Current Projects (2010)
FLORENCE: A scholarship at the Arti e Orafi school for jewelry and artisanship, located in the Oltrarno neighborhood of Florence. Economic changes in Florence, fueled by the tremendous rise of mass tourism, have put serious pressure on the silversmiths, woodworkers, paper makers, and other traditional craftsmen who have defined the Oltrarno as a center of Italian artisanship for more than a century. In conversations with many of these artisans, with whom Context Florence works as part of their walking seminars there, we discovered that their difficulty in keeping apprentices longterm who can learn these crafts and eventually become masters in their own right poses a serious threat to the existence of these artisans, their work, and Florence. To mitigate this danger, we fund a scholarship and internship at the Arti e Orafi Jewelry School and Academy. The recipient of this annual prize is given the opportunity to study at a local artisan in Florence as part of his or her hands-on education.
The 2010 recipient of the Context Foundation's Florence Artisan Scholarship is Elia Rizzo, a native Florentine, who impressed the entire jury with his dedication and passion for his craft. Elia's apprenticeship in the jewelry workshop of Marco Baroni began in February.
USA: Travel scholarship for inner-city students Working with the innovative St. HOPE organization, which has transformed the inner-city community of Oak Park, Sacramento and established a new standard for public education and economic revitalization of urban communities in the U.S., we sponsor a yearly travel scholarship for a high-achieving student. The scholarship includes travel and accommodations in Europe, plus a week-long study trip with the scholars in the Context network. The program is intensive and includes six days of seminars, classes, workshops, and other programs, capped by a writing project.
Past Projects (2007-9)
USA: The 2009 winner of the Context Travel Scholarship was Bianca Vidales, a senior at Sacramento High School in Sacramento, California. Bianca spent 10 days in Rome working with scholars from Context on a documentary art-photography project, which she then shared with the wider Oak Park community back in Sacramento.
Report on the 2009 scholarship.
FLORENCE: The 2009 recipient of the Context Foundation's Florence Artisan Scholarship was Negar Azhar Azari, a young Iranian-Italian jewelry design student who was born and raised in Florence and intended to learn the ancient art of metal working to become a designer in her own right. Read more about Azhar Azari's work on the Context blog
VENICE: Support for the Venice Report. Tourism poses a dire threat to Venice, both to its environment and to its social fabric. On the first point, the wake from cruise ships, daunting garbage management issues, and pollution of various types have a serious impact on a city that is already in a fragile state. On the second point, as tourists and tourism-focused enterprises crowd out the Venetian population, the city faces losing its identity through demographic shifts. We are currently supporting a major effort by the UK charity Venice in Peril to analyze and gauge current threats to Venice, including tourism, changing demographics, and transport. September 2009 update: This report has recently been published.
USA: The 2008 winner of the Context Travel Scholarship was Katie Hagstrom, a senior at Sacramento High School in Sacramento, California. Katie spent 10 days in Rome working with scholars from Context on a documentary video project that looked at how Romans lived with their past.
Report on the 2008 scholarship.
ROME: Study and promotion of Ostia Antica outside of Rome. The ancient Roman town of Ostia is often overshadowed by Pompeii. However, for travelers to Rome it really makes better sense to visit this equally important site instead of making such a long (and fossil-fuel consuming) trip to Naples. Working with the Rome-based American Institute for Roman Culture, we supported a series of projects in Ostia during 2007, including measured drawings of its buildings and promotion of it as a more sustainable destination for Rome travelers than Pompeii.