MAR DEL PLATA
WINTER FESTIVAL ON
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHOICES
VILLA
eleven
days on creativity and the economy
to
imagine, express and create new development possibilities
through
deliberation, photography, music …
The
Festival is born out of experience with hosting the International Festival on Creativity and Economic Development
(Gambettola, Italy, May 2007, www.creativityfestival.net) and the exhibition of
photographs by Maria Luisa Riva on Epecuén
Lagoon: From Economic Disaster to Economic Progress? (
Aims and Objectives
●
To contribute
to economic development in
●
To exhibit art
(photographs …) and host musical performances focused on the (dis)empowerment
of peoples in economic development processes
●
To feature
experiences and perceptions from
●
To connect the
exhibits and performances with analysis and debate, in part by explicitly
presenting as an aspect of the exhibition and performances a context and interpretation of the works, and in part
through interactive seminars led by artists, academics, citizens, entrepreneurs
and policy-makers in an Ideas Laboratory
●
To involve
school children from a variety of neighbourhoods, hosting special activities
that enable them not only to experience the exhibits and performances but also
to express themselves in their own Workshops
●
To use the
events to develop further initiatives linking economic development and creative
activities (music, photography …) in
An
initiative supported by a partnership that includes the Secretariat of
Culture of the University
of Birmingham (UK), working with the patronage of the British Council (Argentina), and the
institutional backing of the School of Economic and Social Sciences of the
National University of Mar del Plata (Argentina)
Project Coordination Team:
Silvia Sacchetti, Roger
Sugden,
Further information:
CONTEXT
and VISION
·
In all walks
of life and in everyday life, there is a loss of critical thinking with respect
to what happens in society, evidenced by trends in politics and in economic
activity.
·
However, if
people do not exercise their capacity for critical thinking, they renounce use
of their imagination and fail to pursue different ideas and possibilities; they
fail to shape the world around them.
·
A consequence
is that people loose interest in participating in social, economic and
political processes, which are then allowed to be infused with objectives that
are determined by exclusive interests. In other words (and despite commonly
used rhetoric), there is an absence of democracy.
·
In turn, the
exclusion of people from the determination of objectives reinforces their lack
of participation; their feeling that they ‘do not count’ encourages people not
to participate.
·
The
concomitant necessity is for creative and imaginative communication. More
specifically, there is a need for people:
Ø
To recover an
interest in each other’s ideas and perspectives, even if they would not share
or support those ideas and perspectives
Ø
To explore and
clarify why their views differ
Ø
To support
their reasoning with coherent argument
Ø
To engage with
each other in the imaginative and creative pursuit of social, economic and
political activities
·
It is from
this context that we identify a vision that requires immediate action:
AN
INITIAL STEP
EXHIBITIONS
o
One of the
Festival’s focal points is a set of Exhibitions
that will be shown for its entire eleven days. They feature photographs by
members of Peña Fotográfica Marplatense and by other participants
of experiences in
o
There will
also be physical and virtual ‘poster exhibits’ from socio-economics, history,
education, business, policy …; these will outline crucial ideas for
appreciating the effects of, and requirements for, creativity and critical
thinking in social, economic and political processes.
o
Some of the
exhibits will feature contributions from individuals presenting interactive
seminars during the Ideas Laboratory;
an objective is to contribute to the synthesising of activities across the
Festival into a coherent whole.
o
It is also expected
that the special activities being organised for children will yield
photographic and other artistic outputs that will be exhibited as the Festival
progresses. Moreover, in each room of exhibits there will be opportunities for
‘graphic discussion’; people attending the Festival will have facilities to
express their own views and comments.
PERFORMANCES
o
The Festival
has a prominent focus on music, its role in understanding and developing
peoples’ identities, and its related capacity to stimulate imagination and
ideas that can influence economic development processes. This includes a
concern with how music might be used to foster a sense of freedom – in thought,
expression, … – and therefore, perhaps, with how it might contribute to the
possibilities for freedom of expression in everyday economic and social
activity.
o
There is
currently an initiative underway to explore the role and influence of music in
neighbourhoods throughout
IDEAS
LABORATORY
o
The Festival
is founded on its Ideas Laboratory, the
lynchpin of the event. It is an ongoing series of seminars that provide
opportunities for interaction amongst and with ‘practitioners’ and ‘thinkers’ in
photography, music, painting …; socio-economics, history, education, business, policy
… These seminars will be scheduled so as to maximise the potential for participation.
They explore ideas about creativity and critical thinking, and will be used to
consider future steps for the project.
o
For example, artists
exhibiting at the Festival might discuss their work in relation to the
(dis)empowerment of peoples, perhaps considering ways in which people have a
sense of mutual respect – or not. Such thoughts might then be related to the
arguments for creativity and critical thinking to influence – or not – paths of
economic and social development.
o
Deliberation
of the music Performances will also
feature in the Ideas Laboratory. An
objective is to explore the ongoing
o
Amongst the
issues linking together contributions in the Ideas Laboratory, we envisage a continuing focus on the potential
for developing new ‘creative spaces’ for the people of Mar del Plata: these
would be evolving focal-points for stimulating and nurturing creativity and
critical thinking amongst citizens of all backgrounds, experiences and ages.
Included in this would be an interest in transforming currently derelict or
vacant buildings and areas.
o
The Ideas Laboratory will also feature
contributions from locally and internationally based academics, as well as from
local business people and policy-makers. Whilst some of these sessions will be
designed and intended for specialist participation, others will be targeted at
more general audiences. They will include consideration of the underlying
socio-economic basis for focusing on creativity and its influence on economies,
as well as an appreciation for the historical roots and evolution of particular
sorts of creative activities
o
The Ideas Laboratory will culminate on the
last weekend of the Festival in a wide-ranging discussion that reflects on the aims
and objectives of the Festival, draws conclusions and lays plans for future
initiatives. A crucial objective is to focus at the close of the Festival on
its implications for the citizens of
o
Communication throughout
the Festival will be facilitated through the provision of simultaneous
translation, where necessary.
CHILDREN’S PARTICIPATION
o
An objective
is to involve children from across
o
To this end
the Festival features especially tailored characteristics and distinct
activities:
–
Children’s Drawing Room: the intention is to set aside a space in Villa
–
Children’s Drawing Workshops: associated with the drawing room, there will be
scheduled times in which children will be aided in their learning to express
themselves through drawing.
–
Children’s Music Workshops: we envisage workshops being scheduled to offer
children the opportunity to express themselves in music on the themes of the
Festival
–
Children’s Writing Workshops: we envisage workshops being scheduled to offer
children the opportunity to express themselves through writing on the themes of
the Festival
–
Children’s Photographs: the objective is to provide children in various
neighbourhoods in Mar del Plata with ‘disposable’ cameras that they use to
record their own perceptions on the themes of the Festival, as reflected in
their everyday lives, and then to provide space in Villa Victoria to feature
their images
–
Special guided
tours of the Villa Victoria Exhibitions
for schoolchildren
27 April 2008
PROJECT SUMMARY
A summary of the overall project is provided by the
diagram below:
THE
MAR DEL PLATA WINTER FESTIVAL ON ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHOICES, 21-31 AUGUST 2008
|
THE
MAR DEL PLATA WINTER FESTIVAL ON ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHOICES, 21-31 AUGUST 2008 |