L'evento culturale come momento di creazione di welfare di comunità: la risposta di Suq Genova

The Suq of Genoa is a large theater where every visitor is part of the audience of a collective, choral creation, and at the same time the author and protagonist of his/her own performance. The setting is a temporary bazaar in the Old Port, housing ethnic shops and restaurants, 53 in the latest “in-person” edition, managed by traders with a migratory background active in the city. The central square and some surrounding spaces host shows, concerts, debates, lessons, partly organized by migrant associations, partly selected by the artistic direction. For the visitor, the festival becomes a journey towards his/her own identity recognition, through the comparison with the Other. The visitor of the Suq, as an individual, is part of the aggregating community that he is building with his/her own presence, in the openness and recognition of the new: the feeling of belonging lasts the time of the festival, which unfortunately has never found the economic support necessary for an organic organizational growth, with a greater venue and/or a longer duration. Despite this limitation, the Suq has been recognized as a European Best Practice since 2014 and continues to be a successful experiment in creating community welfare.