LAIC project: Latin American and European artists and creators participate in the UrbanLab workshop

The UrbanLab workshop, one of the main activities on the LAIC project, was held in Medellin, Colombia, from 15 to 19 November. Five artistic and/or cultural organisations from as many Latin American cities took part in this collaborative space: Colectivo LAAL vaca (Puebla, Mexico); The Fire Theory (San Salvador, El Salvador); Colectivo La Ciudad Verde (Green City Collective) (Medellin, Colombia); Escuelab (Lima, Peru), and Centro BijaRi (Curitiba, Brazil). They worked on creative urban development proposals related to the five nodes previously defined and developed around the following topics: memory, education, mobility, violence, and resilience and sustainability. Other artists and cultural operators in other countries in Latin America and Europe (Spain, France and Italy) have also been involved in each node. Among other places and initiatives, the 21 participants were able to visit the Centre for Cultural Development in the Medellin neighbourhood of Moravia, which is emblematic for the role that community cultural practices have played in its development. The initiatives linked to the LAIC began to develop during UrbanLab and the outcome was put together in a public exhibition on the last day of the workshop, 19 November, at the Cultural Centre of the University of Antioquia Faculty of Arts, one of the workshop organisation partners. Work will continue on the projects over the coming few months in the various cities involved and coordinated by each of the respective nodes. On completion they will be officially presented at Bozar, at an exhibition marking the end of LAIC, in May 2017 in Brussels, Belgium. 'Culture and arts supporting social cohesion in Latin American cities' is a project run by Interarts (Spain) and BOZAR (Belgium) and funded by the Directorate-General of International Cooperation and Development, Regional Programmes for Latin America and the Caribbean (Unit G2) of the European Commission. (Photo: Isabel Tobón).