Abstract
CULT-UP is focused on the idea of “cultural upcycling”. Starting from the concept of upcycling, which refers to a recycling process that results in an increase in the value (functional, aesthetic, material, cultural, identity) of what is recovered, the aim of this project is to promote a critical reflection on the “potential value of waste” and its unexpressed “capacity for meaning”, which can transform a “negative legacy” into a resource. In this way, we aim at fostering a critical discussion about the management of waste and to highlight redesign and upcycling as elements of cultural heritage. Many types of waste share a peculiar characteristic with cultural heritage: they represent a material legacy, a negative bequest that causes harm to the environment and, in some cases, is passed down to future generations. Our approach therefore aims to study waste as a discursive object, applying, and in some cases reversing, the analytical categories typically used to examine cultural heritage, studying the semantic potential of waste and their processes of de- and re-semantisation. Moreover, upcycling can be considered as a form of cultural heritage if we think about other past models of production and consumption, recalling the culture (that should be preserved and reinvented) of reuse and "conservation" from the pre-consumer era, when "nothing was thrown away" and everything was repaired. This approach leads the interdisciplinary team, composed by semioticians, designers, historians of science and sociologists, toward the idea of framing waste within larger “cultures of waste” and “practices of preservation and discharging”. More specifically, CULT-UP targets two categories of upcycled waste: inorganic materials like plastics and organic ones such as textiles. The project seeks to encourage thoughtful reflection, analyze case studies, gather best practices, and create a "white paper" for stakeholders regarding upcycling strategies and their advantages. Finally, CULT-UP aims to stimulate critical reflection about the semiotic role of waste in contemporary society, examining case studies, collecting best practices, and proposing, as a final output, a “white paper” to stakeholders on the strategies and benefits of upcycling.
Dettagli del progetto
Responsabile scientifico: Francesco Mazzucchelli
Strutture Unibo coinvolte:
Dipartimento di Filosofia
Coordinatore:
ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - Università di Bologna(Italy)
Contributo totale di progetto: Euro (EUR) 224.132,00
Contributo totale Unibo: Euro (EUR) 121.516,00
Durata del progetto in mesi: 27
Data di inizio
30/11/2023
Data di fine:
28/02/2026
