IDENSITAT 07 :: INTRODUCTION

IDENSITAT 07 keeps the philosophy and the will which the first edition of the programme ‘Art Públic Calaf 1999' (Public Art Calaf 1999) started with, namely, that of gathering a number of people engaged in creative practice related to public space and social involvement, either through collaboration processes, a practice of intervention, or through a critical and open debate. In the second edition (2001) the totality of activities were redefined thus to widen its perspective and connections. IDENSITAT Calaf / Barcelona 01-02 started out with this aim, and later it was followed by IDENSITAT Calaf / Manresa 05. In the current edition (2007) the city of Mataró adheres to the initiative.

Progressively, it has been consolidating itself as a production programme that essays working styles linked to a particular place, it proposes strategies of engagement with the social field and it establishes cooperation networks with other centres and institutions. The interaction with the context and the close look at the specific elements of its social and cultural fields make the critical analysis possible; it allows debate, questions, and the reinterpretation of specific fragments of social reality, as well as the nearly microscopic observation of dynamics generated beyond local areas.

In addition to this, the network is stimulated by the fact that IDENSITAT is not a programme directly linked to an art centre, but it is outlined as a platform from which a diffuse and hybrid work can be promoted. Many different points of view and disciplines are combined by establishing connections with other institutions, centres and initiatives with the aim of articulating a web of projects in a flexible period of time. In this way it is possible to have the opportunity of establishing cooperation with areas which have traditionally been unrelated to the art world. Thus, new communication strategies and new presentation strategies are set up, so it is possible to reach an audience who does not pay much attention to creative activity.