“Streets of… 7 cities in 7 minutes” show by artist Terracciano at the Rich Mix, London.

“Streets of… 7 cities in 7 minutes” show by artist Terracciano at the Rich Mix, London.

H. Aldous Brandisher – Saturday, 5th January 2013

“The idea of this project is to explore the ancestral memories”

Street of… project, 2004 -2013 © Alda Terracciano, co. Alda Terracciano

The exhibition “Streets of… a Living Archaeology”, at the Rich Mix gallery, London, is part of an 8 years running project “Streets of… 7 cities in 7 minutes”, by artist Alda Terracciano.

The exhibition consists of 7 specially-designed units that immerse your senses in the images, scents and sounds of 7 cities – Naples (Italy), Shanghai (China), Mumbai (India), Tangier (Morocco), Lisbon (Portugal), Salvador de Bahia (Brazil) and London (UK).

Collectively named “Streets of… 7 cities in 7 minutes”, these artworks are shown alongside a new installation composed of people’s memories, images and objects collected through their community engagement programme, the “Living Archaeology of the Place”, at the Rich Mix gallery,  which encourages audiences to actively engage with and be part of the project through interactive memory sessions.

The idea of “Streets of… 7 cities in 7 minutes” is to explore the ancestral memories of the seven cities which interconnect three routes: the Indo-European migrations, the Silk Road and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. It is like travelling around the world, investigating the movement of populations, creating links between places and individuals and trying to analyse background and analogies of the people worldwide: the planet is smaller than what is commonly thought. By focusing on these seven zones of transit migration, the installation aims to reconnect people around the world to their collective unconscious memory and shared political and economic history.

Alda Terracciano inspiration comes from her long-term interest in and research on the British cultural landscape and London in particular, which is the most diverse city in Europe and a crossroad for local and global cultural identities.

Alda Terracciano is constantly seeking for contribution to her project. Experiences, stories, images, or video memories of the 7 cities and in particular of London, are welcome from anyone. Contribution will be exhibited in Alda’s new installation, which is particularly focused on memories relating to food; music, sounds and rhythms; religious and traditional celebrations; body movements and hand gestures.

Memories as text, sound, image or video can be submitted via email (coordinator@aldaterra.com ), Facebook (http://ow.ly/g34Jl ), the project blog (http://streetsof.org/?page_id=1841 ), or via website at www.aldaterra.com/takepart .

Alda Terracciano is a video sound artist, theatre dramaturge and academic researcher in performing arts and migration studies. She is Director of ALDATERRA productions. In 2010 Terracciano set up a new company, ALDATERRA Projects, to deliver socially engaged activities within the field of visual arts and trans-media, international exchange and collaborations, intergenerational and educational programmes. She is Founding Chair of Future Histories, the first national repository for African, Asian and Caribbean performing arts in the UK. She worked for many organisations including LIFT, Tamasha Theatre Company, and was advisor of Arts Council England.

From 3rd until 27th January 2013

At Rich Mix gallery, 35 – 47 Bethnal Green Road, London, E1 6LA