Chiara Valci Mazzara

As curator for the Kunstverein zur Förderung von Kunst and Kultur am Rosa Luxemburg Platz – and  besides developing and co-/curating various  exhibition projects and shows – Chiara currently works together with the director Susanne Prinz as researcher for the project  SPACEX – Spatial Practices in Art and Architecture for Empathetic Exchange  –  A Marie Sklodowska-Curie Research,  Innovation and Exchange Action,  funded by the European Commission.

The research and exchange project will produce various deliverables such as workshops, lectures, actions, events and shows developed as a result of the research and of the implementation of the network  during the duration of the research action (2022-2025).

The Kunstverein am Rosa Luxemburg Platz has been assigned to RCA, London; Uniarts Helsinki and AVU Prague. Furthermore, more collaborations with the other project network members and art institutions are going to begin while various are already in the development phase. 

Aim:

The aim of Spatial Practices in Art and ArChitecture for Empathetic EXchange (SPACEX) is to realise a cross-sectoral and European-wide knowledge exchange and scoping exercise that enables researchers to test, map, analyse and communicate the ways in which spatial practices effect public exchange and opinion formation in urban spaces, and promote empathetic and inclusive ways of living together.

Background:

SPACEX responds to the troubling rise of populist nationalism and conflict in European societies by engaging new publics and forging a culture that embraces diversity, difference, and discursive exchange within cities, towns and urban sites.

The lack of interdisciplinary knowledge by those working in the cultural sector has significantly affected the way in which the social benefit of cultural activities is understood, articulated and applied. SPACEX proposes that inventing new and inclusive ways of living together, requires the implementation of new transdisciplinary and cross-sectoral practices and methods, that connect spatial practice with cultural sociology, cultural policy, critical pedagogies and behavioural economics. 

Research:

The comprehensive transdisciplinary composition of the SPACEX consortium- 29  beneficiaries comprising of 13 universities and academies and 16 cultural organisations, across 11 EU countries with 1 partner in Palestine – will enable its researchers to undertake secondments in a range of world-renowned academic institutions, research institutes, arts organizations, biennials, urban agencies and a film festival. 

Spatial Practices in Art and ArChitecture for Empathetic EXchange (SPACEX) is a transdisciplinary research action that utilises secondments (exchanges)  between academic institutions, art institutions and third sector organisations in order to scope and map European spatial practices.

The network: