About Us
Original Cultures is a non-profit project that connects cultures through modern performing arts, focusing on the fields of music and the visual arts. We are based in Bologna, Italy as well as in London, England.
What do we do?
There are three elements to what we do:
- We run cultural laboratories where artists from different countries and different art strands come together for a week to take part in various artistic activities such as workshops, seminars and live events (showcases and exhibitions). The laboratories allow artists to exchange and learn from each other, culturally and artistically, create new and unique works commissioned exclusively by Original Cultures and share their experience and knowledge with the public via the week’s activities as well as thorough documentation in multimedia format made available online during the week. The laboratories also focus on the production and curation of unique events which bring the artists’ work together in new and unique collaborative ways.
- We re-appropriate known spaces in the city and transform them into something new for the duration of our laboratories and events. We don’t just put on a show in a venue, we transform the venue making it do things that it never has before, in the process allowing the public and artists to be part of a unique event. Already we have transformed both a modern theater and a popular outdoor music venue in Bologna into unique live spaces combining live music and visual arts and in London we transformed a simple wine bar into a live venue, each time incorporating new ways of showcasing both the music and the visual arts.
- We create a platform to foster artistic potential and growth in the artists we work with. We have had well known street artists (including Will Barras and Ericailcane) work with unusual mediums such as Chinese shadows and animation, and we have given musicians and producers (including Om Unit, Tatsuki and Katzuma) the chance to grow and develop their musical identity via our events. Every laboratory and event we put on focuses on giving the artists involved a chance to do something new, to learn from the experience and from the exchange with other artists and most importantly to take what they have learnt and use it to grow their own potential.
Every year we work with a core of artists from field of music and the visual arts to run our laboratories and events. You can find out more about the artists we’ve worked with in our Artists section.
While our focus originally was on creating and facilitating cultural and artistic exchange between Japan and Europe, we have now broadened the focus of the project to include all countries.
Original Cultures also focuses strongly on documentation, making the entire creative process of the events available to the public in a variety of media and creating a permanent record of the exchanges and collaborations taking place to allow the public to learn more about modern performing arts and the potential afforded by such initiatives. For more on our documentation efforts visit our media archive (link in the menu above).
In 2010 Original Cultures is working on a unique audio/visual production in Bologna in July 2010 as well as new projects and collaborations for 2011 and beyond.
What have we done?
Since its inception in 2008 and official birth in 2009 Original Cultures has held three main events.
During its first year, from June 2009 to June 2010, Original Cultures worked with a core of seven artists from the fields of music and the visual arts: Om Unit (UK), Tatsuki (JP), Tayone (IT), Hiraki Sawa (JP), Will Barras (UK), Ericailcane (IT), and DEM (IT). With them we put our first two events, pilots if you will, in Bologna in June 2009 and London in March 2010.
Each event featured week-long laboratories, live showcases, exhibitions, workshops and seminars which involved the artists and the public in a variety of ways. You can find out more about the first two events here (Bologna 09) and here (London 10).
In July 2010 we returned to Bologna for ‘From Inner Space’, a new week long laboratory during which we worked with two collectives from Bologna, Katzuma and The Expanding Disco Machine and Opificio Ciclope. We commissioned both collectives to create a one hour live show based around the concept of Inner Space. Following 5 weeks of preparation and 5 days of workshops/rehearsals the show took place on July 09. We are hoping to take this show on the road in the future.
We have also held exhibitions in July 2009 and February 2010 in London, at the Stolen Space Gallery, and in Bologna, at the Museum of Music. Lastly we are also working with additional artists on various remix projects which further the artistic output of our existing events beyond their final showcases.
Original Cultures has received the kind support of both the City of Bologna and the London borough of Hackney in the past.
A short history
The idea for the project came to Laurent Fintoni shortly before leaving Japan in June 2008, following many discussions with Hiroki Sakaida (owner of the POP GROUP label) and Japanese artist Goth Trad. Upon his return to Europe in September that year he put the wheels in motion to turn the idea into reality and create a non-profit project that would allow cultural exchange between Japan, Italy and the UK at the level of modern performing arts, starting with music and visual arts. With the help of Cristian Adamo, Yassin Hannat and Alessandro Micheli, all based in Bologna, the Original Cultures project was ‘born’ in November 2008.
Each of the four organisers brings a unique set of skills to the project which together combine to give Original Cultures a uniquely rounded set of skills necessary to create and run the events we do. We cover all aspects of the events from communication and media to logistics, visual identity, promotion, catering and more.
If you would like to contact us just use the form or find us on any of the social websites listed on the right hand side.
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The Original Cultures team
Original Cultures is composed of a core team of four organisers:
- Laurent Fintoni
- Cristian Adamo
- Yassin Hannat
- Alessandro Michelli
Together they combine experience and knowledge in various fields including promotions, event management, marketing, web, content creation, technical support, design and more. They are based in London and Bologna.
Alongside this core team of organisers are various staff members who have worked on Original Cultures events and continue to be a part of the extended Original Cultures family. These include artists, film crew, photographers, writers, technical staff, catering staff and more. In no particular order they are: Om Unit, Tatsuki, Ericailcane, Tayone, DEM, Will Barras, Hiraki Sawa, The Slow Breakfast, Hans Lucas, Anna Marocco, Charlie Whatley, Andy Higgs, Alarico Mantovani, Giorgia Soncin, Chu-I, Lisa, Katzuma and The Expanding Disco Machine, Opificio Ciclope, Luca Sgamellotti, Massimiliano Bartolini and more.
Original Cultures also has a variety of sponsors and media partners. Visit our partner’s page for a full list.
