The old Municipal Slaughterhouses of Patras will be renovate in an innovative Creativity Hub, through the funds of the project Sparc, “Creativity Hubs for Sustainable DeveloPment through the VAloRization of Cultural Heritage Assets”, co-funded for 2.4 million euro by the Interreg V-A Greece-Italy Programme 2014-2020.
The Mayor of Patras Kostas Peletidis signed on 23th April the contract with the constructor for the renovation of the old Slaughterhouses that will become the Creativity Hub of Patras with a specialization in the Carnival. The total amount for the infrastructural works is 910.566,97 euro from which 551.500 were financed by Interreg Greece-Italy Programme.
The building complex of the Municipal Slaughterhouses, of 9.200 sq.m., is a template of industrial architecture of the beginning of the century.
The Creativity Hub of Patras will highlight and present the institution and history of Patras Carnival and Karagiozis. It will be a destination for visitors and a reason for increasing tourism in the area.
The main functions of this building will be:
- Presentation of carnival creators, costumes, hats, masks and other constructions, presenting real-time creative work. During the period of non-use of the exhibition area, the history of the Patras Carnival will be presented through photographic material.
- Administrative buildings and information center
- Exhibition of Karagiozis’ history and a workshop for the creation of Karagiozis traditional puppets
- Exhibition area with the history of Patras carnival
- Multistage (Conference room, Multimedia Center, theater, Karagiozis traditional scene, movie screening)
- Creative activities for children with emphasis on carnival and Karagiozis
- Educational area in which there will be the process of manufacturing and reproducing the products of the creators in three-dimensional representation. (3D scanning – 3D printing)
- Hall for periodical exhibition related to the hub’s activities.
The Municipality of Patras is the lead beneficiary of this project in cooperation with two Greek partners, the Region of Western Greece and the Chamber of Achaia, and two Italian partners, the Public Apulian Theatre Consortium and the Puglia Region – Department Economy of Culture, Tourism and Territory. Associated Partner is Public Benefit Corporation of the Municipality of Patras – Patras Carnival from Greece.
Sparc aims to valorise cultural and natural heritage by increasing the level of attractiveness of the territories involved, through the development of a close collaboration and synergy among tourism sector, cultural and creative industries (CCI), local SMEs, and cultural and natural assets management, fostering innovation & growth.