Where people inspire

and art lives

Welcome to the Kulturdorf,

a project by the Fondazione Terra Vecchia villaggio

We are a community

We are young persons with and without migration biography, aged between 20 and 30. We have very different educational backgrounds and life experiences and speak different languages. Some of us grew up in a mountain village and most of us are already active in the arts or would like to be.

Participants in the second year

Months of action

Family

We do Art

We tell the stories of a Swiss mountain village. Using artistic means, we respond to the input of local craftspeople, experienced artists and valley residents and relate this to our own (hi)story. Together we work on topics around migration and climate and thus become representatives of an “other” Switzerland and encouraging role models for other young target groups.

Greetings from the Mountains

 

Terra Vecchia is a small village located in the alps in Ticino, the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. It is after a stunning gondola ride and a 15 minute hike down from Rasa that you reach the dozen or so houses. Cozily nested between the forest, a creek and a church, the clear view on one of the wildest landscapes of the country gives Terra Vecchia a feeling of generousity and vastness. You will love it!

1920

A good hundred years ago the small villages population mostly emigrated due to a crumbling local economy

1972

Jürg Zbinden, then 18 years old, discovers the abandoned village, sees its potential and buys it for very little.

1985

The villages reconstruction, as well as that of neighboring Bordei progress under the supervision of the Fondazione Terra Vecchia Villaggio 

2021

After a few years of inactivity the Cultural Village Terra Vecchia is launched!

Meet the team

(with handdrawn portraits by Amir)

Barbara Balba Weber

Barbara is a freelance music and cultural educator and university lecturer at the Bern University of Arts (HKB). She works to make professionals and non-professionals work together, reinventing the idea of what can be a stage to perform on. She is the initiator of the project and is the one bringing everyone together. Also, she bakes the best apple pies and uses every excuse to do so.

Martin & Edith

Martin and Edith came to Bordei nearly 40 years ago. Ever since, Martin has been managing the local agricultural activities, taking care of the village’s shared plot as well as of the environment. He initiated many restaurational projects adapted to the local ecosystems needs. He takes passionate care of his bees (which make the best honey!).

Edith is a self-taught art-therapist. With her unique approach and great emotional and artistic sensibility, she transforms her beautiful atelier into a place of healing and expression. Both have played crucial roles in the preparation and execution of this year’s Kulturdorf and will remain a crucial part of the team in the future. Yay!

Our inspired facilitators

Francesco

Francesco Micieli is a multilingual poet and libretto writer. Born in Calabria, he draws on his works with participants to draw on their personal stories and unique perspectives when expressing themselves creatively.

Zoë

Zoë is a classically trained violinist, with experience and great interest in contemporary arts practice as well as cultural mediation. She teaches violin and music initiation, and is a founding member of the duo desdëa. Zoë was a resident in Terra Vecchia in 2021 and composed a song with a text from one of the storytellers. She is almost always accompanied by her little brown dog, named Mousse.

Juma

Juma, today working as a nurse in Lugano, came to Switzerland 6 years ago from Afghanistan. Since joining the project earlier this year he has been curating many of the activities with a particularly diverse group of participants.

Meet Esma

and the Storytellers

Esmail, or just Esma, is a young Afghani who lives in Locarno, Ticino. He first heard of Terra Vecchia through his friends, and once he came he became very attached to the place and the activities, with a special passion for dancing and painting. But to him even more important are the people: “When I come here, I don’t think about other things. I just think about here, I’m here. In fact it has been six years that I’ve been in Switzerland, I’ve never had such a good time.” Esma is one of the Storytellers of Terra Vecchia.

Meet Esma

and the Storytellers

The Storytellers are a group primarily composed of refugees now living in Ticino. They have been a crucial part of the project since the beginning, bringing with them their very own perspectives on Swiss society, diverse understandings of art and expertise on life in the mountains. They are coming to Terra Vecchia once a month as a group and intervene in individually throughout. They are joined by current and former residency guests, mostly studying or working in the arts and primarily from northern Germany and Switzerland. 

Meet Esma

and the Storytellers

Esmail, or just Esma, is a young Afghani who lives in Locarno, Ticino. He first heard of Terra Vecchia through his friends, and once he came he became very attached to the place and the activities, with a special passion for dancing and painting. But to him even more important are the people: “When I come here, I don’t think about other things. I just think about here, I’m here. In fact it has been six years that I’ve been in Switzerland, I’ve never had such a good time.” Esma is one of the Storytellers of Terra Vecchia.

The Storytellers are a group primarily composed of refugees now living in Ticino. They have been a crucial part of the project since the beginning, bringing with them their very own perspectives on Swiss society, diverse understandings of art and expertise on life in the mountains. They are coming to Terra Vecchia once a month as a group and intervene in individually throughout. They are joined by current and former residency guests, mostly studying or working in the arts and primarily from northern Germany and Switzerland. 

Feel the art

This year we had a special focus on music, allowing us to create and bring together a unique collection of musical pieces in this year’s Songbook. With filmmaker Jasper Luithlen accompanying us over the whole six months, we have not only a mini-series documenting what we’ve been up to, but also a variety of music videos and performances on our YouTube channel. Curious? Have a look at the last episode of the mini-series in which our Storytellers re-enact the life-changing accident of one of Ali, a young man at the heart of the Terra Vecchia community.   

Grow with us

This year’s Kulturdorf has ended, but we are only warming up. Over the winter and spring, until Terra Vecchia 2023 will take a new format while preserving the inter-cultural creative work at its heart, we will perform parts of our Songbook throughout Switzerland. We are excited to increasingly bring the spirit and art of the Kulturdorf to wider audiences and more public spaces. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay updated! If you’re be interested in getting involved next year, or have a suggested space for a performance centred around our Songbook, please get in touch via our contact page.

Psssst!

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