UNLOCK THE CITY! is an international culture-led regeneration project aimed at developing an integrated working method that combines technical scientific and design oriented research with theatre practice, making the latter a tool to trigger sustainable development processes in the post- pandemic city.
The project is being developed in 6 different countries (Belgium, Czech Republic, Italy, Norway, Romania, Spain) and sees the alliance of 4 theatre institutions with a strong international vocation with 2 academies specialized in scenic design and 1 university specialized in the study of landscape.
Within 4 'sample' cities in the participating countries (Antwerp, Barcelona, Milan, Piatra Neamt), the project aims to identify places or urban areas that played a key role for citizenship during the pandemic, and to initiate a research process that explores the concept of limits (economic, social, physical, etc.) in the post-pandemic city. This research will take place on 3 different levels: the physical dimension of urban space (object), community (subject), relationship between urban area and the theatre (relationship).
Over the course of 36 months (3 years), thanks to the close cooperation of artists, theatre operators, students, university professors and experts from different disciplines, the project aims to develop:
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land survey and landscape study of the post-pandemic city;
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the creation and realisation of 12 theatre performances entrusted to 10 European artists;
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workshops and thematic training courses for university students.
These activities will contribute to a macro-project objective: to generate a qualitative and perceptive growth in terms of habitability, accessibility and sustainability of urban spaces in the post-pandemic city through awareness-raising, empowerment and active involvement of communities, bodies, public administrations. Like the city model to which it aspires, UNLOCK THE CITY! is an open project which, through a replicable method & the formulation of concrete proposals for action, aims to make a contribution to the European Union's Green Deal policies.