"The creativity, sustainability becomes an art exhibition”: in Padua to promote a more sustainable lifestyle.

 

by Valeria Rocca

Arts. Sustainability. Recycling. These are the three keywords of the project “Riciclarti-CANTIERE ARTE AMBIENTALE 2011” that from the 14th to the 23rd June 2012, will guest in Padova, Anna Breda Area, with the show "La sostenibilità diventa creativa ". There will be discovered 8 artists protagonists Fausto Trevisan, Sonia Passoni, Massolin Miriam, Francesco Mangiaracina, Gianfranco Gentile, Isabelle Fordin, Daniela Ferretti. 

We contacted Marisa Merlin, the Venetian artist, who has made recycling the tool to create new languages, as well as the curator of this exciting project.

When was it born, and what is the project “Riciclarti-CANTIERE ARTE AMBIENTALE”? 

The project “Riciclarti-CANTIERE ARTE AMBIENTALE” comes from my work as an artist. The project sees the first edition in 2008 with the aim to involve other artists on environmental issues through the language of art, to promote a moment of reflection on public issues identified, interpreted and developed by artists and designers.

On what values is based this ambitious project?  

 The Review RICICLARTI wants to stimulate the creation of posts, through the privileged language of contemporary visual art, creating reflections on the connection between aesthetic and environmental protection. The project believes in community relations "eco-centric", and to this aim, the artistic research offers important channels of communication addressed to the people, businesses and institutions in a shared environment. The strong cultural background of the project acts as a filter for each proposed initiative.

What objectives does it want to reach? 

The event, now an expected cultural one, intends to establish itself as the "Festival of Contemporary Environmental Art.

In short it will be opened an exhibition space at Anna Breida. What are the expectations of this event? 

Anna Breda Area has selected some artists and designers within the participants Riciclarti-Cantiere Arte Ambientale 2011 for an exhibition that handled with knowledge and generosity. In fact none of the Artists shall be personally present in the show because affected by the earthquake, and Anna Breda will donate the earnings to the earthquake victims Emilia. We expect a large turnout and interest, and I know that the experience and professionalism of the gallery and the quality of the works of her choices will satisfy the expectations of an attentive audience that followed us for years so far with rising curiosity. The exhibition space at Anna Breda is a qualifying moment for the review, and I can say that we close the series with an outstanding Award Show, which has among its intent to exit from the physical and temporal space of the exhibition and to relate the works of artists and designers with other important art and culture and stimulus, going on to a mutual exchange, artistic, cultural, economic and lifestyle.

Are you satisfied with the work done until now? 

I must say I am very pleased and proud of the work done so far, thanks to the collaboration of many people who believed in the project with enthusiasm, being able to relate with different reality as artistic, cultural and economic public and private institutions, we gained the 'interest of opinion leaders from various sectors, and of course the growing globalizing attitude for the quality of works and proposed initiatives. Participants in the exhibition are selected by call for competition by a jury composed of personalities from internationally recognized scientific fields, so the quality of the show is always very high. The Festival has grown so fast that became a Biennale, taking the name RICCAA (acronym for Riciclarti-Yard Environmental Art). The next will be the fifth edition in 2013, and the invitation to participate will be released the next October.

For more information www.marisamerlin.it or www.riciclarti.it (But the site is currently under maintenance) or www.spazioannabreda.com.

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From stranded waste to Christmas decorations

by Silvia Faletto

Eat the Mussels caught few hours earlier along the Coasts of our Sea, this is always a pleasure.
However, even if this practice is done wisely and environmentally carrying out, this activity often brings damages that we don't view : the remnants of broken and useless fishing Nets end up on our Beaches, and they become a seroius Danger to all the fragile Ecosystem based on coastlines.

For this Reason, Legambiente Volunteers in Mola (BA) regularly collect Litter over the Mola's Coast , and for Christmas 2011 they propose a new Way to bring new Life to what otherwise would be another Sea Garbage.

From the Transformation of Nets, in fact, it has been create a "Christmas' Ega": this is a nice eco-friendly Decoration to our Tree, and it also helps to protect the Environment from which it come.

