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Returned in 2023 for its second edition, EDI Global Forum is a project by Fondazione Morra Greco that seeks to create connections between institutions and experts from educational departments at museums and contemporary art institutions from around the globe.

EDI 2023 took place in Naples from the 24th to the 27th of October and again included a dynamic program of conferences, participatory workshops, collaborative working groups and events spread throughout the city.

In line with the international spirit of the event, in 2023 an ad hoc Scientific Committee has been set up, coordinated by Alessandra Drioli – museologist, curator, professor and project manager. The Scientific Committee is formed by representatives from educational departments at five international institutions: Marìa Acaso, Head of the Education Department, Museo Reina Sofía (Spain); Fatima Bintou Rassoul SY, Director of Public Programs, Raw Material Company (Senegal); Helen Charman, Director of Learning, National Programmes and Young V&A, Victoria & Albert Museum (London, UK); Emma Harjadi Herman, Head of Education and Inclusion, Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam, Netherlands); Nisa Mackie, Deputy Director, Learning and Engagement, MoMA (New York, USA).

At the same time, however, EDI Global Forum maintains strong ties to the local community, which is the focus of Fondazione Morra Greco’s activities. In fact, during the event, several local speakers have been invited to lead several sessions and a shortlist of activities have taken place around the city of Naples.

EDI Global Forum 2023 focused on 3 topics:

  • WELLBEING AND JUSTICE – As the new ICOM definition underlines, museums exist to serve society by making art, culture and cultural heritage accessible to the public. However, museums have, for far too long, welcomed only a very privileged audience. Thankfully, artists and activists are leading the way in addressing different forms of exclusion, such as racism, ableism and classism in the arts. During EDI Global Forum, we have explored new ways for our institutions to become more just and enjoyable for everyone.
  • DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION – Digital technologies provide vast opportunities to make cultural institutions more relevant and more widely accessible. Developments are happening so fast that it can be hard to keep track of them. During the second edition of EDI Global Forum we tried to answer questions such as: What technologies are worth investing in for your institution? What quick wins and best practices can already be adopted? How does your (potential) audience want to engage with arts and culture online? Where might digital innovation be headed within the cultural and artistic spheres?
  • RESPONDING TO THE CLIMATE CRISIS – Cultural production often places a heavy burden on the environment. We desperately need to make sustainability central to the decision-making process when it comes to energy use, travel, buildings and so on, and during EDI Global Forum we have discovered some of the best practices for doing so. We have also reflected on how, as arts educators, we can increase awareness surrounding the connection between culture and nature. Finally, we have explored new and forgotten/marginalised ways to think about caring for people and the planet within our cultural practices, thereby, challenging the ‘extractivist’ logic that is leading us towards a climate crisis.

 

EDI Global Forum 2023 in numbers

342 participants

193 represented organizations

29 countries

14 locations
Fondazione Morra Greco / Museo Archeologico Nazionale / Chiesa e Chiostro Di S. Marcellino e Festo / Real Museo Mineralogico, Centro Musei Delle Scienze Naturali e Fisiche / Museo Di Fisica, Centro Musei Delle Scienze Naturali e Fisiche / Facoltà Di Scienze Politiche, Università Degli Studi Di Napoli Federico II / Museo e Real Bosco Di Capodimonte / MADRE – Museo Di Arte Contemporanea Donnaregina / Accademia Di Belle Arti / Vivaio Calvanese / Piazza Garibaldi / Palazzo Ischitella, / Palazzo Petrucci / Chiesa Di S. Paolo Apostolo

More than 50 events, for 5 different formats:

  • EDI DISCUSSION – Sessions addressing different levels of policy and institutional viewpoints.
  • EDI VISIONS – Panels coordinated by members of Scientific Committee focused on sharing projects relating to the three topics of EDI 2023.
  • EDI INSPIRING – 15-minute breakthrough sessions to generate discovery and inspiration, led by professionals and experts from different fields, including those far from the world of art and education to encourage the development of innovative synergies.
  • EDI FACILITATING – Participatory workshops geared toward knowledge sharing and skill development, coordinated by two or more institutions in the EDI network.
  • EDI COMMUNITY – Informal sessions to sharing ideas, experiences, and projects.

 

3 special projects

 

‘A RARECA RARECHEA

The project focuses on the relationship between nature and the human. It started with the mapping of five trees located in the city of Naples, which were spontaneously cared for by local citizens. This relationship was then translated into the installation of bronze rings – made from a bacterial cellulose-based material by the company Knowledge for Business – on the trees themselves. By framing the QR code on the rings through the free app “Arti Vive”, the trees are able to give back to anyone who observes them the stories of care they witness, while at the same time offering data on their health status, species and age, sending the world a fundamental message about the need for the protection of urban public green spaces, whose role is now more indispensable than ever to combat climate change.

