Museum Education and Failure: Insights from GAMeC and MAXXI Educators

Giovanna Brambilla (GAMeC) and Marta Morelli (MAXXI) discuss the role of failure in museum education. Brambilla cites William Kentridge's Centre for the Less Good Idea in Johannesburg, which values 'less good ideas' as seeds for important works. Morelli emphasizes embracing unpredictability and viewing failure as growth. Both stress that absolute success or failure is unattainable; evaluation processes (ex ante, in itinere, ex post) help refine projects. On their museums' current roles, Brambilla highlights GAMeC's exhibition 'Black Hole' (curated by Lorenzo Giusti and Sara Fumagalli) as intertwining art history with scientific paradigms. Morelli points to MAXXI's interdisciplinary research, including non-Western art exhibitions, and collaborations with physics and astrophysics. Upcoming projects: Brambilla's outreach project bringing an artwork to Bergamo prison; Morelli's stable educational program on photography for primary schools, workshops on Zaha Hadid's building using Maria Lai's methodology, and a January 2019 international conference on built environment education. On multiculturalism and accessibility, Brambilla shares a collaboration with Palazzo Strozzi on Alzheimer's and prison education exchanges. Morelli calls for greater representation of new Italian citizens, non-native communities, LGBTQ people, and disabled individuals in museum narratives.