CRAC Cremona: A Decade of Art Education as Social Practice

Founded by Dino Ferruzzi, the CRAC – Centro Ricerca Arte Contemporanea in Cremona was officially launched on October 18, 2004, and functioned within the Liceo Artistico Statale Bruno Munari until 2014. Over a decade, a dedicated team, including Ferdinando Ardigò, Giorgio Guerini, Gianna Paola Machiavelli, Alberto Mori, and Roberta Pagliari, crafted an educational initiative that fused art, education, and politics. This program shifted punitive approaches to creative solutions and encompassed both in-school and extracurricular activities, such as exhibitions and workshops. Influenced by thinkers like John Dewey and Paulo Freire, CRAC sought to innovate education from the inside. Ferruzzi characterized it as a unique endeavor in Italian public education, culminating in a lasting archive and library on contemporary art. His book "Ten Years 2004-2014" (Postmedia Books, 2016) chronicles this journey, which was unexpectedly halted in 2014.