Drawing At Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo

Location:

Torino, Italy

Web site:

www.fsrr.org

Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo is a non-profit private organisation, created in 1995 by art collector Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo.

One of its main aims is to provide education in contemporary art with special attention to the public: the Fondazione has the first permanent service of art mediation in Italy. Educational projects involve about 15,000 children, young people, teachers, students and families every year.

On September 13^th 2009, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo centre for contemporary art opened its doors to a drawing event dedicated to the public. It coincided with the Glenn Brown exhibition (co-curated and co-organised with TATE Liverpool), and a piece of the collection exhibited in the special projects space: “A – Z Living Unit” by Andrea Zittel.

It was a Sunday afternoon and, from 2 to 7 pm, about 150 people took part in the activities led by the educational officers, featuring 6 drawing stations: the museum entrance, two educational rooms, the cafeteria, the bookshop and the garden.

A map was given to the visitors to find out “what was happening where” and to get some ideas, suggestions and instructions about how to interact and participate.

Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo was invaded by people drawing each others' portraits, sharing comments on music, having afternoon tea while drawing, lying on the floor to let someone draw their shape on big sheets... letting themselves go and enjoying the moment.

The event was a very important step in the direction of the museum as a place of dialogue, encounter, sharing and growth. There was very good feedback from people who sent emails and posted comments on Facebook.

Some examples:

Entrance: Under construction

Follow the paper path and draw a piece of the road that leads you to the next station. What is the road made of? Mud, gold, chocolate, burning braces? Is it straight, curved, long or tight?

Educational Room 1: A room with no walls

“A - Z Living Unit” is the title of a work by Californian artist Andrea Zittel: it's a portable house, made to travel; it lets you bring your own space with you. Try to close your eyes, and make the room walls disappear. Draw all the places where Andrea Zittel has been to: the seaside, or the centre of a big city? Did she have a drink at a river's source, or at the Trevi fountain in Rome?

Educational Room 2: See-through portraits

A big transparent sheet divides the room in two: stand in front of someone who stands on the other side, and use pencils or coloured adhesive paper to follow his/her body's shape, the face's details, the hair...

Bookshop: The sound of music

Let the music inspire you. Sit on the couch and choose from the songs on the MP3 players. Now close your eyes and draw, write or scrabble while you listen. Fill in the pentagrams, invent impossible music papers or create funny CD covers. Do you know who made the music selection? English artist Glenn Brown, who often gives his works titles taken from songs or albums.

Cafeteria: Badly drawn coffee

Have you ever scribbled on paper towels while waiting for your coffee? In the cafeteria you can find tables set to draw: follow the menu to create a graphic meal.

Garden: Unidentified flying drawings

Ideas and materials are hanging on threads: collect the ones you need to create or decorate objects that you can make fly in the garden... aeroplanes, flying saucers or windmills. You can also create a postcard as a memory of today's experience: draw a detail of the Fondazione building, write the names of the people you met here, draw the painting that you liked the most or make someone's portrait in a perfect “Glenn Brown style”.

The event was attended by about 150 people: children, teenagers, families who normally come to the Fondazione “Family Sundays”, adults and elderly people, professional drawers or painters, art academy students, art and drawing teachers, students from Turin high schools who took part to the Fondazione educational projects in the past, and many people who only came to see the Glenn Brown exhibition but somehow became involved.

List of media:

Materials: white chalk, black and Indian ink, pencils, stick glue, paper (different sizes and colours), white postcards, pastel colours, indelible felt tip pens, paint (different colours, normal and fluorescent), plastic sheets, coloured adhesive tape, scotch tape, ecoline, light projector, video projector, Wood's lamps, MP3 players, CDs, pentagram sheets

Techniques: drawing on paper, drawing with acrylic colours on plastic sheets, ink drawing, drawing on wall projections, collage

All activities were free (including the entrance to the Glenn Brown exhibition), and they were curated and led by the Fondazione Education Department staff (4 people) and the art mediators (3 people).

It was promoted through: