Digital meets Culture

Cultural Tourism stakeholders and researchers join forces to support sustainable cultural tourism research and development

Collaboration established between INCULTUM and IMPACTOUR for synergies in cultural tourism

The EU-funded IMPACTOUR project is connecting Cultural Tourism stakeholders and researchers, envisaging new approaches and methods that will support European Cultural Tourism, reinforce a feeling of belonging, value minority cultures and promote Europeanisation. IMPACTOUR is coordinated by Uninova – Instituto de Desenvolvimento de Novas Tecnologias – Associacao, Portugal and includes twelve project partners from nine EU Member States who are working on the project

The project will elaborate on an advanced and adaptable methodology to estimate the impact of Cultural Tourism on EU regional economic growth. It will combine data analytics algorithms with machine learning and AI approaches to improve policies and actions on Cultural Tourism.

It is a common goal for INCULTUM and IMPACTOUR to support sustainable cultural tourism analysis and policy development, and for this reason a collaboration agreement was recenty established between the two for cooperation and synergies.

IMPACTOUR website: https://www.impactour.eu/

IMPACTOUR Community sign-up page (All Welcome!): https://www.impactour.eu/user/register

in the framework of the INCULTUM Pilot located in the Altiplano of Granada, students and other participants were involved in hands-on laboratories and recovering activities

Recovering abandoned spaces at the Dry Stone Balates School, Jérez del Marquesado (Granada)

text and images courtesy of Elena Correa Jiménez (University of Granada).

On the 29th and 30th of January 2022, the “Escuela de Balates” (dry-stone balates school) took place in the municipality of Jérez del Marquesado, Granada. More than 70 people from different disciplines and interests participated in the recovery of the cultivation area around the Alcázar tower.

The activity was organised by the Biocultural Archaeology Laboratory (MEMOLab), coordinated by Professor Dr. José María Martín Civantos, from the Department of Medieval History and CCTTHH of the University of Granada. The Jérez del Marquesado Town Council and the Irrigation Community of Jérez del Marquesado have collaborated in this project.

[Show as slideshow]

The local drystone master taught how to build these dry stone walls, recovering a large part of the cultivation terraces of the Alcázar ravine. In addition, one of the branches of the Alcázar irrigation channel that supplied water to the terraces has been recovered and rebuilt using the traditional dry stone walling technique (traditional knowledge declared Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2018: Knowledge and techniques of the art of building dry stone walls – intangible heritage – Culture Sector – UNESCO). Finally, a dozen chestnut trees were planted to restore part of this productive space that had been totally abandoned.

During the month of February, students from the SENED Rural Public School in Jérez del Marquesado, accompanied by researchers from MEMOLab and the Irrigation Community of the municipality, will plant chestnut, walnut and rowan trees, thus recovering this abandoned space.

Learn more about INCULTUM Pilot 1 – Altiplano de Granada

the materials produced by the project will possibly aggregated and shared to Europeana via the WEAVE project

«De Volta aos Bailes mandados em Portugal» the new project of PédeXumbo

WEAVE partner PédeXumbo announces a new project about traditional heritage dances for which synergies with WEAVE will be explored.

The project is focused on the “Bailes Mandados”, a varied dance practice where all the dances have in common the fact that there is a supervisor, who announces choreographic figures to be performed. This mandador can sometimes be a dancer at the same time, or stand next to the musicians.

The project was one of the winners of the 4th edition of EDP’s Tradições program, and is currently underway. A good part of the theoretical work has already begun, with the production of four articles on each of the Bailes Mandados that are part of the project, by researcher Sophie Coquelin:

«O Fado Mandado na Lousã. Fado e Dança Social em Portugal.»

«A Valsa Mandada no Litoral Alentejo, uma valsa amazurcada?»

«Vira, Chula e Cana Verde/Malhão. Os bailes mandados no Minho»

«A Contradança no Baile da Pinha em Reguengos de Monsaraz.»

The articles (Portuguese language) are available at http://pedexumbo.com/de-volta-aos-bailes-mandados-em-portugal/

In March, April and May, the practical part of the project will be developed, in which three trainers will be in four different regions of Portugal (Sines in Litoral Alentejo, Lousã in Beira Litoral, Arcos de Valdevez in Minho and reguengos de Monsaraz in Alentejo, exploring these choreographic practices and teaching them to the community to be reviewed, learned, kept alive and for to find new “mandadores”. In this context videos and photography will be recorded for dissemination and educational purposes.

The materials produced by project, which combines research with practice, will be of high interest for the dance research communities. the collaboration with WEAVE and discussions are it could be a good opportunity for everyone to have it in Europeana

More info about the project (Portuguese language, English translation coming soon): http://pedexumbo.com/de-volta-aos-bailes-mandados-em-portugal/

Cyprus, 7th - 11th November 2022

EuroMed2022: Digital Cultural Heritage Documentation, Preservation and Protection

NEW DATES: The international conference EuroMed 2022 will be held in Cyprus from the 7th to 11th November 2022.

View the agenda for EUROMED: https://euromed2022.eu/e-agenta/

The event, announced by the newly established UNESCO and European Research Area (ERA) Chairs on Digital Heritage, is dedicated on Digital Cultural Heritage Documentation, Preservation and Protection.

EuroMed 2022 will focus on interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary research on tangible and intangible Cultural Heritage, using cutting edge technologies for the protection, preservation, massive digitalization, documentation and presentation of the Cultural Heritage contents. At the same time, it is intended to cover topics of research ready for exploitation, demonstrating the acceptability of new sustainable approaches and new technologies by the user community, SMEs’ owners, managers and conservators of cultural patrimony.

The conference is in cooperation with the EU Research Infrastructures: DARIAH-EU European Research Infrastructure on e-Humanities and Art, CLARIN-ERIC European Research Infrastructure for Language Resources and Technology, the H2020 MSCA ITN CHANGE project, the H2020 Impactour project, the EU OPHERA project, the international association for photographic heritage Photoconsortium, the CARARE Consortium and the Michael-Plus Association, together with the prestigious publisher Springer-Nature.

Website: https://euromed2022.eu/

CALL FOR PAPERS

Open until 15 June the call for papers on original works addressing the subjects or related research themes in the following two categories:

Protection, Restoration and Preservation of Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage
Digital Heritage Documentation and Preservation

More information regarding the themes can be found under the Call for Participation.
It is possible to submit proposals via the on-line submission website available at https://euromed2022.eu/paper-submission/

Digital Cultural Heritage Documentation, Preservation and Protection

International conference EuroMed2022: call for papers

The international conference EuroMed 2022 will be held in Cyprus 7-11 November 2022.
The event, announced by the newly established UNESCO and European Research Area (ERA) Chairs on Digital Heritage, will be dedicated on Digital Cultural Heritage Documentation, Preservation and Protection.

View the agenda for EUROMED: https://euromed2022.eu/e-agenta/

The conference is in cooperation with the EU Research Infrastructures: DARIAH-EU European Research Infrastructure on e-Humanities and Art, CLARIN-ERIC European Research Infrastructure for Language Resources and Technology, the H2020 MSCA ITN CHANGE project, the H2020 Impactour project, the EU OPHERA project, the EU Photoconsortium, the CARARE Consortium and the Michael-Plus Association, together with the prestigious publisher Springer-Nature.

EuroMed 2022 will focus on interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary research on tangible and intangible Cultural Heritage, using cutting edge technologies for the protection, preservation, massive digitalization, documentation and presentation of the Cultural Heritage contents. At the same time, it is intended to cover topics of research ready for exploitation, demonstrating the acceptability of new sustainable approaches and new technologies by the user community, SME’s, owners, managers and conservators of cultural patrimony.

Researchers and practitioners wishing to participate in the conference have until 15 June to submit papers on original works addressing the subjects or related research themes in the following two categories:

Protection, Restoration and Preservation of Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage
Digital Heritage Documentation and Preservation

More information regarding the themes can be found under the Call for Participation.
It is possible to submit for the event through the on-line submission website available at https://euromed2022.eu/paper-submission/

EuroMed 2022 website is available at https://euromed2022.eu/

Visit the exhibition online via a high-quality virtual tour

Accelerazione Pericolosa, photographic exhibition about climate change

The Piaggio Foundation organized and hosts at Museo Piaggio in Pontedera (Italy), until 8th April 2022, a photographic exhibition by Fabrizio Sbrana dedicated to the theme of climate change. The exhibition is composed by 30 large photographic panels complemented by a video that shows hundreds of more pictures. It represent the reinterpretation of Sbrana’s reportage photographs shot during many travels around the world, from the 1980s to the present day.

