NOMADIC ART CIRCUS #1 - La Tenda, Le Stelle, La Terra.
The contemporary art exhibition NOMADIC ART CIRCUS #1” and LA TENDA, LE STELLE, LA TERRA”, a shared self-construction workshop with students from fine arts academies, young artists and citizenship is an innovative cultural format, realized in a Circus tent. Nomadic, organic, inclusive, it brings to the areas far from the official circuit a new concept of making and show art in and with the territory and local communities, for the definition of scalable, repeatable and sustainable mode
Local
Italy
Fifth Municipality of Rome, Italy
Mainly urban
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
2022-12-31
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Fondazione Bertugno-Moulinier Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Simone Last name of representative: Bertugno Gender: Male Nationality: Italy Function: President Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Via Gabrio Serbelloni, 67 Town: Rome Postal code: 00176 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 333 217 5958 E-mail:bertugno@fondazione-bm.org Website:https://fondazione-bm.org/
The exhibition NOMADIC ART CIRCUS #1” and the workshop “La Tenda, le stelle, la terra” have been implemented on the occasion of 'Periferica Dance Circus Lab’, a festival organized by The Balletto di Roma, from December 18th to the 31st 2022, in the periphery of Rome. The roman Ballet asked our foundation to take in charge the curatorship of the events dedicated to contemporary art with a strong but accessible creative content. The exhibition has been set up in an unusual place: a Circus tent and its surrounding space, an abandoned green area.
The nomadic nature of the Circus open new possibilities for cultural action and dissemination of current aesthetic languages for an audience not used to access to museum, bringing art in the suburbs or other areas far from the official circuit. Concept and action of NAC has been inspired by the “genius loci” of the location, dealing with the origin of dwelling, natural habitat and anthropization. Opening day’s program summarize NAC’s global approach: a dialogue between socio-cultural and historical aspects of territory, local tradition, contemporary art and urban nature. A transect walk around the district allowed the public to discover an unknown aspect of the area: the presence of water and spontaneous nature despite the density of building environment. The workshop was about shaping living modules to define a symbolic encampment and has been realized with natural elements found around the Circus, promoting the guidelines of NEB (sustainability, inclusion, aesthetics), creating eco-sustainable formats, activating innovative aesthetic and pedagogical paths, involving young students and art universities. The exhibition in the Circus presented contemporary artworks dealing with the thematic of nature and how to preserve it, but also how nature enrich us through her imaginary. In order to promote emerging artists, two internationally renowned artists have been invited, giving the youngest the opportunity to boost their career.
Multidisciplinarity
Sustainability
Inclusivity
Knowlege
Aesthetics
By its nomadic nature, the circus tent, the place where our project took place, is a sustainable model, precisely because its archetype is the nomadic tent, and new concepts and contents can be developed over time.
The architectural form of the Circus becomes innovative and sustainable in the "détournement" of its usual activities : the model of Nomadic Art Circus can so be replicable mapping further existing structures of the circus network in Italy, most of which are disused in post-pandemic context and forbidden use of animals for the shows: so, contemporary art can keep alive such structures that might otherwise disappear.
Thanks to the main concept of working (in and with), ”NOMADIC ART CIRCUS #1" uses the circus tent, originally structured for dancers and acrobats activities, as a privileged container to activate a new way to show and display artworks, maintaining unaltered its architectural internal structure, without adding elements of classical museography, avoiding further costs, transports and ephemeral construction, or renting lighting or speakers, rows of chairs and so on. Everything is still available. The replicable project model could rely this way in the future on the network of disused circuses in Italy, avoiding transport of materials, according to environment sustainability standards based on “zero-kilometre” principles.
Working on and with the territory, through site-specific interventions and creating workshops/laboratories with what the territory itself offers the possibility to implement a green methodology: in this first edition of NAC, bamboo canes were used for self-construction, because of their presence in the surrounding place of circus.
NAC in the future aims to be a green model: the project in progress envisages arriving at zero impact, with the use of solar-powered generators to power audio, lighting, etc., in a green and totally eco-sustainable perspective, or with a very low environmental impact.
