The SoutHeritage Foundation for Contemporary Art was established in 2003 as a non-profit organization working through an "expanded foundation" format. In this context, the Foundation, recovering the importance of the historical heritage of the territory, sets up various cultural projects at historical and symbolic places in the city of Matera (site of the famous Rioni Sassi UNESCO heritage) and in the Basilicata region, thus contributing to the vivification of memory historical-architectural of the natural and man-made territory, which becomes a source of inspiration for contemporary artists called to intervene in the various contexts. Along these lines, the foundation (awarded in 2005 with the Guggenheim Prize for Enterprise & Culture) works in synergy with various public and private institutions, academies, universities, to spread contemporary art and culture not only to an audience of enthusiasts, but even those who have yet to approach art (mission pursued not only with their own programs but also with free admission to all initiatives accompanied by educational projects).
The Foundation operates in the sector of the promotion of contemporary art and culture by operating through a streamlined organizational structure that collects the contribution of critics, curators, collectors, artists, intellectuals and individuals who work in the field of art promotion, proposing itself as a center of research and production of new and anticipatory trends and themes.
Thanks to its activities: exhibitions, seminars, publications, which offer prominence to artists representing important contemporary positions, SoutHeritage is now a reality surveyed by the Ministry of Economic Development in the Design and new technologies studio for the economic development of cultural heritage promoted by the Valore Italia Foundation. (Gangemi editore, 2003), and body included in the short list The places of the Contemporary in Italy, edited by the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities and by the PaBAAC Directorate General for the quality and protection of the landscape, architecture and contemporary art (ed. Palombi, 2010).