BACK

An immaterial space for exchange and dialogue between Puglia and the Euro-Mediterranean area.

Radio Materiality, Vessel, Bari, June-July 2013.

Radio Materiality is a public and intangible space, a hub that stimulates communication, exchange and dialogue between Puglia and the Euro-Mediterranean area in order to build cultural and social bridges among the countries of this region.

The aim of the project is to create a common socio-political subjectivity based not only on the common history that these countries have been sharing but also the socio-economic and political transformations happening nowadays in the area. The imagination of this new socio-political subject intends to trigger a dialogue between Puglia and its Mediterranean neighbours and to create a network between them.

Considered the re-configurations of the Mediterranean geopolitical subject the main long-term objective of Vessel, the radio was a way to initiate this process. In particular, Radio Materiality gathers practitioners interested in the diverse processes happening in this area in order to make this interaction viable. The radio was transmitted through different platforms: a series of podcasts on the web and a physical structure built specifically for Bari public spaces by XScape and Momang, a group of architects and designers from the region. The radio is the tool through which Vessel intended to understand and redefine already existing social and geopolitical dynamics through the lens of art and culture.

The Radio was stimulating participatory and multidisciplinary actions in order to expand the knowledge related to the Euro-Mediterranean area, to re-interpret its own identity and to reflect on the way the public sphere is perceived and can be empowered. Thanks to the radio Vessel gave voice to alternative narratives that do not fit into the hegemonic ones: to do so we instigated collaborative and collective artistic practices that involved different points of view and different approaches. In the first place, the radio was the virtual space where many actors (artists, organizations, curators, intellectuals, etc.) met to share ideas, projects and perspectives related to the creation of a new solidarity among the countries of the Mediterranean basin. Simultaneously its physical presence in the city of Bari facilitated the interaction between international practitioners and local communities.

Projects and contributions by:

Bisan Abu-Eisheh (July 11th), Claire Bosi (June 26th), Elena Cologni (July 20th - 23rd), Kari Conte (June 29th – July 6th), Leone Contini (June 6th - 9th), Jaume Ferrete (June 24th - 30th), Hakan Topal (June 29th – July 6th).

Radio Materiality was part of Materiality. Materiality was a two-years European project developed in collaboration between Wyspa in Gdańsk, Vessel in Bari, Instituto Politécnico de Tomar and Kibla in Maribor. It explored the visual, sensual, transformative, political and scientific aspects of materials. Materiality is supported by Cimetta Fund + Program "Kultura" Partners: XScape , MoMAng , Controradio

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This project reflected the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. With the support of the Programm Kultur of the European Union.