Slow Cities // Bambyou (Community based artist residency/installation)

Slow Cities was an artist residency promoted by Il Vivaio Del Malcantone, and based in and around Coverciano, a predominantly residential area of Florence.

A three days workshop was set up in collaboration with Eclective and Variazione Urbane to analyse the area and to gather stories and opinions from local citizens. This information fed the next part of the residency during which, along with continuing to engage the locals, I focussed my attention to an abandoned public green area. The residency ended with an open studio event, showing all the research done and an open design for an installation in the abandoned garden. Four months later, helped by members of the association Abuso I built Bambyou, a participative installation, which functions as a fence of the green area and at the same time allows people to compose writings or drawings. Built using only locally sourced bamboo and hemp rope the installation exploits the light and the natural hollow structure of the bamboo, to create a mosaic that can be re-drawn by any passer-by. After only one week from opening the installation, some local citizen decided to remove all the weed from the green area, and started to plan future activities for the use of the space.

Images from the residency

Images of Bambyou

More information and pictures from the residency can be found on the dedicated blog (in Italian): http://slowcitiescoverciano.wordpress.com