Obtained by wrapping the fishing Net around a Egagropile (a sphere of residues beached Posidonia, an aquatic plant typical of the Mediterranean), the “Christmas' Ega” is part of the Achievements designed to promote a Christmas craft that respects the environment.

How to write the president of Legambiente Mola, Antonella Berlen, the objectives to achieve with this campaign are numerous and ambitious: "The first Goal of this Initiative is to collect a very specific type of Waste that is present in large Number to our Shorelines: the infamous Net used to Processing Mussels. In addition to this, we want to approach the Garbage and its transformation in a creative Way to Rejection, and also we would Reduce the new Trash produced by buying decorations impactful.

Morever, the campaign wants to bring financial Support to the association, and so to contribute to the expenses (rent, electricity, telephone, water, etc.), which otherwise fall on already committed volunteers. Finally, we wants to give the opportunity for this Christmas, to transform the Net into another already designed Decoration, to allow the Ball to get back on the coast of Posidonia."

Subscribing a “Christmas' Ega” to associations and businesses that participate to this Project, we'll contribute to a important Campaign, which calls each of us to work to the Present and the future of Italy!

For more information: Legambiente "The Capodieci - from the countryside to the sea", www.legambientemola.it.

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Under the Christmas tree good practises handbooks

by Silvia Musso

Are you too struggling with Christmas? It would be for the crisis or for the worries for future austere times, but this year you can find useful suggestions everywhere “to celebrate” in a sustainable way. Many more or less big, more or less known associations and organizations as well as municipalities or firms are listing decalogues of good practises that with zero Km dinner, green gifts and environmental friendly decorations will help us to overcome also this Christmas. Greenpeace suggests for the Christmas tree to use prunes, instead of buying a real one, to buy low consume lights, to use less meat for the dinner and about the fish to avoid cod, prawns, tuna and swordfish choosing bluefish.

Always about the menù a reflection and a anti-waste vademecum comes from Andid, the association of Italian dietists. «Since always – president of Andid, Giovanna Cecchetto, explains – Christams times are the occasion to share refined dishes where food becomes the symbol of abundance, pleasure, thoughlessness, hope of a fuure well-being. But differently from now, those food were used to last also after Christmas and were sipped during the following weeks with the “recycle” practise. Today it is not like this any more. We throw away all».

According some data collected by United Nations, in fact, every year one third of food producted on Earth, about 1,3 billions tons, is wasted. To contain and avoid these wastes Andid dietits have listed 10 suggestions. Among them: “Do not get hungry at the dinner time”; “to respect satiety signs”; “to avoid bread”; to buy a correct quantity of food, proportioned with the numbers of people”; do not being groped by sales and to limit too big food supplies”.

Coldiretti's suggestion, over the invitation to choose zero Km food, is about the Christma tree. It is better to opt for the real fir because often the plastic ones come from China and have done thousands of km with many greenhouse gases emissions. Moreover the firm can be replanted after the festivity, or disposed in les time than the plastic one tht needs 200 years befor the complete degrade. In Italy the firs' cultivation to be allocated to Christmas market is part of hydrogeological risk prevention projects.

About the holydays, finally, WWF, in its yearly decalogue, suggests to prefere Italy rather to far destinations and the train rather than areoplane.

Other decalogues, very similar ones to the others, come also from websites of municipalities, businnesses and reviews.

The ideas to spend a sustainable Christmas are many, we have to decide if let them a real practise. Anyway if you are still looking for a gift, under the Christamas tree, try to put one of these handbooks. It will be a good present for the future of or Planet and an occasin to rflect together with frineds and relatives among candies and wine.

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Spazio Etico presents his project: Voce del verbo “RI-CELLULARE”

by Valeria Rocca

Have you ever heard about the “Witness of the snail”? The Austrian thinker Ivan Illich said «The snail teaches us the way to think of a happy and friendly “de-growth society”. Building the delicate architecture of its shell with larger and larger coils, the snail has to stop and begin to create diminishing convolutions to avoid that a too large one, rather than contributing to its wellbeing, become a serious overweight». The metaphor is easy to understand: the man must pursue his welfare making choices in respect of the environment and the world, exactly like the snail, without excessing.

Spazio Etico, an association working in many different fields in Lazio, supports this philosophy. According to Spazio Etico, if our everyday decisions can positively affect the world around us, why not to commit ourselves to avoid waste? Among their many activities, the project “Voce del verbo Ri-Cellulare” deserves special attention.

Recent studies say the cell is the most popular gadget in the world and the most frequently replaced. Do the people recycle their old mobile phones? Only the 3% of the word population. Recycling mobile phones is instead very important because it enables to reduce greenhouse gas emissions resulting from landfill disposal of mobile phones and their batteries, to correctly dispose toxic materials contained in the cellphones (lead, cadmium, lithium), to prevent health problems, and to recover valuable metals. For more information we asked Mauro Speranza (project manager) some questions.

When was the idea of the project “Ri-cellulare” born and what are the main reasons that prompted you to promote it?
«The project "Voce del verbo Ri-cellulare”, was ideated in late 2009 as part of SPAZIO ETICO. On one hand we had the willingness to do something for helping the world we live in while on the other hand we realized that the increasing quantity of mobile phones does not correspond to an easy disposal system. In fact, very few people go to depots to dispose phones. So? Highly polluting items crowd the landfills or, at best, lie in drawers full of unused equipment».

Through which means was the project promoted?
«We planned a specific communication campaign using different channels, both classic and modern. First, we use the internet: the association’s website hosts a dedicated section and in the same time we use social networks. Furthermore, we don’t forget traditional channels such as social and cultural events. Information meetings and workshops were carried out in order to spread the activities and raise public awareness about the environmental impact of mobile phones, especially if they are not disposed by law. Collaborating with other associations which share the same values is very important for spreading knowledge of our activities. In addition to the associations, we are trying to involve the public bodies of the Lazio Region and of the Province of Rome (which sponsored the project) and the Municipality of Rome. An information campaign is also about to start in many schools».

Which objectives do you want to achieve with this project?
«We want to collect a growing number of used mobile phones in order to spread an environment-friendly culture, intended as a set of daily activities anyone can achieve in his daily routine. Furthermore, the association is trying to spread the culture of the “de-growth” and of the waste fighting, and this project pursues this aim».

Are you currently satisfied of the achieved results?
«The satisfaction is twofold: on one hand first results are encouraging in terms of number of collected phones (more than 2000), but above all we are realizing how much people can do if properly informed about the consequences of their actions».

Are you planning to export your project to other Italian regions?
«Exporting the project closely follows the interest it’s having across Italy. It's common to be contacted by other associations and partnerships are starting with some realities, especially in the Calabria region. Indeed, we are willing to support anyone who proves helpful in this regard».

We accept and spread with pleasure the invitation of Spazio Etico. All necessary information are available on the website.

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Let’s put our bins on a diet!

by Marzia Fialdini

EU citizens produce 2% more waste every year; in Italy each citizen generates on average 10.5 kg of trash per week: quantities that have to be dramatically reduced. For raising institutions’, stakeholders’ and consumers’ awareness about the waste prevention strategies and policies enacted by the European Union, was created the European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR), this year at its third edition. From November 19 to 27, initiatives will be promoted across the country in order to inform as many citizens as possible about simple everyday actions for preventing waste.

On Sunday, November 27, in Madama Cristina Square in Turin, from 10 am to 6 pm, to the motto: I refuse! - The commitment of all to reduce waste, Amiat and City of Turin will organize a big street party to promote small good daily habits which enable to reduce waste at source and to weigh less down on the environment. Through games, workshops, entertainment and markets, public will be able to understand the importance of using objects for as long as possible, the importance of making separate waste collection and to change bad behavior in order to reduce waste production.

Other organizations will attend the event: the Torino Province which will support the campaign on reusable nappies; SMAT, encouraging tap water drinking through the Water Bar; Coldiretti Torino, which will teach children to transplant seedlings and potted flowers with compost; the Environment Museum, with its Ecological Footprint Laboratory; the Ecologos Research Institute, which has been campaigning on reducing the packaging of communication products and has started a chain of light stores, just to name a few of the many initiatives which are present there.

Thanks to the collaboration of the CSI-Piemonte - Consortium for Information System - an online game has been created. It can be accessed from a mobile phone in order to enable anyone to face the new challenge: the effective capacity of each of us to put our bins on a diet.

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