The Matera 2019 Workshop

Culture as a daily practice

The laboratory of the Junior Academy Gagliato Nanosciences (2019-07-16) by Digital LighthouseMatera European Capital of Culture 2019

"Culture must return to being part of everyday life as a practice, related to other people, creative expression, the exercise of a new way of learning and feeling like a citizen." (from the Matera 2019 candidacy Dossier)

Workshops of street artists (2019-06-02) by Pierfrancesco LafrattaMatera European Capital of Culture 2019

Cultural inhabitants and temporary citizens

In the candidacy phase for European capital of culture, it was immediately highlighted, through the Dossier, that citizens, not only from Matera, but from Basilicata, southern Italy and Europe were the foundations of the project proposed by Matera 2019: in fact, expressions of 'cultural inhabitant' and 'temporary citizen' sought to underline the creation of a broader and more qualified cultural public, not passive users, but co-creators of content. The diversity of the Matera 2019 workshops has allowed citizens to experience and adopt a different point of view regarding the practice of culture today.

Gardentopia Day (2019-04-14) by Digital LighthouseMatera European Capital of Culture 2019

Casino Padula: a home of ideas

If you wanted to identify the Matera 2019 workshops with a place, it would certainly be Casino Padula: not only because this is the headquarters of the Open Design School, one of the pillars of the cultural programme, but above all because since January 2018 this has been the operational headquarters for the realisation of many events that accompanied the city on its journey towards 2019. Here, there is a tangible sense of community that has been built over the years through the active participation of citizens who have transformed a previously abandoned location into the beating heart of one of the city's most populated neighbourhoods.

Open Design School workshops (2019)Matera European Capital of Culture 2019

The school's designers organise workshops for citizens to try new techniques on different materials and experience with others a form of shared learning.

Tap to explore

Matera 2019 aims to link places and people, which is why the Open Design School is an open place to live, a place where the event structures can be independently and directly produced within the region.

Lumen Social Light workshops (2019) by NamiasMatera European Capital of Culture 2019

The first Lumen workshops originated here: rediscovering lighting traditions. Citizens created map points that were then installed at strategic points in the city.

Lumen Social Light workshops (2019)Matera European Capital of Culture 2019

"Past and Future schools" (2019) by Digital LighthouseMatera European Capital of Culture 2019

Workshops and schools

In a society that changes so quickly, even the world of school needs to be rethought: For this, Matera 2019 looked towards the concept of edutainment, or as the Latins called it "ludendo docere", "teaching while having fun". 'Heritage Games' is a project which involved a total of 60 classes throughout Basilicata: Primary and Secondary School pupils grappled with coding workshops, tackled the basics of computer programming, and used a 3D printer, the latter with the collaboration of the Open Design School and many artists involved. Their work led to the discovery of Basilicata's historical and cultural heritage and its enhancement with a modern twist. The results obtained were presented in an exhibition during the Open Culture Festival, dedicated to the theme of digital and the usability of culture today, while the project files were shared with open source licence, so that anyone can use them and reinvent them in future.

Heritage in game, the kids talk about the Making (2019)Matera European Capital of Culture 2019

Heritage in game, the teachers talk about their experience (2019)Matera European Capital of Culture 2019

19 Schools x 19 Archives (2019) by Digital LighthouseMatera European Capital of Culture 2019

The '19 schools for 19 archives' project asked high school students to artistically rework the archives with the help of professionals from the fields of comics, creative writing and video art.

19 Schools x 19 Archives (2019)Matera European Capital of Culture 2019

Blind Sensorium workshop (2019-09-07)Matera European Capital of Culture 2019

The museum as a path of study, analysis and reworking: a different and more dynamic way to grasp connections between past and present and rework them in an incisive and current analysis.

Open Playful Space workshops (2019-06-02) by Pierfrancesco LafrattaMatera European Capital of Culture 2019

Workshops and the city

Regenerated spaces to be returned to the community: this was the objective of Open Playful Space, an event held as part of the European event 'Move Week', which involved young people from 16 to 24 years old. The participants were able to take part in street sports and arts in different areas of the city, learning from artists who are well-known on the international scene. A widespread festival that also involved local partners, co-organisers of capoeira, parkour, skating and street boulder workshops and even site-specific art, murals, graffiti and tags. An opportunity for young people to ask themselves how they can experience urban space in terms of active participation.

Open Playful Space workshops (2019-06-02) by Pierfrancesco LafrattaMatera European Capital of Culture 2019

Parkour with the view of the Sassi (2019-06-02) by Pierfrancesco LafrattaMatera European Capital of Culture 2019

Virgilio Sieni workshops (2019-09-13) by Digital LighthouseMatera European Capital of Culture 2019

Workshops and the performing arts

Matera 2019's cultural programme brought current artistic realities to the city that the local public was not used to. Taking part in this type of workshop has enabled citizens to better understand those forms of art that do not fall into the traditional categories: after all, art is born to be free, open to the exchange between various forms of expression. Choreographer and dancer Virgilio Sieni knows that well, and, for the first time in his role of curator, during the exhibition 'Thauma - Atlas of Gesture', he organised a rich programme of performances, actions and practical sessions on gesture for citizens.

Virgilio Sieni's workshops in La Martella (2019-09-28)Matera European Capital of Culture 2019

Citizens talk about their experience with Virgilio Sieni (2019-10-06)Matera European Capital of Culture 2019

Edible Orchestra Workshop (2019-04-12) by Digital LighthouseMatera European Capital of Culture 2019

With Edible Orchestra, the participants enjoyed creating musical instruments from fruits and vegetables: a way to return to the spirit and creative genius that comes from having 'little'.

The video report of the "Edible Orchestra" project (2019-04-13)Matera European Capital of Culture 2019

Workshops with the designer Eloi Sessou (2019-03-16)Matera European Capital of Culture 2019

Workshops and their social value

The Silent Academy project is inspired by one of the principles of the Dossier, that of festina lente, or more specifically hastening slowly; it is originated from the idea that certain knowledge, certain stories need time to come out: this is how the workshops with migrants, local workers and citizens came about, a way to awaken the attitudes and skills of those who, facing the difficulties of a new life, risk losing their wealth of knowledge.

Guys at work for the Silent Academy (2019-03-16)Matera European Capital of Culture 2019

One of the symbolic dress of the Silent Academy (2019-03-16) by Pietro MicucciMatera European Capital of Culture 2019

The clothes, made with fabric that symbolises arrival at the ports, have become true works of art, the result of the work of designer Eloi Sessou, recently deceased.

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The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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