Project:  Understanding Territoriality: Identity, Place and Possession

Description: Understanding Territoriality: Identity, Place and Possession was a two-year partnership project co-funded
by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union. It brought together four organisations working
in the fields of visual arts and contemporary design: Fabrica in Brighton, uk, Netwerk in Aalst, Belgium,
Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto in Biella, Italy and Public Room Centre for Design in Skopje,
Macedonia.
Through specially devised exhibitions, artist residencies, audience engagement programmes, debates and
other engagement activities the partners have explored how human territorial behaviours play out at the
personal, local and general level, tried to understand the tensions these create and how these tensions
challenge the sustainability of the nation state and the European Union.
Through its wide-ranging and publicly accessible programme Understanding Territoriality has sought to
open up the debate on this subject by involving the participation of young people, asylum seekers and
refugees, businesses, activists, artists, designers and other cultural workers. It has also sought to highlight
the ways in which individuality, and local (or tribal) distinctiveness can build a wider sense of
‘togetherness’ and co-operation, rather than fuel dissonance and violent conflict.
The partners are relatively small, highly active producing organisations, rather than art museums and the
project has boosted the curatorial and operational practices and the artist and other networks of the
partners via skill sharing and other forms of joint working.
The impact on the partners' learning and thinking is revealed in Understanding Territoriality a 113 page
publication, comprising an introduction by Pascal Gielen and a series of reflections and essays by the
partners and their collaborators.
Details of the partners’ activities are published on the project website, as is the publication Understanding
Territoriality: understandingterritoriality.wordpress.com