Expanding the cultural ecosystem, with new social and aesthetic production, partecipative performances, actions, site-specific installations, video: "NOMADIC ART CIRCUS #1" is built around the development of cross-disciplinary skills.
Art, culture, innovation, collaboration, reflective practice and creative thinking : NAC’s aims are to relate history, territory, craftsmanship with the languages of contemporary aesthetics, inserting themselves in non-privileged places and fragile contexts.
Teachers, curators, took on the role of "guides" to provide the art direction and technical knowledge in the conception and realization of the workshops, so that the young people had taken possession of the know-how to express their own creativity at the best and went on easily to self-construction. The results of the initiative gave life to an exemplary collective, co-created artwork, giving those who designed it and visitors great human and aesthetic satisfaction.
Access to new transdisciplinary pedagogical prototypes combining know-how with innovative and experimental languages : the first completed “prototype” of living modules works as an extension of the exhibition, activating for young students the sense of aggregation in the creation of a co-participatory, aesthetic and sustainable work.
The peripheral community where the project took place was able to relate to a dynamic and open, cultural and ethical environment, a multidisciplinary cultural empowerment that opens up new possibilities for cultural dissemination.
Through the arts, and contemporary art in all its forms, the dissemination and knowledge of contemporaneity in contexts lacking in art education and museum structures was achieved.
As FBM's mission, inclusion is one of the guiding principles of every project.
Nomadic Art Circus aims to create a virtuous system of art and culture involving the local communities, offering a circularity between the centre and the periphery by involving artists, territorial associations, cultural stakeholders, attracting experts from the sector and others, creating a horizontal and democratic process that supports young people and increases the sense of belonging of communities, through art as social empowerment and public awareness.
Nomadic Art Circus #1 shares with the citizenship the reflection on issues of the city and territories. In the context of a Circus, a welcoming place and not just a place of passage, art creates cohesion, exchange and contact, brings people together.
Through participated art, self-esteem, interpersonal trust and social support have been promoted and enhanced.
The circus tent becomes a centre for the dissemination of culture in an agile way, an alternative to the official places (museums, galleries or theatres), places also made inaccessible to many because of the costs.
Accessible and affordable thanks to its thematic content and free of charge, "Nomadic Art Circus #1" is an incentive to citizen participation.
Citizens, young artists and student volunteers from the Ripetta Art School in Rome were involved through participatory workshops and exploratory urban walking, invited to performances, participating to actions, site-specific installations.
This created a social and cultural empowerment, accessible and free, receiving enthusiasm and positive feedback.
The municipality's desire to promote further artistic activities, studio visits and the discovery of contemporary art in this district is clearly expressed, aware of the positive impact of art on the population.
The 'Periferica Dance Circus Lab' Festival by Balletto di Roma, of which the Nomadic Art Circus project is a part, was realized with the support of the Ministry of Culture - General Directorate for Performing Arts, and won the Public call «Lo spettacolo dal vivo fuori dal Centro - Anno 2022» promoted by Roma Capitale - Department of Cultural Activities.
We have been working in close contact with The Balletto di Roma and the various territorial associations co-involved : 238 Hangar delle Arti, C.P.C.C.L. e Kollatino Underground, who have worked in synergy in an open dialogue.
The commitment of each partner consisted mainly in sharing knowledge regarding the socio-cultural particularity of the territory where the event took place, to identify and bring what miss the most in this places in order to integrate a cultural project in a welcoming way for the public.
The 238 Hangar delle Arti, association which manage the circus where our event took place, made a special effort to create cohesion with the circus people and our project creating mutual aid in its realization, making the circus a multidisciplinary place and welcome young people from fragile backgrounds, with hours of training and high-value cultural offers.
In addition, the project was supported by the 5th Municipality of Rome, which shared its values and cultural and social scope by offering its patronage, and the involvement of the Liceo Artistico Ripetta, Fine Arts Academies (local and regional) and its young students through their participation in the various cultural workshops.
The communication of the event was also integrated to general communication of the Balletto di Roma and widely disseminated through each partner, on social medias and websites, increasing the public impact.
According to The Balletto di Roma, the event we organized was extended by 8 days.
