The REW European week, packed with artistic and cultural events, is part of the RESCUE – Regeneration of Disused Industrial Sites through Creativity in Europe – European project funded by the EACEA Creative Europe programme, and is headed by the municipality of Santo Stefano Magra along with partners from Italy (Gli Scarti), Austria (Klanghaus Untergreith), Slovenia (X-Op) and Germany (ibug).

From 13 to 18 September, the former Fabbrica Vaccari will come back to life as a site with a cultural and creative vocation, a great big workshop of ideas and activities where new fields of knowledge, new languages and innovative regeneration practices can be tried and tested, researched, developed, produced and explored.

The week starts off with the TRANSNATIONAL ARTISTIC RESIDENCY, from 13 to 15 September, with international artists in a medley of performances for a shared experience of cultural experimentation and exchanges. The installations and performances will be open to visitors all week.

On 16 September the “‘Pray and Labor’: Frameworks, Stories and Practices of Disused Sites” TRANSNATIONAL WORKSHOP will reflect on action programmes, European best practices and disused site regeneration experiences in Europe.

On 17 and 18 September appointment with CANTIERI CREATIVI, a wide-ranging dialogue between different generations and cultures on architecture, economics, theatre, music and the visual arts, centred around the debate on the landscape. The event is coordinated by the NOVA project committee: Massimo Biava, Mario Commone, Lara Conte, Mario Giannoni, Juri Mazzanti, Michela Passalacqua, Giancarlo Pietra and Simone Venturini.

What happened during the REW week in Italy?

The transnational artistic REW week began with an interplay of international artists – a shared cultural experimentation and exchange. Visitors had access throughout the creative week to see the creation of installations, paintings, films and performances.

On 16 September, the transnational conference “Pray and Labor: Frameworks, Stories and Practices of Disused Sites” took place. The aim was to discuss action programmes, European best practices, funding and experiences in revitalising brownfield sites in Europe.

There were also three days of workshops for children.

On 17 and 18 September, the CANTIERI CREATIVI festival invited artists from different generations and cultures to engage in a wide-ranging dialogue in the fields of architecture, business, theatre, music and visual arts, and to present the resulting works. On Saturday, the artists themselves led a guided tour through the wasteland.