I was a 9-year-old girl named Sofia. My father took me to BASE, a charming space in Milan, during the "Milano Circolare" event. It was a special occasion where I could participate in an upcycling workshop, learning to transform old t-shirts into new creative objects. It felt like a magical world of recycling and creativity.
As I immersed myself in the activity, a thought came to mind. Where were we? What special place was this? I asked my father, curious about the history of BASE. He told me it was an old factory, once called Ansaldo. My mind filled with curiosity as I imagined my grandfather working in that place.
Leaving the workshop, my father took me to explore the building. I observed the vast rooms and metal columns, trying to imagine what it had been like in the past. He told me that there had been a bustling activity inside, with roaring machinery and workers dedicating themselves to hard work. He asked if I wanted to know more about my grandfather. With bright eyes, I nodded. My grandfather had indeed worked in that factory many years ago. He was a skilled mechanic, always busy creating wonderful things with his hands.
As we walked through the empty rooms of BASE, I could almost hear the echo of the workers' voices and the sound of the tools. It was as if my grandfather's story blended with my creative experience. I felt inspired. My grandfather had worked with metals, and here I was, learning to transform old t-shirts into new creations. It was as if he was with me in that moment, guiding and encouraging me to explore my creativity.
That day, BASE was not just an event space but a place where the past and present intertwined. I was proud to carry on the family's creative tradition, knowing that my grandfather would look upon my artwork made from old t-shirts with love and joy.
what the archive is about
The Living Archive explores the potential of (post)industrial heritage to transform production in our cities. We collect stories with participatory heritage methods. The nodes for the local collection efforts are Fab City Hubs (FCH). The collection has been carefully assembled by FCH teams who have been learning about, co-creating and applying participatory heritage-making approaches, emotion networking methodology, oral history principles and creative perspective-taking. Select tags and categories to filter stories in the archive below. Explore their connections in the network graph.
