"I farm because..." This and other questions will be posed by This is Not a Trojan Horse, a large wooden horse designed by Futurefarmers in collaboration with architect Lode Vranken and built at Pollinaria. A mobile site for discussion about issues and possibilities related to rural regeneration, the horse will roam through the villages and farms of Abruzzo, Italy, gathering and exchanging seeds, tools, products and recipes to galvanize signs of valorization of local agriculture. Upon return, collected seeds will be planted at Pollinaria to create a portrait of the tour and local biodiversity

The horse situated within rural Italy gives rise to several images: the waning practice of shepherding, domestication of the wild... This horse wants to wander freely and enliven the imaginations of farmers to engage them in discourse, artistic production and to parade their truths to power. The idea of the Trojan Horse becomes a significant modus operandi for contemporary society, beyond the symbol embedded in the historical-mythical event

Various forms of power merge within the design of the horse: human power, bike power and animal power. Solely animated by two people walking inside the large front wheel with one person on the back tire to steer, its form begs one to ask if we are driving the machine or if the machine is driving us. The horse’s skin will be covered with chalkboards to host answers and perspectives about the future of farming and to record local relevant news. These messages and text will become a roaming newspaper, The Horse’s Mouth, where the news will come directly, unedited, unmediated from the authors who speak it

A few decades ago wild horses roamed free in Abruzzo. Now big box stores, parking lots and gas stations are quickly taking place of pastures and cultivated land, while modern-day agricultural standards threaten local specific nuances of traditional processes of farm production. The region gained a momentary spotlight on the world stage during the earthquake of L’Aquila in 2009 and shortly thereafter in the course of the G8 summit, undergoing important changes within a very short time. This is Not a Trojan Horse aims to be a pivotal vehicle for social and material exchange in relation to this context and the future identity of Abruzzo

Futurefarmers is a group of artists, designers and architects who use various media to create work that responds to the time and place around them. A constant throughout their work is a concern and critique of systems of capital and their effects on the physical and social environment. They deconstruct food policies, public transportation, rural farming networks to visualize and understand their intrinsic logics. Often through this disassembly they find new narratives and potential reconfigurations that might propose alternatives to the principles that once dominated these systems. Their work provides a playful entry point and tools for an audience to gain insight into deeper fields of inquiry - not only to imagine, but to participate in and initiate change in the places we live

Futurefarmers was founded in 1995 as a design studio that serves as a platform to support art projects, an artist in residence program and research interests. Their work has been included in exhibitions internationally at ZKM, Whitney Museum of American Art, the New York Museum of Modern Art, the Canadian Centre for Architecture and other institutions

24 June 2010 : sunrise
Horse Raising
In the tradition of a barn raising, This is Not a Trojan Horse will be raised and brought to life with the involvement of local community. The event will take place in the context of a summer solstice ritual

24 June - 4 July 2010
Tour
The horse will roam through Abruzzo and arrive in village squares and local farms with public programming and interactions

4 July 2010 : 16.00 hrs
Homecoming Celebration
This is Not a Trojan Horse will return to Pollinaria after its 10-day journey through rural Abruzzo. People met along the way will come to celebrate and network around the theme of rural regeneration