Fabio Fornasari on Museo Tolomeo and Inclusive Art Education

Architect Fabio Fornasari, curator of the Museo Tolomeo in Bologna, discusses the museum's origins and its approach to multisensory and inclusive art spaces. The museum opened in January 2015 as part of Art City, the OFF version of Arte Fiera Bologna, drawing on the concepts of Wunderkammer and installation art. Fornasari's interest in non-visual art began after a traumatic brain injury at age 15, leading him to collaborate with the Istituto dei Ciechi 'F. Cavazza' in Bologna. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the museum created tutorials for disabled children to build their own learning aids at home. Fornasari emphasizes that accessibility is a systemic culture, not a switch, and that museums must function as expressions of community. He cites conceptual artists like Joseph Kosuth, Dan Graham, and Marcel Broodthaers as influences, arguing that art is a tool for rethinking reality.