THE MEMORY OF WATER
An Atlas of Local Narratives
A project conceived and curated by
ORCHESTRA SENZASPINE e COLLETTIVO ZOOPALCO
in collaboration with FONDAZIONE ENTROTERRE
This project aims to create an original story, specifically set in Budrio. The narrative will be written collaboratively with local residents through public, collective writing workshops. Over time, this text will be transformed into a Musical Opera by the Orchestra Senzaspine and the Collettivo Zoopalco, blending music and poetry.
Our workshops are open to absolutely everyone, regardless of age or background: aspiring writers, absolute beginners, future rappers, seasoned storytellers, chatty locals, attentive listeners, music lovers, artists, students and retirees—from long-term residents to the newest arrivals.
The collective narrative will be built around local historical photographs. This approach helps bridge old memories with fresh visions and connect past anecdotes with new characters, using orally transmitted tales as inspiration for imagining contemporary stories. The project takes further inspiration from the Water Towers of Budrio, an iconic local landmark and the very location of the Club LE TORRI, where all activities will be hosted.
Key Project Activities
● CISTERN! A Call for Memories
We view the Water Towers as a “cistern of stories.” We invite anyone who wishes to share personal or family memories tied to the area to leave their contribution: this can include written texts, old and new photographs, videos, letters, or simply thoughts.
How to Participate:
- Digital: Submit via email to [email protected]
- Physical: Drop off materials in person at Club Le Torri during opening hours and performances, delivering them to Fondazione Entroterre staff.
- Verbal: Share your story verbally during the scheduled public events.
● COLLECTION – Public Assembly
On November 16th, from 3 PM to 6 PM at Club Le Torri, we will officially present “The Memory of Water.” This informal, public meetin is a chance to connect, listen to initial stories, share ideas and images, and register participants for the collective writing phase.
● NAVIGATION WORKSHOPS – Writing a Collective Opera
The first of two public, collaborative writing workshops took place on November 23rd from 10 AM to 6 PM at Club Le Torri. Inspired by the spirit of Don Milani’s Barbiana school, participants will create an “archipelago of stories” rooted in collected historical photos and new perspectives. Guided by the poet(s) from Collettivo Zoopalco, the group will slowly craft a single narrative—an “atlas of local narratives”—where the entire community is the author.
Please note: the second workshop, originally scheduled for November 30th, has been postponed to a later date to allow us to best incorporate the new material received and accommodate requests from additional interested participants.
● Artist Residency and Staging
The final collective text will be refined during an artist residency at the Water Towers. A team of professional musicians, performers, and artists will work alongside participants who choose to be involved to construct the final Musical Opera.
● Final Performance
The collective opera will be presented to the public in a live performance at the Water Towers in March 2026.
Orchestra Senzaspine
Orchestra Senzaspine is a symphony orchestra founded in Bologna in 2013, today recognized by the MiC as the first Territorial Orchestra of the Emilia-Romagna Region. Through symphonic concerts, operas, musical performances, and community workshops offered in collaboration with the most prominent musical institutions in Italy, and thanks to innovative initiatives aimed at promoting accessibility, Senzaspine has become a leading force in the Italian cultural scene, renowned for its prestige, experimental approach, and ability to engage an increasingly broad and young audience, challenging stereotypes and redefining the traditional image of classical music.
In over twelve years of activity and more than 800 productions, it has collaborated with major theaters, festivals, and national institutions. In 2015, it launched Mercato Sonato, the site of a unique urban and cultural regeneration project in Europe, where the Scuola di Musica Senzaspine was founded in 2017. In 2022, it received the Franco Abbiati Award – “Filippo Siebaneck” section – for projects on accessible opera. In the field of community work, a process in which people are involved in all stages of creating a work, from dramaturgy to musical score, the Orchestra has produced Silent City (2019), co-produced within the framework of Matera European Capital of Culture, and E Buio Fu (2023), presented in Piazza Maggiore for the Bologna Portici Festival – Heritage meets Creativity. In 2024, it co-produced ONDE – Opera 0-3 years with the companies Petra and L’Albero, an immersive and multisensory experience for early childhood, as part of the European project Grow Inclusive Opera, supported by the Boarding Pass Plus 2022–2024 program.
Zoopalco collective
Zoopalco was founded in February 2016 as a diverse collective of performing poets committed to promoting spoken-word poetry in the Bologna area. In 2017, the collective became a Cultural Association and, together with other associations, managed the Centro Culturale DAS – Dispositivo Arti Sperimentali – until 2021.
Zoopalco’s research is multimedial and medium-specific: each work is created at the intersection of poetry and other arts, and is conceived from the start for a specific platform, from live concerts to theatrical performances, from podcasts to installations, from streaming to alternative editorial formats.
In 2022, a branch of the collective gave birth to ZPL, Zoopalco Poetry Label, a record label that manages the production, publishing, and circulation of oral poetry and spoken word music projects. Since 2023, after winning it with all its productions, ZPL has been collaborating in the organization and promotion of Italy’s leading Poetry and Music award: the Premio Dubito by the Alberto Dubito Foundation.
To date, the record label has released four productions with their respective albums and national tours:[“IMPRE”, Mezzopalco (2022) – “C4MG1RL”, Monosportiva (2022) – “Urla dal Confine”, Osso Sacro (2022) – Disturbat! Altr! (2024), receiving several national awards in both music and theater (Premio Parodi 2023 and the Premio Forever Young La Corte Ospitale 2024).
The Association’s activity is also prolific in the inland areas of southern Italy, particularly in the Sannio region, thanks to collaborations started in 2018 with the public art project “Guide Percettive”, aimed at installing a sound path connecting several rural villages.
Since its founding, Zoopalco has also promoted workshops in oral poetry, rap, oral dramaturgy, and poetry slam in various schools, libraries, and festivals, collaborating with local and regional institutions, especially in socially or geographically marginalized contexts. It runs collective writing workshops aimed at creating Community Works for performative, installation, or theatrical outcomes (Guide Percettive – Avellino 2019 and Benevento 2022; E Buio Fu – Bologna 2023; Cronicon – Loiano 2025, and others…)
Zoopalco manages POLOStudio on Via Sante Vincenzi 2 in Bologna: a recording studio and workshop space for artists, cultural operators, and music professionals, serving as the association’s operational headquarters since 2024. Currently, members of the Collective live and work between Bologna, Rome, Naples, Benevento, Milan, Treviso, Paris, Marseille, and Chicago, making the collective’s activities extensive and far-reaching.
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