Assemble for Cultural Rights!
Fondazione Studio Rizoma
Italy
“Assemble on Cultural rights!” is at the core of the re-opening weekend of Teatro Garibaldi, Palermo on 18,19, 20 Sept 2026. It is a deliberative and collaborative process on Cultural Rights. It will feature the following components:
- An assembly with local and international actors, moderated with the involvement of artists to deliberate on cultural rights in Europe.
- A Summit with key intellectuals and artistic actors from Italy, Europe and the Mediterranean.
The initiative is relevant because financial support to art and culture is decreasing and anti-woke discourse is on the rise.
In the heart of Palermo’s historic center, among the cobblestones and open air of Palermo’s historical centre, a theatre is preparing to breathe again. Reopening Teatro Garibaldi, closed for 10 years, is a reactivation: the return of a civic organism that connects the local and the global. It is a gesture of hope, engagement and resistance for culture across Europe and the Mediterranean. “Assemble for Cultural Rights!” initiative is a the foundational translocal gathering of artistic and cultural actors in this new artistic space. It marks its commitment to cocreation with the local community. The Assembly will be a bonding moment between for more than 50 local and international cultural and artistic actors, moderated with innovative artistic methods. The Assembly will be partly run in the public space. The Assembly will elaborate the Declaration of Palermo, which will become a guiding document for the operations of the theatre for the coming 8 years. The cultural Summit will gather key artistic speakers giving international exposure to issues such as : How to make Arts & Culture in the age of Untruth, Polarisation & War? and how can theatre help create community?