The new project “Creative Courtyards in San Siro” was conceived as a multifaceted intervention in both space and time, designed to engage deeply with the territory through the active involvement of the neighborhood’s residents. The courtyards—large communal spaces and a key insight in the architectural design of the San Siro district—became, within the project, the workspaces of three artists invited to develop participatory creative paths. These were made possible thanks to the neighborhood’s strong network of local associations, in particular through collaboration with the San Siro Neighborhood Committee, the Italian language school Punto.it, Propositi di Filosofia, and Qubi Selinunte.
The San Siro district represents a unique case within the city. Issues related to educational, cultural, and socio-economic poverty—common to many urban outskirts—are here particularly acute and visible among local adolescents. The area is characterized by the coexistence of 85 different nationalities, a high youth rate (about 18.4% of residents are minors, compared to the city average of 16%, according to the Mapping San Siro study by Politecnico di Milano), a predominantly elderly Italian population, and a high rate of residents receiving psychiatric services.
The project unfolded through the creation of three workshops in Theatre, Photography, and Sculpture, aimed at young people and women attending the neighborhood’s Italian language school. The goal was to transform these groups from passive recipients of culture into active participants—people eager to take part in cultural life, engage creatively, and share their experiences during the final event held on June 4–5.
In parallel with the three workshops, photographer Marta Carenzi and sculptor Martina Cioffi presented site-specific works that placed the courtyards themselves at the center of attention.
PROGRAM
Marta Carenzi – Faces as Places
An exhibition of a photographic reportage centered on the Aler courtyards and, in particular, on their caretakers — indispensable figures who ensure not only the order of these spaces but also help to foster good relationships among residents. The reportage is presented in the form of triptychs, each concluded with images of Madonna statuettes, another constant and silent presence in all the courtyards — figures respected and cared for by everyone, regardless of religious affiliation.
The decision to exhibit the works in the windows of the Casa di Comunità emphasizes the importance of this new local social and healthcare hub, created in collaboration with Aler, which—through the presence of community managersand an open-access clinic—aims to improve residents’ quality of life by bringing new social functions to the neighborhood.
Venue: Casa di Comunità Aler – Piazzale Selinunte
Exhibition of photographs by the Colibrì youth group
Part of the Photography Workshop led by Marta Carenzi.
The workshop invited a group of young participants to step into the role of photographers. After receiving training, they used their own tools—whether cameras or smartphones—to create portraits of themselves and their educators, and later took part in setting up their own exhibition.
Venue: San Siro Neighborhood Committee – Via Paravia 80
Martina Cioffi – A Secret Underground Garden
Site-specific installation; bricks, iron rods, enamels; environmental dimensions.
The artist conceived an installation for one of the most historically charged places in the neighborhood: the perfectly preserved air-raid shelter located in the courtyard of Via Preneste 4. Starting from the brick—a clay module symbolic of human dwelling—and bending its rigid form until it takes on plant-like shapes, the artist reinterprets the space of the bunker, transforming it into an impossible underground “garden.”
The landscape that awaited those emerging from the air-raid shelter during the bombings was one of rubble; ideally, it is from these ruins that the “seeds” of this garden have sprouted.
Venue: Bunker in the courtyard of Via Preneste 4
Marika Pensa – A Journey Around the World
Expressive reading: poems, songs, and music from around the world, performed with the women of the Italian language school Punto.It.
The courtyard, a place of intimacy and sharing, becomes the setting for a sound journey in which the audience can listen to songs, texts, and poems from different parts of the world — read in their original languages and translated into Italian — under the guidance of actress Marika Pensa. The backdrop for this journey around the world is the theme of the tree, which, through its roots, evokes the atmosphere of beloved places, and through its branches, invites us to reach toward the sky, toward infinity.
Venue: Courtyard of Via Paravia 82
During the two days of the final event, it was also possible to take part in an open clay modeling and “engobe” decoration workshop led by Martina Cioffi.
Venue: San Siro Neighborhood Committee – Via Paravia 80
The neighborhood guides — students from class 3H of the Boccioni school, trained by Propositi di Filosofia — accompanied visitors on a discovery tour of the neighborhood, the workshops, and the artists’ works.
The Creative Courtyards Project is part of Fondazione Cariplo’s “Lacittàintorno” programme, which promotes cultural activities engaging residents of fragile urban areas in the reactivation and reimagining of unused or degraded spaces, with the goal of improving quality of life and creating new urban geographies.
For more information about the programme and the various initiatives, visit: www.lacittaintorno.it – Facebook / Twitter / Instagram: @lacittaintorno
