The Enrico Mattei Foundation with the Pandora Project activated a series of initiatives that promote citizen participation for certain themes that are directly connected to the Venetian territory. The main objective is to construct, through the help of a Web-site (www.feempandora.it), significant paths of knowledge, dialogue and collective reflection that can encourage actions for sustainable development in Venice.

With the RestArt initiative, Pandora proposes to set forth a critical reflection on consumption and styles of life by promoting a collective show of artists with the primary topic dealing with waste management, re-use and recycling. An event that aims to raise awareness on such themes through creativity, art and discussion.

RestArt was initiated as Open Lab, an open forum which held its meetings at the Caffè Aurora in San Marco’s Square. Artists and citizens initially started meetings to discuss the topic of waste and trash as it is expressed in art. Later on, these themes were examined in more detail through certain organised focus groups during which artists, students and residents of Venice met to discuss the topic of waste: from garbage and recycling, to trash art (which uses refuse as a form of creative expression), to later examine the current local policies of sustainable development.

The results of the paths explored up have been presented along with some provocative installation pieces, which showed how re-use, recycling and recovery can be key tools for a significant change in the effective and efficient management of territorial resources.

The exhibition has been inaugurated with a meeting-debate on the topic of waste management in Venice.