Istituto Leone XIII: A Collective Story
Experiential workshops with children aged 2 to 5 and painting courses with Primary School pupils at Istituto paritario Leone XIII in Milan. I offer painting activities that activate creativity and strengthen attention and social skills. The project 'A Collective Story' is an illustrated narrative programme entirely invented by the young participants. For the Primary School: museum visits and highly personal reproductions of paintings, as well as set design and theatrical costume making.
A School with a 130-Year History
Istituto Leone XIII is an independent school in Milan founded by the Society of Jesus in 1893. Located in the Pagano area, in its current premises since 1950, it is one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the city — from nursery school through to upper secondary.
Since 2021 I have been collaborating with the nursery school section, offering experiential workshops to children aged 2 to 5.
The Project “A Collective Story”
At the heart of my work at Leone XIII is the project “A Collective Story”: an illustrated narrative programme entirely invented by the young participants.
How it works: starting from an initial stimulus — an image, an object, a question — the children build a story together. Each session adds a chapter, and each chapter takes shape through drawing, painting and collage.
The result is an illustrated book created by the group, in which every child finds their own contribution within a shared narrative.
Painting Activities
Alongside the narrative project, I offer free and structured painting activities that work on:
- Creativity and imagination: making room for fantasy without judgement
- Attention skills: following an instruction, completing a task, staying focused
- Social skills: working together, sharing materials, taking turns
- Fine motor skills: holding the brush, controlling the gesture, managing the colours
Working with the Youngest Children
Preschool-age children do not need complex instructions. They need stimulating materials, time to explore and an adult who knows how to observe without directing. My role is to create the conditions for creativity to emerge spontaneously — then I accompany the process with discretion.
With young children you do not teach art: you create a space where art can happen.
Working with Primary School Children
School-age children approach painting with enthusiasm and curiosity: their reproductions are rich and astonishing, visionary and the fruit of a pure, free creativity.
Continuity and Growth
The collaboration with Leone XIII has been active since 2021 and continues today, with a continuity that allows us to observe the children’s growth year after year — and to adapt the activities to their development.