Exhibition: HOPE ~ 11 projects reclaiming the future now!

Repair is not radical! 

Promoting Repair-Service and responsible consumption through an In-Store Installation and Communication 

#reclaim the city #right to the city #inclusive 

ARBO SIBERIA is an ongoing project to transform a hidden, unused area of Bolzano into an open and inclusive space. It is a project of A place to B(z) — a growing movement to reactivate underused urban areas and create space for independent culture, bottom-up initiatives, and community-driven placemaking. Across Bolzano and many other cities, public and non-commercial spaces are becoming rare. Thereby, often those who don’t conform to the norm are pushed out. ARBO SIBERIA reclaims space as a creative and political act, upholding the Right to the City, especially for marginalised and invisibilised people. Building on input gathered during interviews and workshops, we developed a shared vision, a code of conduct, and a visual and organisational identity to guide the project’s future. Additionally, in a series of Flashmobs we highlighted the importance of places where you don’t need to consume in order to belong — spaces for all.  

Students: Clara Dolder, Greta Cazzanelli, Lilly Therese Tietze, Linda Enrich 
Links: aplacetobz.com | instagram.com/aplacetobz | instagram.com/hinsetzen.hinlegen.dableiben
Partner: A place to B(z) 
Supporter: Afzack/Zoona, Forum Prävention, Dormizil, Vinzi Verein, Bozen Fiorisce, Climate Action, Jugenddienst Bozen, Filmclub Bozen, Papperlapapp, RavenSound, Takeone, Weigh Station, PlatzProjekt, Kiosk of Solidarity, Bolzano Solidale.  

Aufwind 

Establishing a material depot for reuse and co-creation in Schlanders 

#materialflow #circularity #community #joinforces #sustainablefuture #reuse 

„Aufwind“ envisions the creation of a thriving material depot at BASIS in Schlanders (Vinschgau) — a space where post-consumer materials can be collected, shared, and creatively reused by the inhabitants and local craftspeople. The depot is both a warehouse for leftover objects and a starting point for a more circular and connected way of living: where waste becomes a resource, and citizens become co-creators. 

We began by listening and mapping needs: A public survey and a material flow map helped uncover local needs, resources, and potential collaborators. To activate the space, we organized a series of interventions: from building furniture out of reclaimed doors and painting walls, to running a hands-on workshop during the denk.mal Festival. 

Visitors created windmills and contributed design ideas for the facade, which were  projected on the wall later in the evening – bringing the depot to life. A follow-up participatory workshop with local stakeholders explored future visions and concrete next steps. The depot is now growing – and you’re invited to be part of it! 

Students: Julia Tebbe, Liselotte van Beveren, Franziska Muncz, Lisa-Marie Halwax 
Links: basis.space
Partner: BASIS 
Supporter: Anna Hilber, Michael Schuster, Isolde and Hannes Goetsch, Katrin Gruber, Paul Kofler 

Omas gegen doom Scrolling 

Social media experiments against the turn to the far-right 

#DigitalProtest # Representation #Counterpublics #Visual Strategy #OmasgegenRechts 

This project explores how social media can become a space for protest and intergenerational dialogue. It supports Omas gegen Rechts Bozen in their stand against right-wing populism and disinformation — not through slogans, but through visual storytelling, memories, and educational content. It responds to a core issue: far-right actors thrive on Instagram and TikTok using emotionally charged, misleading, and highly visual narratives — while democratic and eco-social voices often fail to engage younger audiences. Through visual experiments, the project proposes an alternative strategy that is human, accessible, and rooted in care. It creates tools for digital activism that amplify elderly voices and build bridges across generations — showing that democracy lives in how we speak, share, and remember. 

