Mapping Mediterranean Ambiences – With this international project, with the involvement of artists, writers and scholars from other Mediterranean and European countries our project wants to “reconquer” culturally and historically significant places on the Mediterranean which are increasingly used and perceived almost exclusively for tourism. We imagine that with this “cultural resistance” we can draw attention to the gentrification and commercialisation of these places and counteract these developments. We also want to present the results of our encounters to a wider international audience.
Despite all its beauty the Mediterranean is currently in crisis and this crisis affects not only its inhabitants, but also all Europeans and the whole world. This crisis in the Mediterranean has political, economic, religious, ecological and cultural aspects. Many people around the Mediterranean write and reflect on the current situation in this historic region. With this project, we want to introduce them and facilitate their dialogue.
The Mediterranean, once the “cradle of European culture“ is today a problematic, almost neuralgic region. Fences are being erected at the interfaces of the three continents. On the southern and eastern coasts there are demographic and climatic problems, wars and poverty, on the northern coasts there are often mafias, corruption, disorganization, environmental problems and commercial exploitation of resources caused by the tourist monoculture.
The dream of Arcadia is all too beautiful, deeply rooted in the “Grand Tour” cultures of the Northern Europe. The cruise ships, however, for which cheap labour is hired in the once famous Mediterranean ports, now cross the paths of the rubber boats with refugees. Around them the unbelievably beautiful sea rushes, along whose coasts lie landscapes with great history. We want to invite the European public to reflect on this situation on the ground. We want to reflect together artistically and intellectually on the outstanding cultural, geographical and historical features of the Mediterranean without closing our eyes to the problems of this region.