony, dedicated to the history of underground cities, a shining example for the future of our planet. 

MATER(I)A P(I)ETRA
Photographic exhibition by Carlos Solito
Palazzo Lanfranchi - Piazzetta Pascoli, 1
from 12, entrance with passport

Two distant sisters united by stone: rebuilding the link between Matera and Petra, UNESCO twins, by the photographer Carlos Solito who, with video and forty paired images, unites places, people and atmospheres of two cities, weaving a network of continuous references.

Find out all the info of Public Interest, Security and Accessibility for the Opening Ceremony.