The many activities organised during the project have provided continuous opportunities for opening, knowledge-sharing, dialogue and experience, and have been mainly used to understand that local development can happen in a protected area, also through the language of art and creativity. Thanks to the project, a significant amount of artworks has been created by world-renowned artists such as Anish Kapoor, Carsten Holler, Giuseppe Penone, very successful experiences of participatory art such as the one made by the Finnish artist Anni Rapinoja and the italian artist Claudia Losi, which have left a deep mark among citizens, through the installations and mostly thanks to involvement, exchange, value and visibility of culture and memory of places . But above all, the project has enabled us to “rethink” our work.
After the conclusion of the project, the association, together with the newly-subscribed members , began a new season, with the same dedication and objectives: it decided to continue, by its own efforts, to work towards what seemed to be a “vanished dream”. With resoluteness and strong determination, members have decided not to waste energy and to focus on educational activities, events and initiatives dedicated to contemporary art, collaborations with artists and scholars, education and training bodies, seminars and conferences in different Italian cities and, most of all, the three consecutive editions of the ArtePollino Award.
Such determination rewarded the members, enabling ArtePollino to be selected as one of the 27 project leaders, which will implement 50% of the cultural programme of Matera 2019 European Capital of Culture.
Nella prima fase di formazione, che si è svolta ad aprile del 2008, e ha coinvolto circa 200 studenti di quattro istituti scolastici, le attività didattiche sono state affidate all’associazione veneta Il Cavaliere Azzurro, che dal 2000 opera nell’ambito della formazione culturale e che ha proposto una serie di percorsi tematici per avvicinare i ragazzi al mondo dell’arte contemporanea, evidenziandone i rapporti con la natura e stimolando la loro creatività attraverso laboratori pratici.
Mediante una sequenza di immagini di opere d’arte contemporanea, molte delle quali realizzate in luoghi e spazi aperti, come ad esempio parchi o giardini, luoghi espositivi in cui le opere sono realizzate con materiali naturali, i ragazzi sono stati invitati ad esprimere liberamente idee e riflessioni che si sono rivelate molto diverse fra loro e interessanti al tempo stesso.
Gli allievi hanno immaginato e proposto una visione del Parco del Pollino che, in un secondo momento, hanno provato a trasferire su un grande pannello di carta. L’esperienza è servita a guardare, vedere e immaginare il Parco in visione contemporanea.
La formazione rivolta ai docenti, che si è svolta tra il 5 ed il 6 maggio 2008, è stata affidata all’esperto di arte contemporanea Dario Pinton, docente presso il Guggenheim di Venezia, il quale ha presentato un progetto didattico finalizzato alla divulgazione e comprensione dell’arte contemporanea attraverso un approccio stimolante e innovativo, invitando i docenti a riflettere su come l’arte contemporanea viva oggi negli ampi spazi, dove il fruitore non si trova più “davanti” a un quadro o a una scultura, ma “dentro” l’opera d’arte
In 2009, ArtePollino was a partner of the training course for “Experts in cultural tourism development in the hinterland”, organised by Apof-Il in cooperation with the Italian trainers association in Basilicata. The course lasted 400 hours: 120 lecture hours and 280 of traineeship.
In continuity with the first training cycle of 2008, ArtePollino promoted an educational project in 2009, to be performed both indoor and outdoor; the project aimed at developing learning paths on topics associated with the relationship between nature and landscape, natural environment and artificiality. The project’s actions have facilitated the dissemination of the ArtePollino project.
The seminars were attended by about 30 teachers from compulsory schools in Senise and Latronico. Teachers were offered insights on the development of contemporary languages from the 1960s to the recent experiences of the 20th century, with special focus on the non-use of traditional art techniques, the procedures for use of industrial materials, the use of new technologies and video-art. Together with the introduction of the project and the activities, curated by ArtePollino, the following was illustrated: the process’ tools, that is the cultural map; the project’s description; and the global and local network.
The local artists Anish Kapoor, Carsten Holler and Giuseppe Penone, who have been invited to make their artworks in the Pollino Park, were introduced, together with Anni Rapinoja, Nils Udo and Claudia Losi, featuring in a special learning project for local activation named “Local communities project”, specifically directed to the population.
