Tripolis is a single-minded way to interrogate and interact with urban public space in the three City Mine(d) cities: Brussels, London and Barcelona. Arts interventions on public spaces will contribute to a positive atmosphere and invite people to participate, to create or to congregate on the chosen spaces. Central themes are 'Temporary use' in Brussels, 'Media and technology' in Barcelona and 'Transit zone' in London.

"Tripolis, Urban Art and the Public Sphere" was launched on 22 June '05 with PRECARE - a workshop on temporary occupation of empty spaces in the city - and will run until March 2006 - when an international conference will bring together experiences and reflections on the project.

3 'tools' - L-Atlas, ReadyMades, Conference/Publication – wil go beyond the local character of the interventions and will reflect the inter-city ambitions of the project. Exchange, networking and intervening will dominate Tripolis. We think that the creation of new forms of communication and presentation and support for new urban initiatives and creative participation are crucial for the future of the city.

TRIPOLIS is a City Mine(d) project sponsored by Cultuur2000, cultural programme of the European Union. >from *tripolis site*

Tripolis in Barcelona:Visquem Can Ricart
Urban creativity in a space for the 21st century
technology workshops, European encounter and open activities. july 27-30, 2005

Can Ricart is a unique space for urban creativity.

Since its construction in the XIXth century, through the work of several generations, the manufacturing colony Can Ricart has brought to life a complex and rich social, productive, creative and cultural fabric. Can Ricart has become a reference of European industrial heritage, with unique opportunities for the urban regeneration of Barcelona.

Paradoxically, Can Ricart is now threatened with expulsion by the City Council planning proposals in the framework of the plan 22@. However, there are viable alternatives, like the ones developed by the civic platform "Salvem Can Ricart" that brings together production, crafts, arts, leisure, innovation and experiment.
Raising the awareness of the value of Can Ricart went through several stages. At first the value of the productive capacities of companies located on site was recognized. Contrary to the existing image of their obsolescence, they are very innovative and still growing. In a second step the recognition of the heritage value of the factory, one of oldest of the city.

The following stage "Visquem Can Ricart" will explore the scope of cultural creation. During four days of public activities will highlight the creative potential of Can Ricart - home to projects like Musikomuna, AXA/Can Font, Flea, Nave 7 or Hangar - as laboratory for the new cultures and the new forms to live and to work in the city.

The objective of the days is to demonstrate how the hidden potential of urban spaces can be made manifest by cultural activities.

With this objective "Visquem Can Ricart" proposes three lines of work:
… To reactivate the space of Can Font and by extension the one of Can Ricart.
… To recuperate the creative network generated by and in the surroundings of Can Ricart.
… To explore the potential of 'new technologies' in this urban space.

The proposals will be gathered and explored in a workshop on 'new technologies' - with the participation of groups from Brussels, London and Barcelona (Parkbenchtv, Hacklab, Reseau Citoyen, Telenoika, R23, Xarxa Sense FIls Cooperative, Nice-noise, Cityborg...) . A practical result will be the construction of a tool for the appropriation of public space - a caravan (GuaGua) transformed for the occasion. On the other hand, the days will foster encounter between the different groups, neighbours of the district and the productive and creative fabric of the factories in Can Ricart.

' Visquem Can Ricart !" makes part of the project "Tripolis, Urban Art and the Public Sphere", from City Mine(d) supported by the European Union, program Culture 2000; Generalitat de Catalunya, Departemento de Cultura; and the Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie (Flandres-Brussels).

This project was started by citymine(d) and context weblog.

related context
> citymined. 'our ultimate objective is to realize an international urban movement.'
> can ricart + parc central, urban space of 21th century. june 10, 2005
> pervasive and locative arts. 'what kinds of creative, social, economic and political expression become possible when every device we carry, the fabric of the urban environment and even the contours of the earth become a digital canvas?.' january 28, 2005
> cityborg.net, a digital interface with our world. 'a cultural project oriented to build a digital open platform to generate social networks in our mediated environments.' december 17, 2004
> an urban media space. 'the increasing presence of mobile communication technologies is transforming the ways we live, construct and move through our built environment.' october 8, 2004
> creative cities. 'a portrait of the values and lifestyles that will drive the 21st century economy, and on the importance of place in the knowledge-driven economy.' june 10, 2002

imago
> Visquem Can Ricart: reactivate + recuperate + explore

note
this post han been edited and published from axa/cant font in can ricart. july 19, 2005 is our fifth anniversary: context we blog, since 2000!

you can find a comprehensive explanation on overall context' project in an article we published in 'quaderns d'arquitectura i urbanisme' this spring (pdf's print version in a zip file):
> context@quaderns [en-ca] [7.65 Mb]
> context@quaderns [es-fr] [7.65 Mb]