
The historical grain elevator in the port of Barletta (Italy) is being demolished: this is the outcome of a long debate that involved municipality, citizens and practitioners. Such a process is inevitably a part of those transformations of the urban fabric marking one irreversible turning point. Cities cannot escape the process of transformation. As living organisms, they get nourishment from those who live their environment. Cities have manifold personalities, just like men. They have to deal with the passing of time and with the changing needs of the inhabitants. The past is welcome while being in the making. Cities are liquid entities, albeit made of concrete, stone or clay. Change is their essence and every single variation represents an opportunity for growth.
For this reason, the demolition of the historical grain elevator in the port of Barletta, which will clear an area of 2000sqm, being inevitably attached to the identity of the city, it is an issue that needs a critical understanding of that part of the urban fabric, which is apparently unrelated to its context.
Hence, we felt the need not to let the memory of such architecture fall into oblivion. For years, the silos contributed to the social and economic growth of Barletta, becoming gradually a visual landmark of the city that one can recognize from the sea due to its peculiar silhouette.
In this framework, we therefore invite artists, architects, graphic designers, collectives, architectural firms, writers, designers to take part in this second chapter dedicated to the grain silos of the port of Barletta. The second chapter will tackle the complex theme of the contextual transformation in contemporary cities. In this case, the vantage point will be flipped, investigating the silos not as an objet trouvé grounded on the mainland, but as a landing place welcoming those coming from the sea. The first chapter of this research on the silos took place on June 20, 2020 with the online exhibition event “NUDGE: the architecture of choices” (curated by architects M. Alessandra Rutigliano and Massimiliano Cafagna, with the support of graphic designer Francesco Delrosso). NUDGE aims at building a solid historical memory to be handed down to those who will live in the city of tomorrow.
NUDGE 1.0: https://www.antiliagallery.com/nudge-larchitettura-delle-scelte/
The new exhibition event, “NUDGE 2.0”, will be curated by architects Massimiliano Cafagna, M. Alessandra Rutigliano and Giuseppe Resta, with the support of graphic designer Francesco Del Rosso. NUDGE 2.0 will open the debate on the relationship between architecture, time and urban changes, inviting new visions on a building that, for years, has stood out imposingly against the horizon line. We need to consider heritage with fresh eyes As Gilles Clément would say, “observing a known place that turns to abandonment provokes questions that are all investigating a dynamic of the transformation”.
Details
– 1 picture (in a 50 x 50 cm canvas – landscape/portrait orientation), to be elaborated on the base of the three photographs provided.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JhQPNjdk0xYP-Vf-DSfBkjQIIvtfa020
– Brief description (max 1500 characters)
– Contributions should be sent ideally by December 20th 2020 (we are open to different arrangements as well) to info@antiliagallery.com.
– Acceptance notice will take 5 to 10 days after the reception of your contribution
Queries: info@antiliagallery.com
About Antilia Gallery
Antilia Gallery is a spin-off curatorial project by PROFFERLO Architecture. The gallery travels to different locations. It occupies spaces that are neglected and injects them with events and exhibitions. The aim is to regenerate and bring focus on the decaying urban spaces in Southern Italy and elsewhere.
Fabiana Dicuonzo (owner/curator)
Giuseppe Resta (owner/curator)
collaborators
Daniele Garofalo
website: https://www.antiliagallery.com