Accogliere Ad Arte is a project born in Naples in 2016. After the recognition of the Federculture prize in 2019, the project became a model which has been exported in other cities, particularly: Matera and Procida (on the occasion of the year as Italian Capital of Culture) and is in preparation in Brindisi.
The goal of the project is to increase citizens’ participation to the life of the city by using cultural heritage as a tool to make people more aware about the cultural value of the place where they live. In fact, the idea behind the project is that cultural heritage must be recognized as such first of all by the living community and if this happens, citizens become the natural ambassadors of the place where they live. To reach the goal of the project, Accogliere Ad Arte creates a network in all the cities/towns where it operates. The network is made of:
- Museum and cultural institutions. They host the project by offering free entrance to the participants or by supporting the project itself, also with an economic contribution;
- Private/Public sectors: private and public institutions that support the project through a sponsorship or by inviting their employees to participate to the project.
- The participants: they are professional categories that work in a direct contact with citizens and tourists, such as local policemen, taxi drivers, employees of the public transport system, employees of Hotel, B&b, restaurant bars and shops. They are involved in activities aimed at increasing their awareness on the cultural heritage of the city.
The activities that are organized within the project are:
- Guided tours: the participants to the projects are guided by experts, art historian, archaeologists and tour guide to visit the museums, the cultural institutions and the places that are part of the network. The participation to the project is completely free of charge for the participants and during the tours they do not only learn to appreciate the history and the art of their city, but also to know the people who work in the cultural heritage sector and the efforts they do to preserve it and to communicate it to people.
- Community Conferences: these events are opened not only to the participants but to the whole community of citizens. Experts in the fields of social sciences, urban regeneration, anthropology are invited to discuss with people about themes related to the idea of responsible and sustainable tourism, active citizenship, social inclusion and many other. The goal is to invite people that normally are not listened by policy makers to discuss with experts in an open debate, where everyone is free to speak.
- Guidebook: every year and in every city where the project is carried out a small guidebook is published for the participants to the project. In the guidebook it is possible to find some information and contacts related to the places that will be visited, but also some advices and some food for thought to help the participants think about the role they have in improving the livability of their city;
- Podcast: to make the project reach the highest possible number of citizens and to allow to participate also those people that do not have a lot of spare time, such as taxi drivers, a first serie of podcast has been realized for Naples. The podcast follow the fictional story of an art expert who moves around the city by taxi; during the rides she speaks with the taxi driver and by listening to their conversation people can learn about different aspects of the story of the city.
As previously stated the project became a model now carried out in several cities. The structure remains more or less the same, with small adaptation according to the specific needs of the city where it is carried out.
