Cityscapes – Digital Museum of Memory

The project “Cityscapes – Digital Museum of Memory” presented by CAP – Cities Art Projects together with the artist Valeriana Berchicci, won the call Lazio Contemporaneo – Lazio Innova, promoted by Regione Lazio.

 

Who is the artist?

Valeriana Berchicci, (Termoli, 1987) is an artist interested in relational practices related to mass media experimentation who blends the study of the image with the creation of artistic “objects” by using photography, video, and installation.

One project, a thousand voices

The project, developed in 2021, took place in five districts of Rome: Torpignattara, Tor Bella Monaca, Corviale, Trullo and Centro and is divided into various phases. We started by carrying out interviews with the inhabitants of the neighborhoods who were asked to tell some memories about the places where they grew up or where they live. The audio tracks were subsequently uploaded to a digital platform consisting of a map with which the public can interact as if the city were an anthropomorphic being with a voice and memory. A final phase of the project consists of workshops, built in the same neighborhoods and aimed at various age groups. We used various tool to create an alternative representation of the places to the usual one: from drawing to photography, the workshops were a stimulating and interactive meeting moment that helped us to fully understand the nature of these places.

 

One project, a thousand voices

On the digital map, in correspondence with each district, it is possible to listen to the audio collected and it is also possible to upload others independently, enriching the platform. In another section there are also all the postcards and additional photographic / video material created during the project.

We have tried to show a hidden part of the city, hidden not only because the project presents areas of Rome that are not very touristy and sometimes unexplored, but also because it is not the architectural characteristics of the places that emerge but their memory and the memory of those who find them. has crossed.

The city is transformed into a chorus of emotions and memories ready to guide anyone who wants in a path that goes beyond the usual temporal and geographical lines. Not a tourist guide for those who are afraid of getting lost, but a map for those who want to experience a city rich in history like Rome in the deepest way.

The voices

The newsstand

The device used is a reworking of a newsstand from the 1800s which, in this project, became a link between the artist and people. The public is invited to approach the microphone available on the structure and to record their voice, which will then be uploaded onto the digital platform.

The newsstand also has the function of collecting postcards: the artist has previously taken photos depicting unusual views and details of the neighborhoods, which have been transformed into real postcards and sent, allowing the memories to come out of their geographical limits and cross every border.

 

Cityscapes – Digital Museum of Memory

The Cityscapes – Digital Museum of Memory project, presented by CAP – Cities Art Projects and artist Valeriana Berchicci, is the winner of the Lazio Region’s Lazio Contemporanea – Lazio innova call for proposals.

The project, developed in 2021, took place in five neighborhoods of Rome: Torpignattara, Tor Bella Monaca, Corviale, Trullo and Centro and is divided into several phases.

The city is thus transformed into a chorus of emotions and memories ready to guide anyone who wants to, on a journey that breaks out of customary timelines and geography. Therefore, it is not a tourist guide for those who are afraid of getting lost, but a map for those who want to experience in the deepest way a city as rich in history as Rome.

Click here to discover the platform

If children wanted to turn the entire city into their own personal museum, what would they take?

Have you ever tried asking them?

During the Cityscapes – Digital Museum of Memory project, we asked ourselves these questions and together with children from the Trullo, Corviale, Tor Bella Monaca and Torpignattara neighborhoods, we conducted several collage workshops.

With CAP we asked children what they would like to see in their personal museum and then we asked them to shape it by cutting images and sticking them on a map of Rome.

We have collected some of the most significant shots of those days and decided to show you the scans of the imaginary maps / museums that the children created.

 

Cityscapes – Digital museum of memory

The Cityscapes – Digital Museum of Memory project, presented by CAP – Cities Art Projects and artist Valeriana Berchicci, is the winner of the Lazio Region’s Lazio Contemporanea – Lazio innova call for proposals.

The project, developed in 2021, took place in five neighborhoods of Rome: Torpignattara, Tor Bella Monaca, Corviale, Trullo and Centro and is divided into several phases.

The city is thus transformed into a chorus of emotions and memories ready to guide anyone who wants to, on a journey that breaks out of customary timelines and geography. Therefore, it is not a tourist guide for those who are afraid of getting lost, but a map for those who want to experience in the deepest way a city as rich in history as Rome.

Click here to discover the platform

With teenagers and adults, we crossed the neighborhoods trying to find what we want to call “an oversight point” through Photo-geographical walks. We asked participants to take photos of details that they felt were representative of the neighborhoods. The use of analogue cameras instead of digital ones helped us to reflect on what we wanted to depict and capture, leading us to observe the surrounding space even more and to reflect on the neighborhood.

The results are intimate photos which create a real storytelling of both people and the city.

 

Cityscapes – Museum of memory

The Cityscapes – Digital Museum of Memory project, presented by CAP – Cities Art Projects and artist Valeriana Berchicci, is the winner of the Lazio Region’s Lazio Contemporanea – Lazio innova call for proposals.

The project, developed in 2021, took place in five neighborhoods of Rome: Torpignattara, Tor Bella Monaca, Corviale, Trullo and Centro and is divided into several phases.

The city is thus transformed into a chorus of emotions and memories ready to guide anyone who wants to, on a journey that breaks out of customary timelines and geography. Therefore, it is not a tourist guide for those who are afraid of getting lost, but a map for those who want to experience in the deepest way a city as rich in history as Rome.

 

Click here to discover the platform