Matera 2019 transforms disused public land into community garden Agoragri

A half-hectare plot in Matera, between Viale Italia and Via dei Normanni, has been reclaimed from neglect by the association Agrinetural to become Agoragri, a community garden. From March 25 to 28, Scottish artist Alex Wilde will build a mobile bench, create a herbarium of wild plants, and experiment with plant-based painting on canvas bags with local residents. This is the first of a series of events in the space, part of the 'Basilicata Fiorita' project by the Fondazione Matera-Basilicata 2019, under the 'Gardentopia' cluster of the European Capital of Culture 2019 bid. The recovery began in 2012, initiated by landscape architect Mimì Coviello (meson ro studio), who founded Agrinetural to regenerate unused green areas into productive social spaces. A €50,000 investment funds an interactive mapping platform (agrinetural.it), the first green area setup (including olive grove, synergistic vegetable garden, and Matera's first family vegetable plots), and a community-building initiative. Wilde, a Glasgow School of Art graduate and Jar Collective member, is artist-in-residence until July, exploring food production's social dimension through temporary interventions that engage the community in space regeneration.