The project “Sulle Spalle dei Giganti” (On the Shoulders of Giants) is not only an artistic intervention but a project with a high social vocation for collective resilience. At the heart of this experience lies Radicate, the activity through which the partners worked to launch an international laboratory based on cultural barter with the community and, in parallel, a professional laboratory for artists, performers, and cultural operators.

The video interviews with the participants (post-residency) reflect a research and analysis process conducted jointly by the partners to evaluate the impact of the activity. The video accompanying this article collects the highlights of the testimonies from the 11 participants. Through an analysis of the initial motivational letters, participant observation during the process, and the results of in-depth interviews, we have traced the perimeter of a transformation that goes beyond theatre to take root in a collective subjectification.

From Uprooting to Care: Phase 1

The data collected at the beginning of the residency spoke of a profound “collective uprooting.” Participants from France, Spain, and various regions of Italy arrived in Salento moved by an ontological urgency: to respond to the mourning of the olive trees.

The ex-ante analysis highlighted three primary needs:

*Reconnection: the need to heal the “cracks of society” through a relational artistic device.

*Beyond the Human: the desire to leave conventional theatres to enter the landscape, recognizing plants as integral members of the community.

*Memory and Identity: the recovery of one’s own peasant roots as a shield against contemporary alienation, to regenerate social landscapes.

In this phase, the wounded territory was perceived with helplessness – a “dry desert” where the dominant narrative was only one of death and loss.

The Radicate Method: The Body as an Instrument

The transition from trauma to regeneration occurred through the methodology of Residui Teatro, where professionalism became daily practice: psychophysical training and cultural barter were the technical tools used to act upon fragilities.

The symbolic act of “Cura del Bianco” (the Lime Cure – the ritual of applying lime to the trees) that characterizes the Campo allowed the group to bridge the gap between helplessness and concrete aesthetic action. It was not just about “staging” a performance, but about acquiring – throughout the entire residency – a social and restorative artistic method capable of increasing the participants’ self-esteem and refining their listening skills.

The Landscape of Light: The Results of Phase 2

The post-residency interviews mark the overcoming of loneliness; the desert has given way to what the participants defined as the transition to light:

*The Us (Cooperation): the community bond was cited as the high point of the experience; international cooperation showed that no one is alone in the struggle for the climate and the territory.

* The I (Learning): the skills acquired during the training entered daily life, improving relational clarity and the sense of belonging to the land.

* The World (Resignification): the final step is the ability to “restore life” through narration. Where biology is wounded, art generates symbolic life, transforming the perception of a people and their land.

The project’s qualitative analyses provide us with a clear vision: community art starts from the “dryness” of environmental trauma to arrive at the “light” of new skills and bonds.

We invite you to watch the video of the interviews – sprouts of a new narrative that, from the shoulders of the Giants, looks toward the future with new eyes.

In background: Alyadi, the Residency mantra. See the article dedicated to the chant.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.