Creative Palermo. Handicrafts, cultural creativity and marginality in the Kalsa neighborhood

Abstract

The ethnographic research conducted in Palermo's Kalsa neighborhood provides an opportunity to analyze the emergence of a new form of craftsmanship. The  conception of the products and of the working process, as well as the specific use of tools and raw materials are pieces that mark the development of creative craftsmanship, differentiating it from other types of production.The text traces the associative nature that characterizes the experience, the social profile of the workers and the relationships they weave with the regulatory and social context.  From an anthropological perspective, this is a phenomenon of cultural creativity that gives rise to a twofold process: in shared practices, artisans embody a set of values that define their collective identity; in a context of widespread crisis and marginality, they develop a form of social navigation that allows them to reinvent themselves thanks to what they call the art of making do.