Kids Creative Lab
April 24–May 6, 2013
Peggy Guggenheim Collection
701 Dorsoduro
30123 Venice, Italy
Hours: 10am–6pm; closed Tuesday
T +39 041 2405404/415
press [at] guggenheim-venice.it
There is anticipation, even trepidation, in Peggy’s home for the gigantic collective installation that will soon come to life in the exhibition galleries of Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, from 24 April to 6 May. Hundreds of colorful and varied creations made of felt have been delivered to the museum on the Grand Canal. They are the impassioned creations of children in primary schools all across Italy, participants in Kids Creative Lab, a project of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and of OVS, the leading fast-fashion brand in Italy. The felt creations have been assembled into an original and outsize work of “art” that unites the fantasy of innumerable budding “artists,” that is to be placed on view to visitors in Peggy’s world renowned museum with its collection of modern masterpieces. The school that has participated with the highest number of students using the Artist Kit will receive as a prize ten ASUS VivoTab Smart tablets of the latest generation, complete with cases and keyboards, that have been donated by ASUS, technical sponsor of the project and of the show. The winner will be announced at a press conference on April 24. Every child has received a voucher that will allow him/her, together with two accompanying adults, to visit the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and the exhibition for free while the exhibition lasts.
1,200 schools, 7,000 classes and more than 160,000 children. These are the astonishing numbers that indicate the success of Kids Creative Lab. This nationwide project, which began last November, has “art and fashion” as its theme. Children, schools and parents participated in one of four workshops. The purpose has been to interest schoolchildren in art and fashion in a creative way and at the same time stimulate intellectual and emotional growth.
Participants in these “do it yourself” workshops have designed and stitched felt creations objects by following an instruction manual and by watching a series of fun video tutorials. Children have also been given the opportunity to use the Artist Kit—a captivating and original approach to the processes and materials of art making.
“It is key to the museum’s educational programs that the study of art is linked to themes such as fashion, design, new media, and other fresh approaches to the world around us. The school-family-museum triangle can encourage the development of a critical and aesthetical sense in children who will continue to nurture this as an enrichment of their lives as they grow up,” said Philip Rylands, director of the museum. “We are thrilled by this collaboration with OVS, a brand of the Gruppo Coin, leader in Italian fashion retail. Like the museum, Coin places a high priority on the education of children, and Kids Creative Lab has demonstrated the creative potential of partnerships between art and business to promote cultural growth through the beauty of art.”
According to Stefano Beraldo, CEO of the Coin group, “Kids Creative Lab, in partnership with an institution such as the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, has represented for us a truly unique opportunity to engage culture as a way of connecting with children. Children today are overwhelmingly exposed to multimedia communication and the instruments of network communication, while this project has allowed us instead to bring them closer to art and to manual work by transforming them into hands-on participants.”
“We are proud to contribute to a project dedicated to bringing together iconic fields of endeavor such as art, design, fashion, elegance and innovative materials. The decision to partner with one of the Italy’s most important museums of modern art and with OVS reminds us that Italy is a country with many excellences thanks to its special talent for innovation. It is vital to invest in new generations to nurture this capacity for creativity,” remarked Manuela Lavezzari, marketing manager of ASUS.
