VISION
By promoting the knowledge exchange on home soil and projecting the latter's needs towards a European dimension, the Centre aims to enhance and encourage the debate regarding modern mobility above all. How does modernity really move though? Regardless of its expression: work, people, things, (rather than on a cultural and religious level) modern knowledge travels following different patterns. In fact, we believe that exploring all the possible directions in which modernity moves allows us to give value to tradition and encourage its own innovation. It is right here that the European dimension becomes fundamental to focus on the territory and, at the same time, open up the latter to the international scene. In order to do this, the Centre is mainly committed to develop innovative European projects capable of acting from a wider perspective. By combining the European avant garde with a territorial dimension, made of ancient traditions passed on from generation to generation, shaping a network in which different actors move freely with the common goal of creating a single road network for the ‘Moving’ of / across modernity.
TERRITORY
The Centre is inside the De Michele house, a late nineteenth-century building in the Raiano. Completely immersed in the lush green of the Riserva Naturale Regionale Gole San Venanzio, Raiano is an Italian municipality in the province of L'Aquila; Aquila, Abruzzo. It rises in the western part of the Peligna Valley surrounded by the Parco Regionale D'Abruzzo Lazio e Molise, the Parco Naturale Regionale Sirente-Velino, and the Massiccio Montuoso della Majella. It's the perfect environment to work in throughout the year surrounded by natural elements such as air (in the form of wind and currents), water (near the Aterno river, the sources of the Pescara and Sagittario river) land (represented by the cultivated countryside, the numerous olive groves and of course all the mountain ranges mentioned so far).
PROGRAMME
The Centre works on the basis of a multi-annual strategy. Each project is carried out on the basis of our mission, the latter enriched by a shared European feeling. Through a varied approach, the Centre develops different projects in the field of contemporary mobility. In fact, programmes are developed with different methods and tools that help to concretely achieve the set goals. A programme of residencies, conferences, workshops, micro festivals and other events are organised by the Centre in cooperation with national and international partners, with the common interest of promoting interaction and the exchange of ideas both among residents and with the European community at large. In particular, through an immersive residency programme, the Centre offers an experience of intercultural exchange, research and professional development. The residency is designed to allow people to observe the territory, making available to everyone, knowledge and expertise, with the aim of taking concrete action to improve and enhance mobility in its different meanings. During the residency, artists and designers have the opportunity to collaborate with different realities, contributing to the regional, national and European dissemination of that ancient knowledge, now renewed and enriched. Besides developing internal strategic programmes, the Centre supports initiatives and projects co-created in collaboration with European partners and co-funders. Finally, the Centre provides flexible, short-term support for out-of-the-box ideas that broadly correspond to its vision and values.
EUROPEAN ROUTE
Europe is the place where different languages, cultural manifestations, collective memories, beliefs and perspectives coexist. However, there is not one way of being European since Europe was built over premises such as collaboration and knowledge exchange, with this diversity becoming its strength.
Building a “European Route” therefore means to create mobility in order to facilitate aspects such as exchanges, education, a sense of community and collaboration between all European countries. From this perspective, the Centre commits to those ideals such as cooperation, sharing, solidarity and sustainability by investing in collaboration-born projects.
As an active promoter of mobility to connect the transversal visions of different professionals with the creativity of international artists and designers, the Centre sits in the front row of modern Europe, supporting research and innovation values.
The Centre was born within an environment that aims to be self-sufficient and sustainable, for both its headquarters and projects promoted. By providing such things as production workshops, vegetable garden, olive grove and a garden the Centre invites its guests to have (starting from there) the same sustainable approach in order to tackle the climate crisis.