Manuzzi project- young artists alive and well in Veneto

The recent Manuzzi Progetto exhibition instigated by the principal and teachers at the local art school Pietro Selvatico Scuola DArte in Padova,Italy is a testament to the resilience of the staff  who are dedicated to re-expressing the Italian aesthetic through practical application of specialist materials-textiles,wood carving and goldsmithing/metalwork in collaborations between  departments in which 14 to 18 year-old  students can select to specialise in. All this achieved despite the economic and political instabilities that have had a devastating impact the Italian education system.

 Having taught 2 didactical Shibori courses to the teachers there over six years ago , it was gratifying to see the results being two group projects.The first was to reproduce the technique of shibori in metal in the goldsmithing department .A computer program for 3D forms was used and the modelmaking department constructed plastic forms that mimiced the 3D shapes and resembling architectural forms.
The exterior of the school with its neoclassical pillars ,badly in need of repair, belies a glorious light-filled pantheneon  atrium where there a permanent display of gesso replicas including a classical bust of Prof.Selvatico, a Padovan architect who founded the school.This is the life drawing studio for the students ,still an important subject in the Italian curriculum, contrary to the trend of overseas art schools that have axed this essential subject.
Pictured in the atrium with a current display of textile students work is Donatella Michelon,one of its dedicated weaving teachers who organised my workshops that focused on professional development in the area of dyes and shibori,the resist dye technique whose collective Japanese name is shibori.
Being an art gallery itself ,Selvatico is worth a visit if you are ever in Padova (request permission first of course! but the reception staff are friendly if you say,Per favore, posso dare solo una occhiata!Please can I  just want have a quick look!).There,classical Roman bass reliefs,life size Michelangelo slave series and Canova Baroque classics mingle with changing displays of the students work, contrasting between traditional and contemporary, interpreted in new mindset of the young e-generation,attesting to the enduring power of art to inspire successive generations.This is only possible if institutions like Selvatico are supported. I had a short encounter with the principal of the school who greeted me graciously but did not linger.She looked worried...she is soldiering on, according to the great Italian politician and philosopher, Antonio Gramsci's advice-
" I am pessimisitic by nature and optimistic by determination"