Students: Tatiana Tverdokhlebova  
Links: omasgegenrechts.at 
social media channel   
Partner: Omas gegen Rechts Bozen Bolzano 

RE:imagine 

Participatory and Playful re-design of an urban schoolyard  

#ParticipatoryDesign #PlayfulDesign #UpcycledPlay 

Play is a fundamental right of every child. Yet many public schools lack the funding or support to provide enriching play environments—despite their essential role in children’s social, physical, and emotional development. In response, we partnered with two classes (3rd and 4th grade) at Albert Schweitzer Primary School in Merano to transform their bare, concrete schoolyard. Over the course of eight creative workshops, the children took the role as experts of play. We used mapping, drawing, and prototyping to explore their needs and desires. Together, we upcycled tires into seats and game tables, repurposed bamboo and a paraglider into modular hideaway structures, and designed a painted, open play parkour course. The project seeks to shift decision-making power toward children while developing a practical toolkit that can serve as a blueprint for other schools facing similar financial challenges. 

Students: Helene Kunze, Malin Paucke, Alice Yorke 
Partner: Albert Schweitzer Schule  
Supporter: Elisabeth Mahlknecht, Elena Kostner, MaMa, Roland Caminada, Simon Wallis 

Keep the fire alive 

A multifunctional stand to gain attention for Klimacamp Alto Adige 

#climateaction #localengagement #climatenarratives #realutopia 

Climate change is a frightening and discouraging topic that makes people feel overwhelmed, paralyzed, and lonely. But just like a campfire, Klimacamp is an event that brings people together, offering warmth, light, community and a shared purpose. Every year, a group of volunteers in South Tyrol creates this space of hope, inspiration and action with workshops, talks, concerts and outdoor activities, and our project helps to gain more attention for Klimacamp keeping this fire burning all year long. We created a mobile multifunctional stand that can be used as an info point, a meeting table or a symbolic fireplace. Built around a repurposed oil drum, it can travel to events, markets and other public spaces, sparking conversation and connection wherever it goes. Like that, the colorful, glowing spirit of Klimacamp can travel, grow, and invite more people to gather around the fire of hope joining forces to fight for climate justice.   

Students: Elisa Di Rocco, Tjorven Betolatus 
Links: https://klimacamp-altoadige.bz/ | https://www.instagram.com/klimacampaltoadige/ 
Partner: Klimacamp Alto Adige 
Supporter:  Climate Action South Tyrol, BASIS 

Guardians of the Mountains 

The role of the shepherd here in South Tyrol – giving visibility.

#shepherds#biodiversity#awareness-campaign 

Shepherds aren’t just romantic figures of the mountains—they’re guardians of Alpine biodiversity. In South Tyrol, their ancient role is fading, reduced to a charming stereotype. But the truth is that shepherds face harsh realities: banned nomadic herding, poor pay, and a lack of recognition. 

Besides taking care of their animals, a big part of their work is maintaining pastures, keeping invasive plants under control and preserving the habitat of diverse species. Still, their work is undervalued, and visitors of the mountains often unknowingly disturb the delicate balance. 

In collaboration with EURAC Research we created a multimedia campaign—through billboards, flyers, and a dedicated website. This initiative aims to reach people where their relationship with nature takes shape: on hiking trails, mountain huts, and in online spaces where outdoor experiences are shared and planned. Through the specific touchpoints, the public will better understand the shepherd’s role, giving it greater relevance. In the long term, this could become a starting point for a structural shift in how shepherds’ work is valued. 

Students: Pia Rehwald, Emanuela De Nitto, Shirin Kiefer  
Links: guardiansofthemountains.com
Partner: Eurac Research  
Supporter: Alpenverein Südtirol, Naturmuseum Bozen

Support Lines  

Find support in Bolzano: A website for migrants with urgent needs. 

#migrants #support #alliances  

For asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants in difficult situations, the journey to ensuring a livelihood is complex and straining. From learning the language to accessing services needed for a dignified life, they often have to move around the city to find the right information. 

Many times, the information given to migrants is hard to understand due to language barriers and bureaucratic complications, even worse some information is sometimes simply outdated. This happens because services to migrants change every year, making regular updates a challenge.   

