ROME – Controchiave, a cultural association in the San Paolo neighbourhood, is celebrating its 20th festival despite setbacks such as the death of a founder and a continuing struggle for funding.

 The organisation started somewhat unexpectedly in the aftermath of a play. A group of artists that had spent weeks putting on a show found that they wanted to continue working together, only to realise that the area in which they were based was totally lacking in cultural facilities.

 The group decided to set up its own club, secured digs in a dilapidated building by a railway track near the Basilica of San Paolo fuori le mure and set about organising meetings. ‘Controchiave’, as it was swiftly named, would not be just about drama, though that would continue to play an important role. Rather, it would be about art for all and in all its forms, from poetry and theatre to yoga and painting.

 Twenty years on, nothing and everything has changed. The group is still run by its founding members, spearheaded by the magisterial Guido Rossi. Controchiave is still largely based in San Paolo, though a new site was recently opened in the nearby neighbourhood of Garbatella to cater for increasing demand.

 The open-spiritedness and passion of the club remain intact, as does its founders’ continued commitment to the cause. Now, however, Controchiave is making big waves in the wider community, encouraging members of the public to spark up a dialogue with art and with one another in ways that have little precedent in the area.

The reason ‘Controchiave’ is so unique, explains coordinator Marco De Persio, is that it is “completely open. We embrace all different types of art and have shown our entire neighbourhood how possible and enjoyable it is to get involved in it.”

 Today, the club boasts some 500 lay members, ranging from toddlers, who drag their mothers to the popular weekend classes, to senior citizens keen to participate in seminars. Daily arts lessons are put on at a modest fee – not that the tutoring feels all that scholarly, with the emphasis doggedly put on an open and embracive approach to learning and development.

 John Heineman, an American musician and long-standing member of CC, has high praise for the association’s ethos, saying, “It’s maintained its grassroots approach to culture. It’s free from the elitism and narrowness that dominates other arts schools in the city.”

  Controchiave is almost entirely funded by the modest membership fees it collects on a yearly basis, though it has received government subsidies in the past. All work for free, though qualified teachers are paid to take care of classes.

 When I ask one of the founders whether CC has enough funding, his eyes wrinkle and he laughs wryly. “No,” he replies. “We’re still ambitious. We have so much more to do.”

 “What’s top of the list?” I press. “We want a proper venue,” he responds. “Our own space – something big enough for hosting larger-scale events. We could get other neighbourhoods involved, reach out further, make CC a real hub.” After a pause, he adds wistfully, “We could even open a community café.”

 The organisation has an excellent reputation in the local community, thanks in part to its yearly ‘Festa per la cultura,’ a one-day cultural extravaganza put on in numerous piazzas in the Garbatella area. Earlier this year, the association also put on a street carnival, encouraging members and non-members alike to don masks and dance about on the streets to the sound of live music. Over 3,000 people did.

 Controchiave was shaken recently by the death of one of its founders, photography expert Raimondo Nitoglia. In what is perfectly symbolic of the organisation’s resilience and esprit-de-corps, it managed to make some good of the tragedy by launching a photography competition in his honour. “Una Luce per la Festa” invites entrants to submit images relating to the theme of ‘light’, with the best images receiving prizes and a possible exhibition in September. Raimondo – or ‘Ray’, as he was serendipitously nicknamed – could surely not have hoped for a more appropriate way to celebrate him.

 Creating a space for cultural expression in urban communities is notoriously difficult. 

 As Italy, like much of the rest of Europe, buckles to austerity measures, oases like CC are more important than ever. Controchiave has shown that it is possible – with a lot of hard work and enthusiasm, as well as with prodigious reserves of patience – to reinvigorate neighbourhoods with art.

 No doubt the next 20 years to come will bring the organisation ever more successes – and even, with luck, its own café.