Description
The artistic platform Syn+Ergia carried out a series of actions 1. The participatory event “Agricultural Traces of Aspropyrgos” in an annual cycle, held a series of meetings with women farmers in the city of Aspropyrgos in order to create a participatory project within their farms. They introduced their culture to the audience, cooked outdoors and shared personal experiences and stories of the place, while an exhibition of contemporary art was co-created by Syn+Ergasia Art Platform together with the women farmers in a farmhouse, with reference to their experiences. 2. The3-day International Research, Educational and Artistic Workshop “Case studies on the post-industrial and multicultural city of Aspropyrgos” with the participation of the Research team “Pantheon” of Sorbonne University of France, Ploiesti University of Romania, University of West Attica, Agricultural University of Athens, Open University of Aspropyrgos Municipality, Agricultural Association of Aspropyrgos, other scientists and researchers.Visits to communities, farmers, and industries and publishing of the results. 3. Creation of participatory actions in cafes of the city entitled: Celebrations in the community – in order to support local entrepreneurship.
Challenge they identifed
- The project addressed a closed, rural Arvanitic community in a post-industrial city where it took several meetings to gain the trust of the community and familiarize them with contemporary artistic practices in order to co-create a participatory project. Arvanites is an ethnic group speeking a bi-lingual Greek, Albanian, Tosk oral language.
- Familiarizing older rural women with contemporary art and the use of audiovisual media.
- The venues chosen for the art events were farms and rural paths that needed special cleaning and tidying up to welcome the audience. -The community had to be convinced that the work that would be created together would highlight the rural land of the post-industrial city and the endangered Arvanitic culture and oral language.
- The creation of an3-day international interdisciplinary laboratory with the specificity of the city of Aspropyrgos as a reference point
- To establish a dialogue between artists, scientists and educators with the communities and industries
How they assess the results?
- There were positive references about the actions of “Amoli” from representatives of the municipality, artists, researchers and scientists from universities, communities and representatives of local industries.
- Starting the cooperation with the Laboratory of Soft Energy Applications and Environmental Protection of the University of West Attica, the Agricultural University and with the researchers from the Academy of Athens.
- New communities were created between local residents, artists, curators and scientists. During its development, the project was funded by local industry, the HELLENIC PETROLEUM S.A.and the Ministry of Culture and Sports.
Tools
- Constant communication and co-creation with the community.
- Promoting the intangible heritage of the communities.
- Experiential work, participation in events, performance, visual installation work.
- Invitations, press releases, social media promotion,software creation of digital albums, photography video work, Use of drone.
Links
https://synergasia.wixsite.com/synergasia/about
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