The Salemi Project

Our big idea is to help the town of Salemi in Southern Italy become a thriving arts hub, focused on contemporary ceramics.

Our Plan: Make Salemi a Recognised Centre for Contemporary Ceramic Art

In many places in Europe, small towns are losing people and energy, and Salemi is one of those towns. 

Salemi is bursting with potential. You can feel it as you walk through the beautiful old town, with its stone laneways and views of rolling vineyards.

This is a town full of old buildings, narrow streets and with a very long history. When you walk through Salemi, you feel like you are stepping back in time because of the mix of historical buildings - the Arabic walls, the Norman castle and the Italian churches.

One of the most important things that happened in Salemi was a long time ago, in 1860. A famous Italian leader named Giuseppe Garibaldi picked Salemi to start his big plan to bring all of Italy together as one country. For a very short time, Salemi was even the capital of Italy! For this reason, Salemi is considered by many to be the birthplace of Modern Italy.

Why It Matters: Saving Small Towns

Lots of towns like Salemi are getting quieter because there are fewer young people, who move out due to the lack of opportunities and new projects available to them.

When you talk to Salemi locals, almost all of them have children or cousins who have moved to mainland Italy or further abroad to find opportunity. We want to turn Salemi around. Our goal is to turn Salemi into a success story by using art to make the town an attractive place for artists to come and live and to attract a new wave of interest from tourists interested in something new and different.

Our Goals: Four Big Steps

Create a Top Ceramic Arts Centre: Make Salemi famous for ceramics and attract artists from all over the world.

Encourage People to Invest Here: Make it easy and safe for people to put money into Salemi, especially in things that visitors will like.

Boost Salemi’s Economy: We want to help the whole town. This means creating more jobs and attracting more people to spend money in Salemi.

Build a Foundation of Support: We want to find people who love ceramic art and want to support it by sponsoring artists and and supporting projects to help turn the town into a popular ceramics hub.

Starting Out: 2024 Plans

First, we'll set up the Salemi School of Ceramics to start teaching people about ceramics. 

We'll also start programs to help beautify the town and prepare the foundations for more changes in the next few years.

Our project isn't just about making pottery. It's about making the whole town better - through more jobs, more tourists and more fun events. This means Salemi can grow into a happy place to be.

We care about making sure our project is good for the town and the environment. We want to make Salemi better without causing unnecessary problems for the people who live here. That’s why at every step of the way, we are collaborating with local businesses and residents to be guided on our path. 

Be a Part of This

We invite you to join us. Whether you're an artist, someone who wants to help, or just love the idea, you can be a part of making Salemi an even more wonderful place than it already is.

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