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OUR PA.S.S

INTRODUCTION

Defining new career opportunities in the panorama of the Mediterranean Cultural Heritage



NEW MEDIA 4 HERITAGE

is the Summer School developed thanks to the agreement between the Academy of Fine Arts of Palermo, the leading body, and the listed university institutes, The University of Jordan - School of Arts Design in Amman (JO) and the University d’Alger 2 in Algiers (DZ). With the aim of strengthening cooperation with the higher education institutions of the countries on the other side of the Mediterranean, the practice of cultural diversity thus becomes a real opportunity for the students involved, with a view to further and future collaborations. On this basis, the proposed program aimed to consolidate internationalization strategies towards greater intercultural awareness.
The project is in line with the recommendations of CNECT, Unit of the European Commission responsible for the development of the digital market for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth; member states are invited to involve public and private bodies active in the fields of art, protection and promotion of the European cultural heritage to encourage digitization, in actions aimed at promoting new ways of using the artistic asset, developing new forms for the conservation, promoting accessibility to cultural material and its digital preservation.
ABA.PA, a Mediterranean institution of excellence in southern Europe, intended to contribute concretely to the innovation of the Mediterranean cultural heritage, offering the participants of the Summer School a high level training specialized in the application of new digital technologies for the protection, promotion and use of Cultural Heritage, with a specific focus on archaeological sites and monuments.
The educational path included not only traditional delivery (remotely and in person), but also the application of practical laboratories on specific technologies, elaborating intervention case studies at Sicilian archaeological and natural parks, and proposing innovative design models that can be replicated at other monumental sites of the partner countries.
The collaboration promotes the new perspectives offered by digital technologies as an opportunity for the future of the historical and artistic heritage of the Sicilian territory.
PA.S.S. aimed to achieve two main objectives: the enhancement of Mediterranean artistic-cultural diversity and intercultural education through the arts, as well as the
acquisition of sectoral skills in the field of digital technologies for the enhancement of cultural heritage.
The results will be achieved in the application of good practices for the promotion and innovation of an educational network, through the improvement of the quality of learning experiences, thus contributing to the definition of specific skillsets (cultural management, media technology for culture, digital archiving, professional design) also favoring the creation of employment prospects for young people in training in the fields of art and culture.

Prof. Luca Pulvirenti
Head of International Relations and Erasmus Mobility
Academy of Fine Arts - Palermo



FOREWORD

The digital age has transformed the way we consume and interact with information, and this has had a significant impact on the field of cultural heritage. The New Media for Heritage, PA.S.S. - Palermo Summer School has been an innovative program that explored the ways in which new media can be used to enhance the preservation, interpretation, and dissemination of cultural heritage. The Palermo Summer School has been developed thanks to the agreement between the Academy of Fine Arts of Palermo, the University of Jordan - School of Arts and Design in Amman (JO) and the University of Algiers 2 in Algiers (DZ).
The Mediterranean region has been a melting pot of different cultures throughout history, and the presence of diverse cultures in the area is of great significance. The presence of different cultures in the Mediterranean area can foster tolerance and understanding between different communities. When people of different cultures interact with each other, they learn to appreciate and respect their differences. This can lead to a more peaceful coexistence and better relations between different countries. Today, we could say that it is more important than ever. The program offered a unique opportunity to learn about the latest trends and technologies in new media, and see firsthand how new media can be used to enhance the visitor experience.
It has been an excellent opportunity, offering a unique learning experience that combines theory and practice, and provides participants with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in this rapidly evolving field.
I am confident that the project has been an enriching experience for all participants, and I look forward to seeing the innovative projects and ideas that will emerge from this program. Furthermore, I hope that this was the first in a series of Euro-Mediterranean collaborations, because of the importance that these relationships have and will have in building bridges and not walls.

Avv. Leonardo Di Franco
President Academy of Fine Arts - Palermo



PA.S.S


Can there be a heritage without memory? And can this heritage truly belong to all mankind when it is closed off, confined, and restrained without being shared and enjoyed by all women and men, without any difference and particularly without any geographic distinction? Too often this heritage, which we claim to belong to the entire humanity, reminds us how far we still have to go to become truly humane.
How many milestones we still have to reach on this tormented and suffering journey towards everyone’s rights. Not only our own rights, as sometimes we forget others’ rights.
And more specifically, can this heritage be the subject of attention by those new technologies favored to make the discovery and revelation more fascinating? Those technological instruments possess in their essence precisely the sense of openness to all. From this extraordinarily peripheral center that is Sicily, “omphalos strabico”, and from our academic post we have given our small contribution to reflect on heritages that cannot have borders and on peoples who must be able to share their heritage. We did it by starting, as pioneers, this summer school, focusing our attention on Sicilian heritage as a case study. From this hypothesis, an idea has become a project on memory and its transmission, thus tracing new pathways on how our heritage can be experienced.


