the classroom is a new center of art and education based in Milan. The project focuses on the production of a series of courses of history and theory of arts taught by artists. In each course the artist is invited to teach and to design his or her own classroom, turning the space of learning into a crafted site of production. The courses are free, open to students coming from any academic area. The classes are mixed and organized according to a selection process determined by the artist. Within these spaces, it thus becomes possible to redefine the relationship between teaching and learning, artistic practices and historical context, teachers, mentors and students.
During the course term, the classroom will open its doors to the city in conjunction with a public event, making it a public arena and a place accessible to all.
Housed in a former school building that from 1972 to 2011 contained one of the Montessori School of Milan, the classroom operates in collaboration with the universities and cultural centers and figures interested in the relationship between art and educational practices.
The initiative sets out to bring artists into the core discourse of History of Arts, encouraging individual production of paths and methods of study. Its mission is to work on the role of History of Arts as the basis of various paths of training, and on the dynamics by which histories are written, transmitted and spread.