"Nomadic Art Circus #1" and "La tenda, le stelle, la terra" represent a multidisciplinary cultural prototype: the project, which originated in the context of a circus, combined several different disciplines and knowledge of various fields such as urban planning, performance, visual arts, new technologies. This generated innovative interactions and research processes. In a visual and narrative format accessible to a wide audience, all activities were based on the theme of the origin of habitat, nature, its imaginary and its anthropisation, enriching and complementing each other:
- Urbanism and history through the transect walk "Il paesaggio delle acque" (The landscape of the waters), curated by an urban planner, about the presence of water in this territory of the eastern periphery of Rome, and focusing on the SNIA lake, currently object of protests against a construction project.
- Contemporary art displayed in the tent allows the invited artists to interprete the theme through different media, inside and outside the circus, and site-specific installations, also visible at night, highlighted the reality of this degraded area adding a touch of magic.
- Finally, through the self-construction workshop "The tent, the stars, the earth" has been created a symbolic and temporary “urban village" echoing the circus tent. This artistic and technical experience activated by teachers and young art students was structured around the idea of nomadism and our roots, using natural elements found in the area (river reeds). The covers of the huts were made of emergency blanket so the young participants sent this way a further message about the emergency of rethinking an equal society that respects and safeguards the rights of every human being.
In the peri-urban context in which the project took place, there is a fragmentation and dispersion of the inhabitants, as well as a lack of easily accessible places of collective and cultural aggregation. Similarly, the lack of knowledge of the history of the territory feeds its negative perception, while transmitting this knowledge is an important resource for restoring a sense of belonging in a qualitative and shared way.
Similarly, the aesthetics and creativity conveyed by the project were a new way of reinforcing the sense of belonging, based on positive energies and the presence of a varied public. The flexible configuration of the circus and the unbuilt aspect of the surrounding area, the soft, warm and human structure of the circus has been a precious tool as an alternative to the unattractive built space of the peripheries, both for direct beneficiaries such as the local community, school students, young artists but also for indirect beneficiaries coming from the centre, interested in the high level programming in a that kind of place.
Nomadic Art Circus #1 has set in motion a process of active and inclusive participation, the circus tent has become a cultural landmark that has strengthened the community's sense of belonging.
The lessons learned and good practices disseminated by the event, the public feedback received during the project and the results achieved by the training of the young people during the workshops encourage the continuation of experimental cultural formats.
The cultural format of NAC #1 represents an innovative model: its nomadic format represents a huge possibility to connect communities to the territory, bringing culture in an accessible way. Moreover, it adapts itself to the territory and not vice versa, allow rediscovering the place, history and tradition that each place brings.
Identify the place, the historical memory, its inhabitants, the specificities of the host structure: a method to define an organic and coherent cultural concept that can be applied to various disciplines and guide the audience, thanks to this red thread.
The territory is the guide for the project and the thematic choices: local associations, who already know the place and have a privileged relationship with it, are involved; artisans, who carry on the tradition of local know-how; to young emerging artists who will be given the opportunity to experience and get to know thanks to two or three internationally renowned artists from the host country, entering a relationship with them. The community will be involved in the history and memory of the place through workshops, transdisciplinary laboratories, visual arts, contemporary performing arts in all their intersecting forms.
The project combines the indoor exhibition dimension with performative actions and projections inside the circus tent and the outdoor dimension with site-specific installations and workshops activated in the spaces outside the Circus tent.
The nomadic format of NAC is an organic concept : each cultural activity it proposes can be reproposed by adapting the contents.
Flexible, transformable, scalable and repeatable : he can move anywhere, transforming its contents, following the proposed methodology, i.e. starting from the community and the territory as guidelines for the cultural offer.
Other cultural activities can be added: it is an open format, a work in progress without frontiers.
The global challenges of ecology, inclusion, sustainability, are addressed with local solutions starting from a micro-scale, from the place where NAC is located. The creation of a sense of community, starting with young people and fragile territories, can generate the seed that brings change in a macro-scale, through an ethical model that is scalable, sustainable and repeatable, but bases its entire internal form on the local context and communities.
