After the final exhibition organised in Kaunas of the first cycle of ‘MagiC Carpets’, the journey of our flying carpets continues for another three years, ending in 2025.
As in past four years, the aim is to give more voice to the people involved, with the active participation of the communities in the projects organized with the artists in residence.
The projects become tools for shared actions with the public, which will interpret contemporary society, the idea of mutual understanding and shared responsibility, while expanding geographical and conceptual frontiers in different directions.
Residences Magic Carpets 2022 – 2024
YEAR #3
MAGIC CARPETS 2024 – BELONGING
Curated by Paola Farfaglio with the artistic direction of Benedetta Carpi De Resmini
27 september 2024, Biblioteca Laurentina
Artist in residence: Ilona Miknevičiūtė
Local artist: UCCI UCCI
24 June – 27 September 2024, Family House ‘L’Approdo’ – Spes Contra Spem
Local Artist: UCCI UCCI
9 July – 27 September 2024, Laurentina Library
Artist in residence: lona Miknevičiūtė
The Belonging project, part of the European platform Magic Carpets 2024, explores the profound emotional connection that binds individuals to places, communities, and groups. This sense of belonging defines identity, shapes roles, and fosters a deeper understanding of our place in the world. In times of rapid social and cultural change, nurturing this bond becomes essential to promoting inclusion, social cohesion, and intercultural dialogue.
At the heart of Belonging are two inspiring artistic collaborations. The duo UCCI UCCI (Salvatore Crucitti and Gloria Zeppilli) worked with the youth of the foster home L’Approdo, located in Rome’s Vigne Nuove neighborhood and managed by the cooperative Spes Contra Spem. Together, they created the short film Attraversare il drago (Crossing the Dragon), reinterpreting Dino Buzzati’s L’uccisione del drago (The Killing of the Dragon) for contemporary audiences.
Through creative workshops, the young participants tackled themes like diversity and prejudice, transforming the dragon into a human symbol. Their hands-on involvement in costume design, set creation, and scriptwriting made this project a powerful exploration of self-expression and collaboration. Filming took place at the scenic Parco Talenti and the Travertine Quarries of Guidonia, adding depth to the visual narrative.
Meanwhile, artist Ilona Miknevičiūtė brought her creative vision to the Laurentina Library, where she guided children in designing a modular urban garden. This unique blend of sculpture and gardening taught the value of nature as a unifying force, fostering a new sense of belonging within the local community. Inspired by Italo Calvino’s Enchanted Garden, the project transformed the garden into a living artwork—a space where spontaneity and order coexist, offering residents a serene retreat in the heart of their neighborhood.
The Belonging project demonstrates the transformative power of participatory art in building stronger communities. By addressing universal themes such as identity, diversity, and the human connection to nature, it inspires dialogue, inclusion, and a shared sense of purpose in a rapidly changing world.
Discover more about the Magic Carpets 2024 platform and its groundbreaking initiatives on our website.
lona Miknevičiūtė
UCCI UCCI
14 October 2023, Trullo Rome
Artists JULIA JENEWEIN – FILIPPO RINIOLO
10 July – 14 October 2023, Labaro, Spinaceto, Corviale and Tufello neighbourhoods
Artists JULIA JENEWEIN – FILIPPO RINIOLO
During the Festival Città Foresta – Le Cosmicomiche Festival, to foster exchange and collaboration between local artists and associations, the Magic Carpets platform activities were held. From July to October, in the public libraries which are part of the Biblioteche di Roma circuit, the Magic Carpets Italia project entitled Meet Game was carried out in Labaro, Spinaceto, Corviale and Tufello. The project was carried out by of visual artist Filippo Riniolo and theatre director Julia Jenewein (Austrian artist in residence for Openspace.Innsbruck).
Among the objectives of the residency project was the continuation of last year’s desire to make spaces into centres of aggregation, sociality, meeting and play through the analysis and exploration of our history and myths.
Filippo Riniolo and Julia Jenewein, together with the participants of the Cosmic Roles workshops, invented characters, stories and legends from classical mythology to give new life to contemporary myths.With children and young people, during the engraving and theatre workshops, the artists animated these imaginary deities through the creation of masks and performative actions, thus constructing the first act of the theatrical performance. By playing, acting and performing, the participants learnt new skills, integrating different disciplines, creating moments to learn to be together, get to know each other and share.
The final restitution of the Meet Game project was held on Saturday, Oct. 14, during the closing event of the Festival Città Foresta – Le Cosmicomiche, across the spaces of the Polisportiva Trullo and of common area the VIII Lotto. It was an afternoon full of performances, installations, music and more during which all those who took part in the previous workshops and meetings animated the Trullo neighborhood.
26 AUGUST – 08 OCTOBER 2022, Districts of Laurentino38 and Corviale
Artists MATTEO DE MARCO – SUNNY NWUME – BERTA TILMANTAITE
On the occasion of the first year of the second cycle of international projects of Magic Carpets the artists Matteo De Marco (local artist), the Dj Sunny Nwume aka Blackelektronika (Italy) and the photographer Berta Tilmantaitė (Lithuanian artist in residency for Kaunas Biennial) worked on the match of Art – Ecology – Nature themes to encourage a conscious reflection on the relationship between urban spaces and natural environment.
The aim of the project, entitled City Jungle, was to stimulate the desire to rediscover the green areas that frame the roman suburbs to be experienced as places capables of encouraging confrontation, dialogue and the sharing of emotions and experiences.
The project took place in the months of August, September and October in the roman districts of Laurentino38 and Corviale. The Final Event of October 8th was part of the Festival Città Foresta, the winning project of the “Estate Romana 2022” call, to increase the collaboration between artists and local associations. The workshops aimed to raise awareness among children, teens and adults on the issues of sustainability and environmental education.
The artists Sunny Nwume and Berta Tilmantaitė worked synergistically between the districts using two differents media, photo and audio, creating and unprecedented narrative of the suburbs. By recording and mixing of sounds, voices, noises and the juxtaposition of photographs, the artists managed to escape from the classic photojournalistic vision of the districts and give life to what remains still too hidden.
Kaunas Biennial (Kaunas / Lithuania) – Coordinating Entity and Leading Partner
Latitudo srl (Rome / Italy)
New Theatre Institute of Latvia (Riga / Latvia)
LAB 852 (Zagreb / Croatia)
META Cultural Foundation (Bucharest / Romania)
Jam Factory Art Center (Lviv/ Ukraine)
Ideias Emergentes (Porto / Portugal)
Novo Kulturno Naselje (Novi Sad / Serbia)
Openspace.Innsbruck (Innsbruck / Austria)
Trempo (Nantes / France)
Tbilisi Photo Festival (Tbilisi / Georgia)
Wroclaw Institute of Culture (Wroclaw / Poland)
Tartu 2024 (Tartu / Estonia)
OPENART (Örebro / Sweden)
Folkestone Fringe (Folkestone / UK)
Diyalog (Istanbul / Turkey)Partner
EVA International – Ireland’s Biennial (Limerick / Ireland)
ZKU / KUNSTrePUBLIC (Berlin / Germany)
Prague Biennale (Prague / Czech Republic)
Centre of Contemporary Art (Tbilisi / Georgia)
