Museums as places for intercultural dialogue - Network of European ...

InstitutionBotanical Garden of TurinProject coordinatorsFor the Botanical Garden:Rosanna Caramiello, Director, rosanna.caramiello@unito.itFor the working group A Heritage for All:Sandra Aloia, researcher in cultural economics, sandraaloia@katamail.comPatrizia Trebini, external consultant of local CTPs (former teacher),patriziatrebini@virgilio.itTarget groupsOne class of immigrant students (youths and adults) from CTP “Parini;” one classof students from a local high school specialising in art subjects; native and migrantusers of a community centre (ASAI – Association of Intercultural Animation) basedin the neighbourhood of San Salvario, Turin’s multiethnic heart.There’s a garden in every storyThe Botanical Garden, established in 1729, is a branch institute of theDepartment of Plant Biology of the University of Turin. It preserves anddisplays specimens from the local flora as well as exotic curiosities.There’s a garden in every story was not initiated by the BotanicalGarden, but was launched as the continuation of A Heritage for All(2005-2007), a three-year programme of the City of Turin’s Departmentof Cultural Heritage Education aimed at promoting the culturalparticipation of “new citizens” by experimenting with story-tellingand other forms of active involvement of immigrant communities instructuring museum visits and interpreting collections, in which most ofthe project team (teachers of local CTPs - Centres for Adult Educationand Training, cultural mediators and a researcher in cultural economics)took part.The Botanical Garden joined the project and represented the idealspace for planning and implementing the activities; partnership with theGardens of the Royal Palace of Venaria was also important.Objectives• To promote diversity as an opportunity for mutual self-enrichment(as highlighted in the history of the Botanical Garden and Venaria’sGardens: presence of exotic plants, hybrids);• For autochthonous participants: to approach and appreciatedifferent cultures starting from the surrounding reality, by discoveringthe distant origins of familiar parts of the city;• For participants of immigrant background: to create a connectionbetween their “new home” and their original culture.PhasesThe project was based on a study of target groups’ needs carried outin the framework of the programme A Heritage for All, which, by makinguse of the quantitative and qualitative techniques of social research,had traced an initial overview of immigrant communities’ participationpatterns in the city’s cultural life.There’s a garden in every story was organised in the following phases:1. Presentation of the project, based on the metaphor of migrants who, liketrees, adapt to a new environment by striking roots in new grounds faraway from home.2. Four meetings were held at the venues of the partners involved (highschool, CTP “Parini” and ASAI - Association of Intercultural Animation),during which the following activities took place: readings of extractsfrom famous authors as well as autobiographical stories written by somemembers of the project team; tea ceremony; brainstorming and otheractivities on the theme of gardens. All these activities triggered reflections,debate, creative writing, pictures, graphic and audiovisual materialsproduced by participants.3. Visits to the Botanical Garden and to the Gardens of the Royal Palaceof Venaria, specifically targeted at immigrant participants, and centredaround histories and anecdotes on plants; participants were provided withdisposable cameras and asked to take pictures of what they found mostfascinating.4. Reading of extracts from Duccio Demetrio’s (a renowned expert ofthe autobiographical method) text Which garden are you from?Autobiographical narratives; use of a range of techniques (video, drawings,short stories) to build on the initial themes of the project. After havingworked, at school and in situ, on the narratives of others, participantsfinally discovered how to become the authors of their own life histories.5. Final event at the Botanical Garden, with exchange of project materialsbetween the different groups (pictures, videos, short stories). A small treewas planted in the “Grove” as a symbol and reminder of the experience.OutcomesThe project had a positive impact on participants in terms of:• Development of a new curiosity and interest towards “other”cultures;• Positive interpersonal relations;• Retrieving and sharing past emotions and experiences;• Acknowledging that the values and meanings of cultural heritage areenriched by personal perspectives;• A thorough knowledge of the Botanical Garden.On the other hand, the fact that the project team was external to themuseum and ran the activities in its spare time on a voluntary basis,meant that some of its members had time management difficulties.46 47