Climate change is causing drastic alterations throughout the Alps and drought is one of the most obvious consequences. In the wake of the issues related to these environmental problems, a public meeting for a Biella observatory of water is scheduled for 12 April at Cittadellarte from 4 to 6 pm (followed by an aperitif at the restaurant Bistrot le Arti). The conference, organised with the support of Fondazione BIellezza, will be held in the space housing the exhibition Biella Città Arcipelago, also designed as an active background for talks and activities on the topics of the exhibition-workshop, which will start with next Tuesday’s meeting. The speakers invited will analyse the consequences of climate change on agriculture, ecosystems and entrepreneurial choices. How can the Biella region create awareness by expressing the rights and duties of the environment and of mankind? A new Biella observatory of water is being set up to try to provide an answer and to steer the Biellese territory towards the development of sustainable prosperity.
The speakers
The event will feature a large number of speakers, moderated by Silviano Esposito. After an introduction by Paolo Naldini, director of Cittadellarte, the following guests will speak: Luca Bruschi and Marianna Demarco, Biella Industrial Union; Michele Cerruti But, professor of Urban Planning at Turin’s Polytechnic/Accademia Unidee; Patrizia Garzena, president of Biella Observatory of Cultural Heritage and Landscape; Gabriele Martinazzo, president of Biella Cordar Services; Roberto Mezzalama, author of the book Il clima che cambia l’Italia (The climate that changes Italy), Einaudi, 2021; Franco Piunti, former health director of ASL Biella and former president of Associazione Tessile e Salute; Luca Sala, director of the ASL Biella Prevention Department; Theresa Schubert and Joshua G. Stein, artists, project S+T+ARTS4Water; Annalisa Zegna and Nicholas Ferrara, artists, association Better Places.
How to participate
It will be possible to take part in the meeting either in person or remotely. Attendance is free, but booking is mandatory. Please write to e.gilardino@cittadellarte.it or call 015.28400 to reserve a place. Access to the meeting will require a full green pass and an FFP2 mask. Please book at this link to participate online.
TACT
The meeting is organised in collaboration with the project S+T+ARTS4Water (2021-2022), promoted by the European Commission within the programme for research and innovation Horizon 2020, under the umbrella of TACT (acronym for Territorio Arcipelago Comunità Torrente, i.e. Territory, archipelago, community, river), the winning project of the public call Creative Living Lab – 3rd edition, promoted by the General Directorate for Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture. As part of the initiatives promoted by the project, from March onwards Biella’s citizens will be offered moments of discussion open to the public in the form of meetings, thematic conferences and educational workshops. The activities will take place in the regenerated spaces of Fondazione Pistoletto, conceived as urban centres and designed to host participatory planning initiatives that can generate innovative ideas with a territorial impact. TACT deals with the themes of environmental fragility and sustainability in general, with a particular focus on water, education, energy and food. The event of 12 April on the theme of water will be followed by one in May on education and food, and one in June on energy.
Il commento di Paolo Naldini
“The workshop of Città Arcipelago focuses on participatory planning with reference to the main infrastructures of social life,” said the director of Cittadellarte, “in synergy with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainability, adapted to the specifics of our territory. A number of key axes emerge to help guide the future of the Biella area along tracks of sustainable prosperity, namely water in its articulated ramifications, ranging from the climate crisis to its impact on the agrifood supply chain, the obvious public health implications and its intertwining with the production infrastructure, but also with the landscape as a result of the artificial imprint on the natural substratum. Water and its infrastructure”, Naldini continued, “is the theme for an initial in-depth focus meeting with a number of institutional players and experts in the management of this vital resource in our territory, which will benefit from the contribution of the international artists invited to engage in this public conversation by Cittadellarte, which for over twenty years has been operating as a centre for gathering intelligence, experience and civic commitment in favour of a collective good. The participatory design workshop represents a further step in a process that can only be long-lasting, localised and composed of different elements, some strongly operational, others more of strategic vision. Each of these steps will be carried out in synergy and in collaboration with several institutional or private actors in the area, with events open to the public to participate in which all one needs to do is contact our offices and accept our apologies for not having been directly called upon in these first steps, which are inevitably never fully encompassing. It is never too late,” he concluded, “to take part in this complex process; do not hesitate to join us and contribute with your experience”.