ABAPA Thanks to these new media, we can see the work of art with other eyes, from a new viewpoint leading us to a unique wonderful experience: a sort of heritage open-source.
And how could we do it if not by following this fundamental principle that art belongs to everyone. It is the heritage that we want to leave to our children, having shared it with others and enjoying the richness of the widest possible cultural exchange. Therefore, this path of learning and knowledge was developed with the collaboration of friends from the other side of our common sea. They gave us a wonderful dream of friendship.
This fruitful collaboration with the University of Amman in Jordan and the University of Algier 2 was born under the auspices of Study in Sicily, a project sponsored by the Sicilian Region and by the national agency Indire. Thanks to this project, Algerian and Jordanian colleagues, together with their students above all, exchanged experiences with the students of Palermo in a path of new awareness. Culture exists if there is a community to represent it. It is precisely on this ultimate sense of community that our journey could resume.

Prof. Umberto De Paola
Academic Dean
A cademy of Fine Arts - Palermo

PROJECTS

PA.S.S.  Palermo Summer School


︎FRAGMENTS - simulacra of the universal, archeology
    of our future ︎︎︎ curated by Luca Pulvirenti - 3d SCANS and VR sketches


︎30 ABIES NEBRODENSIS - an iconic 4Sicilian tree ︎︎︎
    curated by Sandro Scalia - photography


︎VIDEO PORTRAITS ︎︎︎ curated by Marco Battaglia e Fabrizio Profeta - video stills


︎MEDITERRANEO FANTASTICO - a soundscape project ︎︎︎ curated by Marco Messina - backstage photos

Locations of the activities:
La città di Palermo, Palazzo Fernandez, Cantieri Culturali della Zisa, Itinerario Arabo Normanno, Tempio di Segesta, Cefalù, Castelbuono, Polizzi Generosa, Parco Regionale delle Madonie.
Within a path of mutual strengthening, the project has supported the development of shared methodologies and practices, so aimed at strengthening the skills of students and teachers involved in the sector of digital applications for the arts.
The training course focused on:
  1. The acquisition of sectoral skills that can be used in contexts working on cultural planning, the protection of the artistic-monumental heritage and the sustainable promotion of Mediterranean Cultural Heritage.
  2. The development of innovative narrative strategies aimed at enhancing and cultural involvement, through active participation and experiential design.
  3. The elaboration of shared methodologies and practices, in the forecasting and definition of frameworks for actions and activities organized in the partner countries.
  4. The development of assistive technologies to promote accessibility to cultural landscapes, museums and archaeological sites.

The presence of academic experts, belonging to the Academy of Fine Arts of Palermo, favored in-depth study of the subject and its applied research. The results of the proposed actions will extend, through networking with partner countries, towards the creation of a research center for technological arts applied to heritage. The project is an unprecedented opportunity for cooperation between Mediterranean Higher Education Institutes, which thus multiplies learning opportunities for students, staff and teachers. The project foresees in the medium term a consolidation of the relationships between the Mediterranean Art Institutes and in the short term specifically the acquisition of sectoral skills for the promotion and protection of Cultural Heritage through the practice of digital languages.

The specific results that will be achieved are:
  • the acquisition of skills in the field of digital applications for Art and Cultural Heritage;
  • the enhancement of students’ technical-digital skills;
  • the elaboration of an immersive didactic that favors multicultural exchange;
  • the expansion of the training offer for all the bodies involved;
  • the production of a feasible and effective visual project for the promotion of sites of cultural interest through the application of new digital technologies.

In the long-term action the cultural and anthropological value of the project is realized in: the internationalization strategy; the active involvement of young students; the strengthening of the geographical and social balance; the consolidation of equal opportunities; the innovation design at an international level.
Furthermore, the project aims to shape new visitor targets through the renewal of engagement technologies and to promote research and innovation in the field of protection and enhancement of cultural heritage; PA.S.S will increase the development of a Mediterranean university culture by offering young people new career opportunities in the panorama of the Mediterranean Cultural Heritage. The itinerant exhibition of New Media 4 Heritage will host the students’ artworks as well as the results of the scientific research.