Associazione Prima Materia

Prima Materia APS, founded in 1993 in Tuscany (Italy), is a registered Association for Social Promotion, a non-profit entity dedicated to the development of expressive and performing arts, principally music, as instruments of empowerment for social and cultural change, to contrast discrimination and emargination, and to promote inclusion, integration and dialogue.

This objective is pursued by means of the following structures and strategies:

• the Community Music project “Musicatoio”, open to the entire community;
• the Music Therapy Clinic for children, adolescents and adults, offering prevention, rihabilitation and care in collaboration with public social and health services;
• development of exchange programmes for social solidarity, at local, regional, national and international level, using community music methodologies.
• research in Community Music pedagogy, Community Music Therapy and Psycho-Social Intervention for diverse contests of application;
• promotion of performing and expressive arts through concerts, theatre, dance, cinema, multimedial events, installations and exhibitions, with particular attention to the promotion of young artists and new works of art;
• organization of formation courses, masterclasses, workshops, seminars, conferences;
• participation in festivals, conferences and networking at local, regional, national and international level.

The association is supported at a local level by the municipality of Montespertoli and shares its own “house” with several local organisations that promote similar objectives with different means: dance, self healing and awareness, circus, micro-credit.

At a regional level, Prima Materia is supported by the Province of Florence and the region of Tuscany. Partnerships have included many municipalities throughout Italy, other Regions, many national and international peace organizations, music and cultural associations throughout Europe and the Mediterranean, and international recognition of the project “Music and Resilience” has been confirmed by the International Music Council, through the “Musical Rights Award 2013”, and the World Forum of Music.

Prima Materia is a member in different networks of organisations, both formal and informal, dedicated to many aspects of the social and cultural life: the Florence Territorial Forum for International Cooperation, for the development of systems of international cooperation promoting interculture, world health and education; the Network for the Inclusion within the Empolese Valdarno Valdelsa territory, aiming at creating mutual support and visibility to local organisation that specifically create inclusion with different abilities and social disage; the MAG network, a multi-territorial project focusing on mutual economic support and financial awareness.