It is Villa del Gado, in the heart of Catania, that hosts Artieri, the first Festival of Arts and Crafts of Sicily. It starts on December 17th and ends on Christmas Eve with artisans, designers, illustrators arriving from all over Italy. They present unique pieces in which tradition, history, environment and experimentation are concentrated. An ecological Festival that wants to recover ancient crafts with artistic value. In this organizational effort, workshops and opportunities for discussion have been designed. They are useful to show all the "handmade".
Sicily is certainly a place that brings together widespread traditions, in inland areas or near the sea. The involvement of original artists is also combined with a passion for the environment and the territory. It is a necessity of today in order to be able to hand down simple customs and activities to the new generations, also narrated by writers such as Verga, Bufalino, Sciascia, Camilleri.
In urban regeneration projects (as sustainable as possible) what was once done with just a few tools and a lot of imagination becomes passport to modernity. In Catania there will be a synthesis between art and environment as seen in other parts of Italy. In collaboration with the historic Catania bookshop "Cavallotto" during the Festival, two books will also be presented: "Il tonello dei dileggi" (Arkadia Editore) by Salvatore Massimo Fazio and "UAU what days!" (Lunaria Editions) by Vanessa Viscogliosi. Artieri, the promoters say, is basically a love of tradition. “In this edition – they explain Angela Cacciola e Maria Grazia Barbagallo – we strongly wanted the presence of the most important companies in the world of craftsmanship. How can you tell the skilful work of the craftsmen without involving the little ones live in the various stages of processing? “.
Art and crafts certainly require time and dedication and for a week we will try to to get young and very young people's hands dirty. With the puppet workshop with the marionettes of the Napoli Brothers, the weaving workshop of the "Studio Aracne" or the lutherie workshop with the "Areasud" association and the "Zampognarea" Festival. But also with origami works (edited by Valentina Mannino), sewing (edited by Maria Rosa Messina – Artea Lab), clay manipulation (edited by Anna Gallerani).
The love for the territory is the right corollary for all these historic processes. Which will disappear if the context becomes hostile. WWF Sicily, Fieri and Friday for the Future, will be in the field to represent the problems of sustainability in chiaroscuro together with Zero Waste Sicily. The plague of landfills and environmental negligence have conditioned the development of traditions and customs. The programs, so to speak, elaborated by the Region and the Municipalities are blocked by bureaucracy and endless discussions. The oldest among the reasons that do not move things forward. Women - the main connection with historical activities - on the island have been the protagonists of civil movements and initiatives. It is appreciable that the "Ciclo&Officina" project dedicated to the theme of waste and connected to the initiative is presented during the Festival “Women for Women and for the Environment”. It will serve to stimulate policy makers.
