The experience we are presenting in this article is the one of a web TV, called ‘LIVU‘, dedicated to cultural events and initiatives related to the city of Livorno and born during the COVID-19 period.
Starting from the difficulties of this period, and in particular from the problems facing the cultural sector in the broad sense, including not only cultural enterprises, associations, and theatre companies, but also artists, musicians, teachers, art historians, writers, authors etc. the Municipality of Livorno, in collaboration with the Goldoni Foundation Theatre and the Itinera Cooperative, planned to set up a Web TV capable of broadcasting content and cultural events related to the city and, more generally, to the theme of culture in Livorno city.
The mission
The content and mission of the new web TV was a cultural dissemination proposing, through its programme schedule, an overview of what the city offers in artistic events and personalities. The web TV programme was proposed at full speed in order to offer the possibility of listening to and informing the local community through a “digital” storytelling of the area that would make possible to learn about the city and its creativity.
In this way, the participation and broadening of the public and cultural accessibility on local culture was allowed at a particularly difficult time, coming directly to the users, just with a click.
Livu TV Web is a useful tool for sharing information on cultural initiatives in the city. A container capable of compacting appointments and giving visibility to the city’s extraordinary artistic creativity, maintaining an archival trace of everything that is carried out for the community through the arts.
The structure
The new WebTv was born with a schedule structured according to the following sections (always evolving and being implemented):
- EVENTS
This section includes the documentation and monitoring of the main events organised in Livorno and/or recording of national events. In particular, all the cultural initiatives organised in the city will be the subject of a television episode, also in live streaming, with the possibility of interacting and commenting.
- THEATRE/PERFORMANCE
Pills: meeting with local performing arts professionals. The meeting consists of the broadcasting of a show produced and dedicated to figures/personalities that have left their mark on Livorno’s culture. In addition to the programming of the recorded shows of the various companies, an artistic presentation profile, an interview and an information sheet dedicated to their professional history and projects in the field will be outlined.
- CONTEMPORARY ART
Il grande rettile ed altre storie (The Great Reptile and Other Stories) – An itinerary on contemporary art in Livorno starting from the permanent collection preserved in the Museo dei Bottini dell’Olio, a section of the Luogo Pio Church. This is a collection mainly focused on art from the post-war period to the 1970s, which is well suited to represent a significant compendium of important moments in contemporary art. Starting with the preserved artistic heritage, we will proceed with in-depth thematic discussions, appointments, interviews with artists, critics, collectors, and portraits of works. The topics will also include themes/stories/stories and insights into the culture of the city, also starting from the most significant places of cultural consumption: libraries, galleries, cultural centres, bookshops, etc..
- URBANISM/THE CITY
The idea of the city: The city from the post-war period to today – In-depth studies on urban planning/architecture of the city, starting from the post-war period. Thematic Insights, Lectures, Meetings, Portraits of artefacts/architects/urbanists of the city, events.
Therefore, the project born as a lifeline at a time when the need to remain interconnected represented the only way to be able to give voice to all those aggregation activities in the cultural sphere that would otherwise have been lost, was so successful that even in the aftermath of the pandemic, the community showed a strong desire to see the project continue, and it is becoming a real travelling and ‘always on’ press office.
In this way, past and future contents are collected within the prearranged web platform, creating a true digital archive of local culture, composed of video content that users can watch comfortably from their devices, to keep up to date on upcoming events or to catch up on those already held.
In addition, new ‘columns’ have developed over time, dedicated to prominent personalities from Livorno’s artistic scene, offering a 360° overview of the city.
In addition, the scope of LIVU’ has become so broad as to include activities of regional and national character, which are linked to the city even though they take place elsewhere.
The resources
The initial experiment of a web TV created to overcome the difficulties that the pandemic presented in the creative industry has paid off, creating a cultural initiative that is widely established in the community, and which becomes a digital tool of culture to spread culture.
It goes without saying that the web TV work is supported by a team of young experts, who are actively involved in programming the schedule and creating the video content, working through original and interesting content planning, which can be a stimulus for users, and an incentive for the creative companies involved to disseminate their work.
This team of young people involved initially had little knowledge and skills in video making, but they developed specific technical and digital training (video photography, filming, editing and post-production, narration and storytelling), through specific courses and by providing passion, interest and their own skills. Currently Livù’s team carries out digital press office work, connected with local, regional and national editorial offices.
In addition, thanks to the acquisition of professional equipment that has made it possible to enhance the remote connection (live TV broadcasts, streaming.etc.), the service offer has become increasingly high quality over time, not only in terms of content, but also and above all in their realisation, based on strong editorial skills and review of the material collected by the team of operators, as well as video-making and editing.
The outcome
Initially the idea of the project was strictly linked to the promotion of events by local public institutions – which supported web TV precisely in order to ensure that the activities could be enjoyed by the community – and was later expanded to such an extent that it was also exploited by private cultural realities wishing to reach the citizenship through a direct means of communication that would allow them to explain what artistic projects were underway in their city.
The public is obviously represented by the citizens and all those interested in the history of the area, the city and the artistic activities promoted therein.
Although the Livù brand is linked to a local reality that, as already mentioned is based in Livorno, it represents an exportable format that can be easily replicated in any reality that wants or needs to make use of a dissemination tool that is in step with the times and innovative.
The potential of this medium is infinite and its versatility guarantees effective results, thanks also to its connection with other social channels such as instagram, facebook and youtube.
Livù Tv web is a prime example of how a cultural project is always a vehicle for other culture, and what better way than through a travelling web TV that dispenses pills of art and creativity?
