The website Matriarchive of the Mediterranean. Graphics and Matters is the result of “The Archive of Female Performance in the Mediterranean Area. Digital Attempts”, the research carried out in 2013-2014 by the unit coordinated by Professor Silvana Carotenuto and constituted by Beatrice Ferrara, Celeste Ianniciello, Annalisa Piccirillo, at the Department of Human and Social Science, University of Naples “L’Orientale”. Ruled by the Mobility Procedures within the European Program “Networks of Excellence”, the project is financed by P.O.R. Campania, Asse IV, Human Capital.

The platform has been realised in collaboration with the society of software planning and design, Intuizioni Creative, with the creative and technical support of Dott. Alessandro Ventura. In its final stage, the project has been enriched by the participation of Manuela Esposito and Roberta Colavecchio, PhD researchers at the University L’Orientale’.

The project focuses on 1) the theoretical and philosophical investigation on the question of the archive according to diverse contemporary, culturalist and postcolonial perspectives (M. Foucault: 1969; E. Said: 1978; J. Derrida: 1995; A. Mbembe: 2002; A. Appadurai: 2003). The research is then articulated and developed according to its gender connotation, the ‘Matri-archive’ (F. Mernissi: 2004; N. El Saadawi, 2008; L. Curti: 2008; A. Bellagamba: 2011; AA D. Finocchi: 2013), and its geographical specification, the area of the ‘Mediterranean’ (E. Jabés: 1996; P. Matvejevic: 2006; M. Bennis: 2009; I. Chambers: 2009-2014). The project produces 2) the technical formulation of the digital archive (an experimental model, to be eventually articulated into a native App) which is intended for the conservation and communication of the performative aesthetics and languages ­–­ visual arts, plastic arts, photography, graphics, dance, music, land-art, bio-art – being produced by female artists in the Mediterranean area.