Erzë Dinarama – Fluvial Rights. Po River’s Biodiversity, Climate Change, and Pollution
Host / Region
OGR Torino Turin, Italy – Po River
Abstract
The project explores the commoning of the Po River, emphasizing a community-oriented model for river conceptualization, management, and biodiversity-focused “water thinking.”
Keywords
fluvial ecosystem, collaborative citizenship, water commons, community oriented model, collective stewardship
Description of the regional challenge
The Po river plays a vital role in terms of space in the city of Turin, although it is marginal in the town’s infrastructural, social, economic and biodiversity actions. How can the Po River become a part of Turin, and how can the population sensibilise and the river’s waters be healed and cleaned to favour species that thrive in it?
How can the river become a core point of perceived value for the city? How can its healing provide positive effects on communities?
Region information
Turin, chief town of Piedmont (Italy), is crossed by the Po River, the most considerable flowing body of water on the peninsula, which in its Piemontese section crosses two UNESCO biospheres (Monviso and Collina Po), examples of virtuous coexistence of human and non-human species. Although it is a significant source of biodiversity with great potential as a social infrastructure, the river is considered by Turin more an obstacle than a resource.
The investigation of this residency focuses on the river from its sources springing from Mount Monviso – which are increasingly dry in summer due to the gradual disappearance of the glaciers supplying it – until its urban section in Turin where the interference of industries can also be studied.
How is the mission S+T+ARTS driven?
A highly collaborative residency bringing together diverse stakeholders with expertise in wastewater treatment, digital technology, health care, biodiversity, environmental engineering, environmental chemistry and aquatic ecology, working towards the design of new measures to reduce pollution and to encompass the entire life cycle of biodegradable “greener pharmaceuticals”. As an artist, you will take an active role in questioning existing systems and boosting awareness around this challenge through a tangible artwork or an innovative application, product or service that contributes to a pollution-free environment. CHANGE
The result of the residency will be shown in STARTS partner, Bozar- Centre for Fine Arts (Brussels), during the STARTS4Water exhibition in Fall 2022. CHANGE
Artist-in-Residency
Erzë Dinarama is a Kosovar architect, interdisciplinary designer, and researcher working at the intersection of urbanism, landscape architecture, and ecology. Erze explores the complexity of environmental challenges through science and design, rendering these challenges visible through aesthetic investigations. Erzë has been engaged in teaching at various institutions, including the Polytechnic University of Milan, Piacenza, the Polytechnic University of Turin, the School of Design in Milan, Domus Academy Milan, and the Polis University in Tirana. She has shown her work at conferences such as eCAADe, Acadia, and CAADRIA, and has exhibited at the Pecci Museum.
About The Project – Fluvial Rights. Po River’s Biodiversity, Climate Change, and Pollution
The project explores the commoning of the Po River, emphasizing a community-oriented model for river conceptualization, management, and biodiversity-focused “water thinking.” The project bridges digital commons—online platforms for data sharing and community engagement—and water commons, promoting the river as a shared resource that requires collective stewardship. It unfolds through two interconnected aspects: an interactive online platform and a water prototype.
The project promotes “common sensing”—a collective effort to sense and understand river environments. The interactive online platform is central to the project, focusing on the exploration of microstories—narratives highlighting the practices and perspectives of stakeholders along the Po River. These microstories illuminate how communities adapt to challenges such as increasing drought due to disappearing glaciers. By building territorial narratives from the ground up, the project showcases diverse ecological practices and community initiatives shaping the river’s landscape. These stories are documented and represented using systems thinking causal loop diagrams.
The second aspect involves translating these practices through a prototype, implementing learnings from the microstories into tangible solutions, emphasizing the integration of situated digital and ecological commons, and embodied learning. Overall, the project aims to foster a deeper understanding of the river’s ecosystem dynamics and the resilience of local communities facing environmental challenges.
Jury statement
“The Erze Dinarama proposal could balance and sensitively address both the social discourse related to the River Po body of water and the technological and innovative potential of phytotechnologies that reside in it. What particularly captivated the jury was the concept of “micro-story,” which is meant by the artist as a pivotal concept to get to know and truly understand the landscape and environment in which she will operate. Through the recollection and documentation of these micro-stories (testimonies, interviews, field recordings), Dinarama proposes to build a platform that would help underline the heritage of the River Po while bringing it towards a more ecologically responsible future. This concept was considered fundamental by the Local Partners, who felt seen and truly taken into account by the project. It also was a relevant departure point for OGR to connect more and more with its surrounding social tissue and use its technological potential in a responsible, experimental ecological development of the river infrastructure.“
Residency support network