The project was developed for Fondazione Morra Greco from an idea of artist Antonella Raio and designed by students of the Course in Community Design at the University of Naples Federico II (DiArc) under the coordination of Prof. Carla Langella: Davide Andrea Calabrese, Allegra Casillo, Flavia Padulano, Francesca Maria Pagliaro, Chiara Prisco.

With the institutional collaboration of: ASL Napoli 1 Centro: Department of Mental Health, Health District 24, Child Neuropsychiatry Operational Unit, Mental Health Complex Operational Unit, “La Fenice 24” Day Care Center, Suor Orsola Benincasa University and the Embodied Education research group.

 

INFORMAL LUNCH

Conceived by artist Eugenio Tibaldi and developed in collaboration with Dedalus Cooperativa Sociale – Officine Gomitoli, Informal Lunch was a participatory workshop that took place on October 27 in Piazza Garibaldi as part of EDI Global Forum 2023.

The workshop included the participation of second-generation migrant women coming from Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Bolivia, Algeria, and Pakistan and joined by Officine Gomitoli in the process of social and cultural coexistence in Italy. In the month prior to the Forum, this group was invited by artist Eugenio Tibaldi to imagine an “informal pizza” menu combining the classic ingredients of pizza, a symbol and specialty of the city of Naples, with flavors, spices, and recipes evocative for them of their country of origin. The pizzas thus created were then actually prepared and tasted during the last day of the event involving other EDI network members and passersby of Piazza Garibaldi.

By combining a necessity such as eating with the exercise of a trans-community practice, these pizzas tell the story of the encounter between a community of origin and one of arrival, thus foreshadowing a community of the future. The convivial moment playfully activated the invitation to rethink the immutability of tradition, our cities and the meaning of “identity” addressed to the EDI Global Forum audience by Eugenio Tibaldi.

 

DIVING INTO ART

During the second day of EDI Global Forum we had the opportunity to conduct an extraordinary experiment: the Olimaint team, thanks to the use of the latest technologies in the field of augmented reality and artificial intelligence, live scanned the painting “The Parable of the Blind” (“De parabel der blinden”) by the Dutch Renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1568), one of the most important artworks in the collection of the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, and then transferred it to the Metaverse.

Through a virtual reality headset, it was then possible to have an immersive experience in the painting, literally entering it. Sylvain Bellenger, director of the museum, was among the first to experience this immersive journey and move into the work.

This process opens a whole new range of opportunities for studying and developing relationships with art: not only can one reconstruct every detail of the painting – including the more subtle nuances – but it also offers the possibility of living “an extraordinary experience that changes the very concept of reality”, as Bellenger stated.

 

Giornata Federiciana

As part of the 2023 edition of EDI Global Forum, the day of October 26 was named Giornata Federiciana to emphasize the strong collaborative link between Fondazione Morra Greco and the University of Naples Federico II.

The event aimed to strengthen the dialogue and cooperation between the University’s teaching and research system and the well-established educational practices of the Museums, promoting an ever-closer synergy between research, education and museology.

This discussion aimed not only at the informational and educational aspect, but also at fostering an active projection of the museum in society, responding to contemporary social priorities and challenges.

The Giornata Federiciana was held in some of the University’s most impressive venues – such as the splendid Complex of St. Marcellinus and Festus, with its cloister, and the University Museums of Paleontology, Mineralogy, Zoology and Physics – which hosted all the Forum activities.

The initiative was part of the “Vivi Federico II” project, co-financed by the Anniversary Mission Structure of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and promoted by the University to enhance the cultural heritage of the University, as part of the celebrations for the 800th anniversary of its founding.

UNCONFERENCE

In 2023, Fondazione Morra Greco team included in the EDI Global Forum program some special formats focused on participatory processes: Unconference, Pecha Kucha and Whispering Siesta.

These activities encouraged collaboration among participants and the establishment of new connections with the aim of developing collective reflection on the topic of education and social impact.

Thanks to the inputs offered by some speakers in very short speeches, everyone present was involved in an exchange of ideas using some ad hoc facilitation tools as well.

 

Watch the videos

Discover EDI 2023’s playlist on Fondazione Morra Greco’s YouTube channel: you will find the recordings of some of this year’s sessions and interviews to EDI participants.

 

 

Browse the Gallery:

 

EDI Global Forum 2023

Photographic documentation curated by Maurizio Esposito
Photographs by:
Maurizio Esposito
Valeria Laureano
Amedeo Benestante
Alessandro Gattuso
Serena Schettino

Courtesy Fondazione Morra Greco

Discover more about EDI Global Forum 2022

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Fondazione Morra Greco is available to share additional information and materials to ensure the best possibile outreach of EDI Global Forum.

General
ediglobalforum@fondazionemorragreco.com

Communication team
comunicazione@fondazionemorragreco.com

 

EDI Global Forum is a project by Fondazione Morra Greco implemented with the support of Regione Campania funded under the 2014/2020 POC Campania FESR, Piano Strategico Cultura e Beni Culturali.