From Zambia to Italy, from Brazil to Spain, from Ethiopia to Iceland passing through Tunisia and Namibia, the images testify, over the years and through changing landscapes and latitudes, the scream of the Earth and its wounds, between light and dark, lights and shadows, despair and hope.

In addition to be on display at the Museo Piaggio, the exhibition is available also in a virtual tour, accessible online, which offers a very nice interactive experience. Moving around the virtual space, the digital visitor can select the hot-spot that give access to the photos, interesting captions and videos.

Visit the exhibition online via a high-quality virtual tour: https://bit.ly/AccelerazionePericolosa

The exhibition is an opportunity to contribute to reflections around a theme of the climate change that is dramatically in focus nowadays, so to participate in the collective awareness-raising process that must accompany the concrete actions of governments, institutions and businesses.

In addition to the photographs, the exhibition leverages the storytelling by astrophysicist Luca Perri, who has long been involved in scientific dissemination on radio, television, print media, festivals, social networks and through experiments of citizen science. The videos are accessible online, in the virtual tour, as well.

As the President of the Piaggio Foundation Riccardo Costagliola wrote in the introductory text to the exhibition: “If it is true that the salvation of our planet depends on the ability by governments to guiding the processes of energy and industry transition, it is also true that each of us can make an important contribution to achieve this goal and can do it in our daily life”.

Museo Piaggio – website: https://www.museopiaggio.it/en

the Observatory is an intersectoral platform that brings together researchers and professionals from the cultural/creative and tourism sectors

Collaboration established for synergies in cultural tourism, between INCULTUM and CREATOUR Observatory

The CREATOUR Observatory – Observatory on culture and tourism for local development is an initiative coordinated by the Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra.

It focuses on 3 thematic fields: 1) Ecologies of Culture and Creativity; 2) Cultural, Creative and Regenerative Tourism; and 3) Local, Regional and Community Development, adopting a transdisciplinary perspective and critical reflection. Focusing on extra-metropolitan areas of Portugal, the Observatory is an intersectoral platform that brings together researchers and professionals from the cultural/creative and tourism sectors, in a logic of training, evaluation and co-production of knowledge with practitioners and public decision-makers. The Observatory also serves as the hub of an emerging international network – CREATOUR International.

It is a common goal for INCULTUM and CREATOUR to support cultural tourism development at local level, and for this reason a collaboration agreement was recenty established netween the two for cooperation and synergies.

Caldas da Rainha (Portugal), 21-25 March 2022

Cultural Mapping and Connecting with Place – summer school

Cultural mapping as a methodology and paradigm holds tremendous power to create conditions for change by bringing communities together in new ways to co-create new knowledge and understanding. At its core, cultural mapping aims to make visible the ways that local cultural assets, stories, practices, relationships, memories, and rituals constitute places as meaningful locations, while bringing a diverse range of stakeholders into conversation about the cultural dimensions and potentials of a place. With the design of cultural mapping projects tightly linked to local needs, issues, and aspirations, cultural mapping practices vary widely and the field is characterized by a high degree of experimentation. Its interdisciplinarity perspectives, techniques, and processes emphasize participatory approaches, which require an ethics of care with the communities engaged in these projects.

This 5-day intensive summer school offers a unique opportunity to learn how to design and conduct cultural mapping projects, enabling participants to enhance their knowledge on cultural mapping approaches and processes, gain skills applying cultural mapping techniques in practice, examine ethics of care in this community-engaged work, and explore how to connect findings to cultural/creative tourism and local development policy. This is a unique opportunity to learn from internationally acclaimed scholars and practitioners.

Coordination team | Nancy Duxbury, Tiago Vinagre de Castro, Sílvia Silva, and Cláudia Pato de Carvalho (CES), Mariana Calaça Baptista (author and promotor), and Nicola Henriques (SILOS Contentor Criativo)

Website: https://ces.uc.pt/summerwinterschools/?lang=2&id=28189

For any questions, please contact us at: creatour@ces.uc.pt

The summer school will include daily visits, learning seminars, and hands-on workshops where participants will actively learn about and engage in cultural mapping projects while addressing place-specific real-life local development issues. Cultural mapping approaches will address cultural assets and resources, both tangible and intangible; heritage and history; and living narratives and voices of the community and place. Application areas to be discussed in the summer school include: community-based cultural and creative tourism, cultural planning, local territorial and strategic planning, and engaged social change working with communities.

The mapping exercises will examine, discuss, and bring new ideas to existing development activities aiming to attract and sustain a local cultural and creative critical mass in Caldas da Rainha. Connected to this, the work will link these initiatives to broader local development issues, to the city’s UNESCO Creative City designation, and to the fostering of cultural and creative tourism in the municipality.

This CES Summer School will take place in Caldas da Rainha, a UNESCO Creative City of Crafts and Folk Arts, with an Art Nouveau and rich artistic history and a lively contemporary arts scene. The course will have various tangible outputs and culminate in an artistic public presentation of the findings to the local population, curated by the participants in collaboration with SILOS Contentor Criativo and Destino Caldas Association.

Thematic area(s) of the course:
Cultural mapping processes and methodologies
Art-informed cultural mapping
Place-based meanings
Cultural/artistic heritage
Creative tourism
Dimensions of care with communities

Grand prize of the European Commission honoring Innovation in Technology, Industry and Society stimulated by the Arts

STARTS Prize 2022 Open Call

STARTS is an initiative of the European Commission to foster alliances of technology and artistic practice. Since 2016, the STARTS Prize has organised a yearly competition to single out innovative projects at the nexus of science, technology and the arts that have what it takes to make a significant impact on economic and social innovation. Every year, the two most pioneering projects win the prestigious award generously endowed with €40.000 in prize money and are prominently featured at the events organised by the project.

The STARTS yearly competition is back to award two innovative projects at the nexus of science, technology and the arts that have what it takes to make a significant impact on economic and social innovation. Two prizes, each with €20,000 prize money, are offered to honor innovative projects at the intersection of science, technology and the arts: The emphasis of both prizes lies on the creative appropriation and employment of technologies as well as the search for unique constellations of collaboration from the STARTS fields.

Submission deadline: 3rd March 2022

More information: https://starts.eu/opportunities/starts-prize-2022/

Science, Technology and Arts (=STARTS) form a nexus with an extraordinarily high potential for creative innovation. And such innovation is considered to be precisely what’s called for if we’re to master the social, ecological and economic challenges that Europe will be facing in the near future. The role of artists thus is no longer seen to be just about propagating scientific and technological knowledge and skills among the general public but much more as a kind of catalyst that can inspire and trigger innovative processes. The artistic practice of creative exploration and experimental appropriation of new technologies has a wide reaching potential to contribute to the development of new products and new economic, social and business models. Accordingly, the STARTS Prize focuses on artistic works that influence or change the way we look at technology, and on innovative forms of collaboration between the ICT sector and the world of art and culture.

Current consortium: Ars Electronica (coord., AT), Bozar (BE), Waag (NL), INOVA+ (PT), T6 Ecosystems (IT), French Tech Grande Provence (FR) and Frankfurter Buchmesse (DE).

Street art as a decorative element and tool to fight smog

An artistic approach to solve the environmental challenges of cities

Always more frequently, many cities within and beyond Europe, are approaching the issue of pollution in a creative way.
Street art becomes not only a decorative element, but also a tool to raise awareness on issues related to environmental sustainability and concretely help the environment: thanks to special paints which work on a principle comparable to the photosynthesis process in plants, the murals have the ability to purify the air.

“Eco-murals” are achieving great success in Poland, as one of the countries struggling the most with air pollution.

Source: Bydgoszcz City

One of the last cities that is fighting smog with art, is Bydgoszcz, where the eco-mural “The Source” realized by Marcin Czaja from Krakow, covered a wall of 374 square meters. According to the city website, one square meter of anti-smog paint absorbs 0.44 g of nitric oxide, the same absorbed by one tree per day: the area of the wall is equivalent to planting 374 trees, in an urbanized area where this is hardly possible.

Warsaw also hosts a similar mural, as part of a collaboration project with Converse City Forests in September 2020.

The cities of Bielsko-Biała and Katowice and Zabrze have also decided to tackle air pollution by creating a wall painting for air purification

These environmentally friendly murals are increasing all over the world.

From https://ec.europa.eu/research-and-innovation/en/horizon-magazine

In Milan (Italy) the “AnthropOceano” eco-mural by street artist Iena Cruz, underlines the beauty and fragility of the marine environment.

On 5 June 2021, on the occasion of World Environment Day, the colorful “Stand with us” mural was inaugurated in the Holland tunnel of Jersey City, the route that connects New Jersey with New York. “Stand with us”, created by the artist Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya, in addition to the ecological skill it also launches a strong message against racism.