During the seminars, also Katharina Trabert, project advisor for the Ministry of Economic Development, Laura Barreca, advisor for the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Culture, and Sandra Traverso from the “Arte Continua” association gave speeches.
he last phase of the training consisted in creative workshops addressed to students and organised by the Education Department of the Rivoli Castle – Contemporary Art Museum. The workshops took place on 20 and 21 May at the Villa Comunale of Senise and the Parco delle Terme of Latronico; about 300 students were involved in a great collective painting action, inspired by the relationship between nature, landscape and artificiality. It was a new way to bring young people closer to the world of art, offering the audience the emotion of taking part to an active and shared experience, in dialogue with natural elements.
The creative workshops were followed by a focus section curated by Anna Pironti, director of the Education Department of Rivoli Castle, and addressed to teachers, trainers and representatives of the local institutions; the audience was asked to think about the importance of knowledge and experimentation in contemporary art, in order to better understand the connection between the education field and society, and the great opportunity of cultural and social growth offered by the ArtePollino project to the local community.
On 6 May 2009, ArtePollino organised a meeting between some schools of the Park and artist Claudia Losi. The initiative helped present in detail the artist’s work to all students and teachers and further promote the “ArtePollino Un Altro Sud” project. The meeting gave rise to a collection of memories that have been edited and given to the artist.
he photo contest, organised for two consecutive years in all the schools located in the Pollino National Park, aimed at promoting knowledge about the Park through photography. The invitation to grasp the secrets of the places (already expressed by the title), to narrate the park’s cultural and natural heritage, aimed at arousing curiosity for the less-known, undiscovered and, thus, more interesting aspects of the park. Carefully observing the Park, walking along the itineraries made around the artworks, capturing in a picture the magic of nature and the strength of the traditions, values, legacy and every single aspect that makes the Pollino Park unique, can help strengthen a sense of belonging to the area and the knowledge about its history and culture.
The first edition’s jury was made up of Mario Cristiani (Arte Continua), Laura Barreca (Mibact), Laura Tomaselli (Arte Sella), all the members of the scientific committee of the ArtePollino project and the president of ArtePollino, Gaetano Lofrano; the second edition also featured the photographers Massimo Lovisco and Angela Rosati, and the cultural manager Catterina Seia.
In August/September 2009, the association carried out a series of activities included in the dissemination plan of the “Arte Pollino Un Altro Sud” project.
Actions to raise awareness and involvement, creative workshops, public meetings, participation to summer events, were carried out to ensure project’s continuity, in view of the official opening of the art event “Arte Pollino 2009″, held on 4, 5, 6 and 19 September 2009.
Creative workshops took place outdoors, in the villages of Latronico, San Severino Lucano and Senise, involving about 300 children and their parents.
The association participated, with an information stand, to some of the summer events held in the Pollino area, during which some gadgets, brochures and factsheets for to collect data on the knowledge of the ArtePollino project were distributed to visitors. Stands were set up in San Severino Lucano, Viggianello, Teana and Latronico. More than 1000 factsheets, prepared by the association to collect data on the project’s knowledge, were filled in. The contacts collected were included in a mailing list, which was used to send information on the project’s opening days.
Public meetings helped tell the story of the project, the activities performed by the association, the training experiences, the artworks already created and those under construction for the first edition of “Arte Pollino Un altro Sud”. The towns of Latronico, San Severino Lucano, Teana, Terranova del Pollino, San Paolo Albanese and Castelluccio Inferiore participated to the public meetings. In some of them, the association sought the cooperation of Katharina Trabert, in charge of Pollino’s theatre project; the presentation was animated by a series of pictures and a debate with the active involvement of the audience.
Finally the association provided support to the artists Rapinoya Years, Nils-Udo and Claudia Losi, in particular to the latter, with whom it organised an event to present the work, held in Latronico on 18 September 2009.
The association was created in February 2008 with the aim of promoting the cultural growth of the territory of the Pollino National Park.
