Cultural identity is a set of resources inherited from the past, which have been identified by the populations, regardless of who owns its properties, as a reflection and expression of their values, beliefs, customs, and traditions, which keep constantly evolving. It includes all of the aspects of the environment that are the results of the interaction established over time between populations and places.
[from Faro Convention, 2005]
The mission of the Pastificio Cerere Foundation is to accurately heed to the experimentation and all of the activities applied to training. It should come as no surprise considering the history of the building where the Foundation resides and its conversion from old pasta factory to a place of artistic production, cultural hub, a place of work and exchange, ever so welcoming and accepting.
Since the 70s, after having been abandoned for a long time, artists started resettling in the premises of the old semolina company, reshaping the industrial spaces into ateliers, discovering inside this building, not only a dimension of creativity where they could be able to express themselves freely, but also a community, a point of reference to which they were able to relate, exchange ideas and experiences, grow.
In this ceaseless presence and in the incessant exchange between artists, architects, directors, writers, critics, the educational nature of the PastificioCerere must be sought, a nature that the Foundation has tried to systematize over time, being careful in preserving its precious traits of spontaneity and eclecticism.
It has long been known that “art generates art” and in the PastificioCerere we have a tangible example of this mantra in the succession of the generations of artists that continue either living or passing by this place, as assistants or also for just a short stay, for an exhibition or a project.
In order to give humus to this terra felix, the Foundation offers each year a rich and varied program consisting of exhibitions, educational workshops, training projects, prizes, and stays, that promote the interaction of contemporary artistic languages, the experimentation of new modes of participation, stimulating an open dialogue with an increasingly heterogeneous public. With this in mind Curare l’educazione – a program born in 2011 and addressed to students belonging to various ranks and classes – has developed a learning method that uses art as a means for teaching and puts the artist in the middle of his own training path career, with the main objective being letting the participants understand social dynamics, and develop a higher level of awareness regarding comprehension and integration, acquiring and sharing ideas, information and knowledge leading to an active participation to the lives of the aforementioned communities.
A program dedicated to education with its main intent being the appreciation of that cultural inheritance meant as a fundamental resource for the creation of a peaceful, democratic society where cultural diversity is not only promoted, but also respected.
