Cultural economies for social change: Euroaxacan Initiative of Transformative Cultures

Posted Jan. 26, 2012 by Maja Kuzmanović

We are happy to announce the launch of the Euroaxacan Initiative of Transformative Cultures (EITC). FoAM joins Performing Pictures, Raketa and David Cuartielles (SE), Spacemakers (UK), nadine (BE), alongside a consortium of Mexican partners supported by the Culture Programme of the European Union. EITC investigates how to enliven cultural economies by combining arts, crafts and technologies from the pre- and post-industrial eras. The initiative focuses on community workshops in the township of Santa Ana Zegache in Oaxaca, Mexico – renowned for its restoration of traditional artefacts and contemporary artistic interventions. EITC extends the current activities of the workshops to include electronics, digital media and permaculture. We look at intertwining craftsmanship and artistic creation with social entrepreneurship and innovation, to safeguard the cultural identity and economic sustainability of Zegache. By creating new economic activities grounded in a revaluing of the cultural wealth of the region, the possibility of return could be reopened for those who wish to find their way home.

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