Copyright 2019 Accademia dei Georgofili
To retrace the steps in the founding and growth of the Osservatorio dei Mestieri d’Arte since 2010, it is important to emphasise Professor Maracchi’s thought and those values dear to him which underpinned the project from the start and which, in the intervening years, have come to be shared by banking foundations throughout Italy. At the centre of the entire structure are an exquisite attention to the artistic crafts and to safeguarding the heritage they represent: a mission which the association carries on with actions, projects and events which, over the years, have aroused increased and more informed awareness of the artisan professions: jobs and employment prospects which are by no means facile and call for long-term commitment. Thus, the actions fielded by OMA support and promote these professions and provide information and education about artisan knowhow with teaching actions which have been followed by a heterogeneous public. Backed by a staff of professional artisans – from its certified circuit – the association creates formats for all ages, with the dual aim of publicising and sustaining the ancient artistic crafts while contributing to making them ever more understandable and approachable. At upcoming events, OMA’s creator Professor Maracchi will be remembered with the sought-after OMA artisan quality award now dedicated to his memory. Since 2010, OMA has been synonymous with quality certification for the artistic crafts and the artisans making up the OMA network are indeed highly-qualified professionals. And every single OMA professional carries on an activity that meets pre-established criteria to guarantee that their products are crafted primarily by hand, according to traditional techniques and processes applied to just as traditional materials, but also that their production processes are open to incorporation of modern design, new technologies and experimental materials.
