A new cultural center is about to open in Bologna: Serra Madre, which will promote dialogue between art and science

A new cultural production center opens its doors in Bologna: it is called Mother Greenhouse and is dedicated to the promotion of an ecological imagination through the dialogue between art and science. Located within the Greenhouses of Giardini Margherita, the project is the brainchild of the Kilowatt cooperative society and aims to create an open and inclusive space capable of generating a positive impact on the community.

Mother Greenhouse focuses on key issues such as environmental sustainability and climate change, using art as a tool to interpret and reframe the challenges of our time. The center will offer art residencies, public programs, workshops and exhibitions, all geared toward building desirable and sustainable futures. The official opening will take place Sept. 12 with an opening speech by Tim Ingold, professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Aberdeen, known for his contribution to the role of imagination in anthropological thought. Following this, three weeks of events will enliven the space with talks, workshops and exhibitions.

Mother Greenhouse is part of an extensive regeneration of the Garden Greenhouses, aimed at transforming them from a seasonal hub into a permanent center of artistic and cultural production. The project, winner of the Culturability 2020 call for proposals, aims to strengthen the artistic offerings of the Greenhouses, connecting scientific and humanistic research, business and art, to address the great challenges of our time.

Among the facilities within Mother Greenhouse are the Spazio Eventi, dedicated to debates and cultural productions, and the Giardino Acquaponico, a regenerated green area with a biolago that promotes a circular economy model. There will also be KW Baby, a space for outdoor education reserved for children from 0 to 6 years old, the multipurpose Spazio Lab space dedicated to the development of transversal skills, workshops, image education courses and the artisanal development of editorial and creative products, and then again the Concept Store, a corner dedicated to sustainability, environment, food and art, where you can find small quality productions, and the Biolago for phyto-purified stormwater treatment and connected to the Aquaponic Garden for a circular economy model in symbiosis with the Greenhouses ecosystem. Thanks to its integrated approach, Mother Greenhouse has also established itself as a S+T+ARTS Regional Center, one of the European centers selected by the European Commission to promote collaboration between art and science.

“We believe,” Garden Greenhouses explain, “that art carries critical keys that allow us to interpret the contemporary and explore complexity, overcoming dichotomies and transforming dystopian visions into solutions for a desirable future. We want Mother Greenhouses to be the center of artistic production where we can build a community of practice between art, research, business, the Third Sector and the local community, where we can activate a permanent laboratory where art generates critical thinking and contributes to imagining solutions for an ecological transition. To make the Greenhouses a place where we can touch alternative models of production and a new balance between nature and culture.” The project, which has been granted a 16-year concession by the Municipality of Bologna, involved an investment of 1.8 million euros and the regeneration of an area of 600 m² indoors, plus 3,000 m² of adjoining parkland. This new chapter of the Garden Greenhouses thus represents a significant step toward building a more sustainable and inclusive future, where art and nature come together to generate change.

A new cultural center is about to open in Bologna: Serra Madre, which will promote dialogue between art and science

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