Keeping Up with Parco

19 May - 1 June

Heeey,

I'm back to the slow life of Monesiglio… but going back in time to May 19th, I was exploring Seville and Barcelona, slowly saying goodbye to Spain and reflecting on the past month I spent there during the Rurality Art Fest project.

It was one month in the beautiful Andalusian town, Estepa, surrounded by a community of artistic people from across Europe. We were focused on creating space for an art festival in the future, as this was the first phase of the project. We talked with local people about contemporary art, showed them in different activities, and discussed the possibilities of the festival—to see the public’s reaction, to find potential sponsors or supporters, and to figure out how and where to begin building the festival.

My role was to support both the team and the participants. Mostly together with Eliza, a volunteer from Bergolo, we facilitated some activities, took photos for the project, supported ideas—and often became part of them ourselves.

The creativity, passion, and hard work that the participants brought led to a photo exhibition and a performance, which became highlights of the project. We also organized activities in local schools, volunteered in museums in nearby towns, ran beach activities with the host organization, shared knowledge with local people, visited the unique Rara exhibition with a performance, and even learned flamenco while hosting an international lunch.

Also we had plenty of time to explore Andalusia—its places, culture, festivals—and meet new people. I visited Ronda with its famous bridge, experienced Las Cruces in Granada, and was amazed by the feria and the procession, especially in our town, Estepa.

It was an amazing experience that gave me lots of inspiration, energy, and new friendships.

I started work again on Friday, and we planned another photoshoot. We went to Altare, a small village with not much to offer—but we met a guy who was interested in our speaking club. Hopefully, we’ll see him there!

That same day, our friend Aitor, a volunteer from Bergolo, celebrated his birthday. We went to his party and had a lot of fun—we danced all night (well, almost!).

After a restful weekend, we hosted the speaking club, for which I prepared an activity: an art challenge. Everyone drew for 10 minutes and then swapped drawings with the person next to them, all while answering some questions about art. Our drawings turned out colorful and funny—just take a look at them!

This week, we mostly worked in the office. On Friday we close it with a walk around the beautiful flower fields near the river in Monesiglio.

Over the weekend, we decided to go on a girls' trip to Alba. During the ride, we had a lot of fun listening to music. Full of energy, we arrived in Alba and explored the market with all kinds of summer things. The highlight of the day was lunch at a sushi place, where we ate a lot! Afterwards, we did more shopping, more walking, and finished the day with gelato – a sweet dot to an amazing day.

On the 1st of June, we attended the Festa del Benessere e dello Sport in Bergolo. Our Parco team handed out flyers and spoke with people about our organization. We also joined some of the activities, like a yoga workshop, face painting, and listening to live music performed by one of our volunteers.

With this sunny day, I’m ending this article. Stay tuned to find out how we celebrated the Italian national holiday – Festa della Repubblica!

- Natália