EDUCATION
The education team is among the first to begin developing programmes in a host city of Manifesta. These programmes derive from conversations, extensive field research, sociocultural and educational mapping, pilot community projects, and projects at schools developed collaboratively with artists and associations of Palermo and conducted during the two years prior to the opening of the biennial. Manifesta 12’s Education and Mediation Programme can be described as research-based, responsive, and responsible.
Expanded research is key to situating the project within the city and its urban and social contexts, as well as identifying the potential role of Manifesta alongside existing cultural and socio-educational entities.
The Education and Mediation Programme responds both to local requests for new practices and approaches and recent curatorial developments, integrating mediation with artistic projects from the initial stage. The emphasis on social and ethical responsibility responds to the peculiarities and challenges of cultural institutions that operate in economically and educationally impoverished neighbourhoods by positively contributing to existing infrastructures and resources.
The Education and Mediation Programme aims to enhance Manifesta 12 by broadening and engaging diverse audiences, catalysing viable community projects, developing and legitimising new educational methodologies, and implementing participatory practices in a responsible and meaningful way.