In Milan, the Erasmus+ project “Creando Puentes” was inspired by the exhibition Between heaven and earth organized by Mufoco, Museum of Contemporary Photography.
Through this journey boys and girls experimented what it means to change their point of view at a spatial, emotional and cultural level.
The workshops and the visit at the Museum (before Covid-19) developed an approach based on new awareness of the children: observing the classmates, the spaces around them and the neighborhood in a different way and trying to reproduce what has been lived in an artistic form. Photography as a look at the reality and as the art of the meeting are the keywords of the project. The aim is to stimulate a huge reflection on the the strength of the images, on the observation of the entire world and on the perception of themselves and the others.
Children are discovering the language of images, through visual knowledge experiences and workshops, and they are learning to express and understand their emotions while enhancing their curiosity, their creativity and their critical spirit.
In November 2019, the artists visited the Museum in order to plan the activities and be inspired by the exhibitions and the archival materials. Soon after the teachers were involved in a training session: an exchange artistic meeting for the activity planning.
From November 2019 to February 2020, the workshops with children took place and were based on observation (for instance, “The New Looks”: discovery the neighbourhood and drawing of children’s point of view of what they had seen; “Drawings in the cracks”, from cracks to artwork ).
February 2020, three days before the lockdown in Italy, children visited Mufoco exhibition Between heaven and earth :
“Aedicules, niches, frescoes and small religious temples, characteristic home of statues and effigies of the saints, are disseminated throughout the Italian landscape. These figures have watched over, guarded and protected the territory for years, decades, some for centuries, with their diffused presence, privileged witnesses of the transformations that have taken place and are still taking place in the landscape. But what do the saints see, what do they observe as they gaze from their shrines?»
This is the question Claudio Beorchia asked the residents of Lombardy, inviting them to discover the small religious architectures scattered throughout the region. The main task was simple: to photograph what the saints look at, putting the camera at their eye level; and, moreover: to photograph the aedicule itself, marking its position, adding a title and, eventually, a description, anecdote or personal thought about it.
It was the occasion for MUS-E children to discover the new possible points of views and to make a journey around Lombardy, the region where they live. Many of them are foreigners and do not have the habit to go around (they only know the area around their home). The workshops on this topic and the visit at the Museum were a great opportunity, perfectly in line with Mus-e approach which focuses on building social inclusion.
MUS-E Milano Onlus
Arianna Castronovo, Local Coordinator & Monica Zipparri, Didactic and Artistic Coordinator