The Strange Skin project, curated by the Educational Department of the Foundation, and involving the 3D class of the "Renato Cottini" State Art School during the school year 2016/2017, ranked 21st in the list for the public notice “Progetti di Eccellenza di Alternanza Scuola Lavoro” (“Projects of Excellence in Work-based learning”), promoted by the Piedmont Regional School Office, scoring 61 out of 100 points and obtaining a financial reward: http://www.istruzionepiemonte.it/?p=26998
The program, implemented thanks to the support of Regione Piemonte, is a representative example of the work carried out by the Educational Department, aimed at getting young people acquainted with contemporary art, in particular through meetings with major international artists.
The last school year it was the turn of Adrian Villar Rojas, and of the Reboot the Planet! project https://vimeo.com/167808420. This year the project started from the work of Ed Atkins. In the month of September he met the students (not only from the Cottini Art School, but also from the Cavour college and the Albe Steiner institute), talking about his beginnings and his influences, welcoming the many questions that the classes had prepared for him, showing videos of his works, and talking about key references in his own education and evolution.
The 3D class continued working intensively on the educational program that focused on the English artist. They have produced interviews with, besides Atkins himself, professionals from the Foundation (the curator and chief installer), they have analyzed the contents and technical aspects of the works through the production of video and sound contributions, and prepared to guide their fellow students from 1st-grade secondary school in a visit the exhibition. Another feature of this project is the specific use of the English language. Besides this, students also had the opportunity to shadow the cultural mediation staff of the Foundation, and become themselves mediators for the Ed Atkins exhibition, having talks with visitors and narrating their experience.
