I arrived late last night and sadly depart early tomorrow morning - but today I spent in Matera.
Despite the short visit, I have many reflections to share, the penny is dropping and unMonastery is very real, I will though restrict this post to giving an overview and suggestions on our next steps. I was greeted this morning at the site of unMonastery by MIMERS ([antonioelettrico]), [Rita O] and Paolo Verri. My primary purpose for being in Matera was to gain an overview of the renovation work that has been taking place on the building.
Good news, everything appears to be in good order thanks to the hard work of MIMERS, [Rita O] and MT2019. Many fixes, rubbish cleared and alterations have been made to ensure the building is in a usuable state when we arrive - the space has been structured in a such a way that we can have a kitchen on the ground or top floor, or both. Internet network ports have been distributed throughout the building and a plentiful number of showers installed throughout the top floor.
After viewing the building, we headed to MIMERS office to talk through the furniture and considered use of the space. MIMERS have been doing great work, what we have is minimal, as requested. It is as follows:
- Beds, created from stackable pallets, with the possibility to repurpose.
- Slim, simple cuboards, currently being constructed by a local carpenter with locally sourced wood.
- Adjustable shelving units, similar to stepladders stacked with boards.
- Simple storages boxes.
- Modular and interlocking tables that can form different configurations dependent on use.
- Folding wall desks, which double as whiteboards.
- Foldable chairs will be bought seperately this week - 40 in total.
[antonioelettrico] will be posting more details and images in the next week. Following this, we discussed the appliances we would need, washer, dryer and electric kitchen appliances.
During lunch Rita highlighted that sourcing food from local producers will be relatively easy, given that there are several farmers markets in town on a weekly basis, so this should make your life easier [elf Pavlik] ^__~
Next myself and Rita met with Emmanuele Curti, archeologist and professor at the University of Basilicata, to discuss the University but more specifically their potential participation in the unMonastery project - given the subjects covered and the perspective I gleaned from our short conversation it’s clear Emmanuele could be a great allie and potential contributor to the project. We discussed the possibility of sharing the bottom floor (the main workspace) with students and other locals groups - this seems like an exceptionally good idea, since it brings people to us but this is of course open for discussion.
This was followed by a meeting at the MT2019 building opposite the unMonastery, to discuss some finer details around the administrative process with Rossella and Claudia but also potential dates for announcing and celebrating the opening of the building - provisionally we are thinking about the 14th for a Press Conference and 16th for an open day and party. I trust though that [Bembo Davies] has already put much thought to this subject matter.
Some small next steps;
-Form small focused work groups
-Compile a list of possible connections and groups we’d ideally like to speak with and/or listen to upon landing in Matera
-Make a list of the things we don’t have or would like/need and figure out how to acquire them before we arrive (off the top of my head; Projectors, LCD screens, Tensile Rope, Tools, LED lighting, Electricity Monitor)
That’s it for now, more updates and questions will follow in the coming week but for now it’s been a long day and my bed is making reasonable demands of me.