In collaboration with
Atelier Luma
Founder, FR
MEDSEA Foundation
Founder, IT
Henriette Waal / Atelier Luma
Curator - Texts - Drawings, FR
Manuela Puddu / MEDSEA Foundation
Project Coordinator, IT
Roberta Morittu
Research, IT
Sibylle Pieyre de Mandiargues
Production Assistance, IT
Sarp Susüzer
Renderings, TK
Luca Foschi
Texts, IT
Stefania de Michele
Copy editor, IT
Alessio Satta
Copy editor, IT
Sylvia Segura
Copy editor, FR
Silvia Zedde
Botany, IT
Annarita Spanu
Weaver, IT
Elisabetta Deriu
Weaver, IT
Giovanni Marongiu
Weaver, IT
Giovanna Palmas
Weaver, IT
Gian Domenico Lotta
Weaver, IT
Francesca Maggino
Weaver, IT
Giuseppina Spanu
Weaver, IT
Pierluigi Dessi
Weaver, IT
Giorgio Massaro
Photography, IT
Victor Picon
Photography, FR
Sabina Era
Graphic design, IT
Chiara Rotondi
Translator, IT
Atelier Luma
MEDSEA

Collection Zero
San Vero Milis

The aim of the Weaving for Wetlands project is to protect and promote the Oristano wetlands, an area on the western side of the Italian island of Sardinia. The craft of weaving with marsh grasses and reeds is a cultural activity that has supported these wetlands for 7000 years. Once a vital island economy, weaving is no longer a profitable activity, and that has resulted in the disappearance of the marsh vegetation. The reasons are not only globalization, automation and the plastics industry but also the failure of the craft sector: disconnected from innovation, lack of integration of new technologies and possibilities to keep up with markets.

Under the artistic direction of Henriette Waal, the MEDSEA Foundation and Atelier Luma worked together on a Wetland Visitor Center and Weaver House in the Sardinian village of San Vero Milis and on a catalogue of objects aimed at preserving the unique Sardinian craft of weaving and at combining this with nature preservation. The initiators hope in this way to improve the socio-economic position of weavers.

Collection Zero – San Vero Milis reconsiders traditional decorative objects, defines the classics and gives them a contemporary purpose so that we can once again experience their emotional value and natural material in the domestic and work environments. Cataloguing and describing the objects, their history and their makers forms the first step towards re-establishing their dignity.

Climate change has huge consequences for the Mediterranean region and its wetlands, which are vital for the advantages they offer, ranging from freshwater supplies, food, construction materials and biodiversity to flood management and groundwater replenishment. The quality of wetland areas around the world is declining. Wetlands have a long history of human use and strong cultural ties that continue to shape this use. Considering these ties is an important dimension in preserving and repairing the wetlands.