#srisa

Alessandro Fonte

L'assedio

curated by Alessandra Franetovich

opening November 8, 7 pm

November 9 - December 8 2018 mon-fry 10:00 am – 9:00 pm free entrance

SRISA Project Space Firenze Santa Reparata International School of Art (SRISA) Via Santa Reparata 19r, 50129 Firenze 055 4627374 - [email protected]

[review on artribune]

[review on exibart]

This morning I had the privilege of sitting down with Rebecca Olson, the Director of the Santa Reparata International School of Art in Florence, Italy (SRISA). The school, founded by Rebecca’s father Dennis Olson in the 1970’s, has grown into a now expanded curriculum that includes Studio Arts (painting, drawing, photography, book arts, printmaking, and new genres), Liberal Arts (art history, history, museum studies, cinema, literature, Italian language and culture), and Design (fashion, textiles, jewelry and graphic design). SRISA welcomes 45 visiting faculty members every summer, to teach new courses in all disciplines. With each faculty member comes a handful of students from their home institution, and together they embark on a 4 week course in Florence.

Rebecca and I spoke about reinvention, xenophobia, and ways that I might be able to contribute in the future as a New Media faculty member. I couldn’t help but realize how my philosophy as an educator aligns with the mission of SRISA, and reflect on what it might mean to teach abroad as a feminist and queer academic, which includes a new level of privilege and mentoring.

Making study abroad a part of art education is a unique endeavor, one that pushes a student to get out of their comfort zone to experience another culture, language, environment and education system — and what a better location than Florence? I experienced this first hand my last trip to Iceland with Mary Ellen Mark, to work at the Reykjavik School of Art. However challenging it may be to create work abroad, it’s thrilling to think of what I might be able to accomplish with a group of students.

The more we spoke, the more I thought about ways students might be able to “lose” themselves in a new geographic location. There are many parallels to “mapping” the veins of a city, especially on foot in foreign soil; 3D mapping, city symphonies, and contemporary works like Mapping Manhattan by Becky Cooper and Flight Patterns by Aaron Koblin are just a few examples. How might I be able to lead students in creating public, and community based New Media art abroad? What does the role of geography play in relation to history, identity, and performance? I was excited to hear about the community that exists at SRISA, and how faculty and students are able to work as a collaborative and interdisciplinary team, focused on growth.

It’s important to think about how this sort of exchange is not just for students but for faculty. My parents have never left the United States, and I am also a first generation college student. However, since I can remember, it’s been my dream to travel and make work in Italy. As a young child (and with the extension of the internet) I even tried to teach myself Italian, and would describe entire situations based on my expectations of what Tuscany might be like. After all, Opera was invented in Florence, the Venice Biennale takes place every two years, and don’t get me going on Renaissance and neoclassical architecture. As we spoke today I began to imagine what a future creative life that’s shared between the US and Italy could look like, and am eager to wonder what creative experimentation might be in store with this sort of unique opportunity.