Awards were announced this morning, at the presence of Undersecretary of State Anna Laura Orrico, for the schools that won Project RoLAB, promoted by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale and the United States Embassy in Rome. The project aims to experiment with new shared development and regeneration models for abandoned and unused areas in Rome. Moreover, there also was the presentation of Project “Ruins Reborn” by artists Linda Pagani e Federica Pamio on the transformation of common areas during the health emergency.
Ten high schools in Rome and Lazio and one challenge: co-designing projects in real-time for abandoned urban areas in Rome during the lockdown. Promoted by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, in collaboration with the United States Embassy in Rome, Project Ro-Lab – Rome Live Art Lab involved students, artists, associations, cultural creative enterprises and citizens, who worked together during the health emergency on ideas to regenerate areas in the city of Rome. The objective was to promote to a renewed “artistic direction” for the city through the inclusive development of newly exploited areas and innovative forms of artistic and technological expression.
Awards were presented this morning, at the presence of Anna Laura Orrico, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities; Beth Poisson, Public Affairs Councillor at the United States Embassy in Italy, and Massimo Bugani, Head of Staff to the Mayor of Rome.
“I would like to compliment you for this beautiful initiative that allowed students to use their talent, creativity and imagination on a fundamental issue such as that of urban regeneration and the renovation of abandoned public and private areas. In particular, I would like to extend my compliments to all students and their teachers for having accepted the challenge. They are all winners. Imagining how to develop one’s city, one’s neighbourhood, by renovating symbolic areas is an important act of active citizenship, participation in public life and development of a sustainable model,” declared Anna Laura Orrico at the opening of the event.
The first place went to IIS Majorana-Pisano in Guidonia for Project “TIB RO-LAB.” The students created a flexible and progressive six-staged cultural business model (foundation, project, appropriation, sharing, transformation, definition) that was applied to an uncompleted building in the eastern part of Rome, along with a video performance of its narrative transposition. Second place went to the students at the Liceo artistico Caravaggio in Rome for a project on the school campus at via Argoli: an advanced technological centre for Rome’s 8th and 9th Districts serving as a “social antibody” to promote socialization and stay in touch even during health emergencies. Third place went to the Liceo artistico Enzo Rossi in Rome that worked on the social and cultural renovation of the Morandi multi-storey carpark San Giovanni neighbourhood.
The ten finalist projects have been collected into a permanent 360° virtual museum developed in collaboration with the Quasar Institute for Advanced Design and the European Institute of Design in Rome. The museum also hosts the photographic “Ruins Reborn” Project by Linda Pagani (USA) and Federica Pamio (Italy). The artistic duo worked on the abandoned buildings selected by the students using them as canvases for their works. Buildings were returned to their purest form, removing the damage wrought by time, abandonment and mankind on their facades and structures. The final results is a work on regeneration that brings us closer to the natural elements.
Moreover, the results of the "Public Art Service" call launched to artists, designers and academies to narrate the transformation of public areas during the health emergency were presented at the end of the event. A storytelling video presents the original interpretations of common life and new local and urban dimensions.
For further information:
- Public Art Service (invitation to share)
- RoLAB Project Profile
- Call With Ideas
- Motivational video by Steven A. Wolff
- Selected projects
