Associazione Collettivo L’Aquila Reale ETS is a cultural organisation based in the Aniene Valley, in the Metropolitan City of Rome, working at the intersection of contemporary art, ecological research, environmental education and community-based territorial practices.
Through MusAQ and its programmes, the organisation develops artistic residencies, field research, participatory laboratories, exhibitions and public activities that connect artists, researchers, local communities, schools and environmental organisations. A significant part of this work focuses on the Aniene River basin and its tributaries, approaching water not only as an ecological system but also as a cultural, social and economic infrastructure.
Our art–science approach combines artistic research and situated practices with environmental observation, citizen science, participatory mapping and local ecological knowledge. Activities carried out along the river and its surrounding territories include field exploration, community monitoring, observation of water quality and ecological pressures, documentation of riparian environments, collection of local knowledge and memories, and artistic processes that translate these experiences into accessible forms of public interpretation.
The organisation is also actively involved in the Contratto di Fiume Aniene (Aniene River Contract), a participatory governance framework bringing together public institutions, environmental organisations, communities and other territorial actors around the protection and sustainable management of the river basin. Within this context, we promote stronger connections between cultural practices, citizen participation, ecological knowledge and river governance.
This experience led to the development of the Piccola Scuola Temporanea dell’Aniene (PSTA), conceived as a territorial living laboratory where citizens, artists, scientists and water-related economic actors collaboratively investigate the ecological, social and economic value of the Aniene. Through citizen science, participatory artistic practices and the development of a Sensitive Atlas of the Aniene, PSTA aims to strengthen water literacy and create shared, accessible knowledge that can support public awareness, stewardship and more sustainable relationships with inland water systems.
By working from the river basin towards the wider interconnected water system, our practice contributes to expanding ocean and water literacy beyond coastal contexts, highlighting how the health of rivers, tributaries, communities and local economies is inseparable from the conservation and restoration of Europe’s waters.
Website: www.laquilarealelicenza.org