Support Lines is a website that helps to find support. It includes maps showing places and services, along with key information. Through simple visual language and translation options, it makes the information accessible and easier to understand. Thanks to the institutions supporting this project, the content will be updated regularly. 

Students: Emma Laura Baylon Ibarra, Anna Ruth Kaufmann  
Links: Support Lines  
Partner: Bozen Solidale 
Supporter: Schutzhütte   

Rituale Sylvestro  

Reinforcing an healthy and conscious connection between human and nonhuman beings, while counternarrating mass tourism dynamics. 

#consumption #repair #responsibility 

The community academy, La Foresta, is structuring the tourist experiences within the NEB (New European Bauhaus) frameworks, which enables the green transition of our societies and economy through tangible experiences at the local level. 

To begin with, the project wants to reverse the dynamics of extractive tourism, which branches out in different ways and contexts. From the pollution of places of interest, and the extraction of resources to the lack of reciprocity as the basis of the relationship between the context and tourists.   

To do so, the fabric is a reflective artifact highlighting the importance of establishing a balance between consumption and parsimony. For this reason, four guidelines will be visible, (inspired by the book “Braiding Sweetgrass”, R.W. Kimmerer: 2013): “Introducing, A sking permission, Taking and giving, Being thankful”, whose aim is to foster reflections about the way we approach places and their sources through inputs and exercises.  

Students: Alice Peruzzo, Isolde Vadalà  
Partner: La Foresta 
Supporters: Chiara Muri, Irene Manfrini, Flora Mammana, Giacomo Lorandi, Sara Spitaleri, Sebastiano Moltrer, Carmen González Miranda (stationfortransformation), Luigina Speri (Al Massarem), Massimo Falqui Massida (Maso Garten) 

Plureality – Plurealitá 

A serious game towards decolonising Piazza Della Vittoria 

#decolonialperspectives #inclusivehistory #education 

In Bolzano, colonial traces—statues, street names, architecture—remain part of the urban landscape. Often left unmarked, they tell a one-sided story that continues to shape public space and collective memory. This project gathers voices from people engaged in decolonial work offering critical perspectives and new narratives on these colonial traces and their meaning today. A serious game developed for schools encourages young people to explore these plural perspectives, ask questions, and imagine alternatives. At stake is not only the recognition of a colonial-racist past, but the creation of an inclusive and multidirectional culture of remembrance—one built on listening, learning, and shared visions.  

Students:  Anna Graziani, Florentina Abendstein, Jelke Meyer  
Partner: OEW- L’Organizzazione per un mondo solidale  
Interview partners: Antar Marincola, Salma Remadi, Fernando Biague, Radwa, Bassamba Diaby,  Kydoe 
Research Supporter: Elisabetta Rattalino, Roberto Gigliotti, Alexandra Budabin, Waltraud Kofler 

Pop-up-REX 

A pop-up system built from furniture leftovers for hosting community activities about overconsumption and reuse

#reuse #consumerism #opendesign 

Stepping into one of REX’ warehouses, where they store their second-hand materials, furniture and household objects, can be quite an overwhelming experience. In just over four years since the project began, an astonishing number of solely donated items have accumulated, serving as a clear sign for today’s extreme form of consumerism, overproduction, and trend-driven design culture. Therefore, our partnership with REX is rooted in the radical commitment to generate value and fulfill needs without using new resources.  

The core of our collaboration is the consciousness that being active at the end of our society’s material flow can’t be enough. Therefore, we tried to strengthen REX’ diverse services and came up with a pop-up system, to host awareness-raising activities that include citizens in a solution-oriented practice that goes beyond selling/buying. 

Students: Cemre Öztürk, Pietro Rista, Konrad Freyer 
Links: REX material und dinge | rex_bx 
Partner: REX – Material und Dinge / Materiali e cose 
Supporter: Helfende Hände , Zugluft (Haus der Solidarität)