Civic use of Urban Commons and Common Goods, workshop at L'Asilo, Naples

L'Asilo, Naples

Within the framework of the European Cultural Creative Spaces and Cities project, hablarenarte has traveled to Naples (one of its handshake partners) in a study visit through community spaces, wh and to perform a facilitation workshop in one of them, the iconic ExAsilo Filangeri.

Workshop Improving working processes in an assembly model

The workshop offered to l’Asilo was intended to improve their internal working processes, after an interview to identify what are the keys that impede a fluid management of space, specially relating to assemblies.

In preparatory conversations different topics arose:

• how to balance the discussions on the management of the space with the ones on broader political issues, or how to balance emergencies with long-term discussions. Indeed, L'Asilo is at the same time a place of political elaboration and a place open to everyone as a shared means of production (e.g. the spaces in L'Asilo can be used for rehearsals, concerts, book presentations, etc.); since there is no artistic direction, both issues are discussed in the assembly. Hence, the assembly needs to avoid that the more urgent themes, concerning management, take too much time, in disadvantage of the broader issues.
• how to make assemblies comprehensive and accessible to outsiders and newcomers;
• how to avoid and deal with sexist or aggressive behaviours, or with people taking too much time in disadvantage of the shyest ones, etc.;
• how to deal with conflicts in the community, within and outside the assembly;

Facilitator Jorge Sánchez-Cruzado

Cultural and Creative Spaces and Cities is an international programme that highlights those grassroots artistic and cultural initiatives that actively transform public spaces and cities, and from this practice proposes a compendium of recommendations and proposals to be implemented in the European Commission. The international organisations involved are:

• Trans Europe Halles (Sweden), European Cultural Foundation (Amsterdam), Peer2Peer Foundation (Netherlands and Greece), University of Antwerp - Prof. Pascal Gielen (Belgium)
• Urban Laboratories: City of Lund (Sweden), Northern Tzoumerka (Greece), Skåne Region (Sweden), Ambasada (Romania), CIKE (Slovakia), Kaapeli (Finland) and hablarenarte (Spain).