Art and Coffee: An interview with Monica Sampietro of the Casnati Study Center.

Monica Sampietro is a teacher with over 20 years of experience and holds the role of coordinator at the art high school of Casnati Study Center of Como. This year, under his guidance, students from the art high school had the opportunity to participate in a project developed together with Caffè Milani, aimed at promoting the coffee industry through various art forms. A large selection of the students' works will be displayed in an exhibition opening on October 1, 2023, on the occasion of the International Coffee Day.

In this interview, Monica Sampietro shared details about the project and offered fascinating insights into the role art plays in her students' educational journey.

Monica, you're a teacher at the Casnati Study Center in Como. Tell us about the school and the educational projects it's been carrying out for over 50 years.

The Casnati Center has long adopted an increasingly project-oriented approach, transforming itself into a true institution dedicated to design. In the first two years, students acquire artistic, graphic, and theoretical skills. From the third year onward, they immerse themselves in a program closely tied to design. Currently, the high school is divided into three majors: audiovisual and multimedia, fashion design, and architecture and environment.

Additionally, we inaugurated the Casnati Hub, a hub for all projects developed in collaboration with companies. These numerous and diverse projects encompass the skills students have developed over the years, including video, graphics, photography, fashion design, and industrial design. Depending on the chosen major, clients are sought who offer students the opportunity to work directly with companies, interacting with design, production, marketing, and other departments, transcending the traditional teacher-student dynamic of classroom instruction.

This experience allows students to immediately experience the world of work, helping them grow, gain self-confidence, and develop a sense of responsibility.

You decided to participate in the Caffè Milani project, which aims to spread knowledge about coffee through artistic expression. Can you tell us what motivated your school to join this initiative?

The collaboration with Caffè Milani began some time ago with a project our hotel management school developed to celebrate the company's 85th anniversary. Our school then proposed new collaborations that would embrace the skills of our art school, and from there, this latest collaboration began. Caffè Milani is a solid, historic company, boasts top-quality products, and, above all, represents a local presence. The students who participated in the project are both in their first two-year and third- and fourth-year years.

Given the interdisciplinary nature of the Casnati Study Center's educational approach, could you explain how the coffee exhibition integrated and combined elements from different disciplines? Was there a specific creative process they followed?

The key is what you mentioned at the beginning of the program: the invitation to be free to design, work, and experiment with any type of material. This approach has allowed our students to freely explore different techniques and media, even the most unconventional ones, often resulting from technical and formal research. When students are given the opportunity to experiment with different tools and materials, they can truly express their creativity to the fullest.

How many students participated and how did they approach this coffee-themed project?

Attendance was high, with two classes from the second year plus students majoring in audiovisual and multimedia. The second-year students, who had managed projects with a few companies, were keen to stand out as individuals, presenting themselves as individuals, and had a great time experimenting with various techniques. The third- and fourth-year students, on the other hand, preferred group work, being more accustomed to dividing tasks based on their skills.

What types of works and techniques were presented?

The selection is truly varied! There are both digital and photographic works, sculptures, assemblages, cardboard design models, prints on various materials and supports, paintings, watercolors, ecolines, acrylics, and tempera. There's truly something for everyone! As for techniques, painting, layering, assemblage, and three-dimensional creations predominate.

What do you think art can teach us today? Why should young people be interested in it?

In my opinion, art plays a fundamental role in teaching us to perceive beauty, to appreciate the power of contemplation, and to recognize the meaning of the emotions evoked by observing a work of art. Art possesses remarkable meditative and communicative potential. If we could cultivate the ability to recognize beauty in every aspect of the world, we could increase our happiness and awareness, becoming more attentive to one another.

Generally, students often express gratitude when they have the opportunity to admire an exhibition or installation of artistic value. However, they are also able to identify degradation where it manifests itself. Studying art helps develop a critical sense, discerning what is beautiful from what is not, allowing for intellectual growth and emancipation from intellectual inertia.

Art and a passion for coffee merge in a fascinating exhibition that celebrates the creativity of young talents and offers the public the opportunity to admire coffee and its supply chain from diverse perspectives. The worlds of art and coffee intertwine thanks to collaborations like this one, founded on shared values, inspiring a profound connection between two worlds that have created something extraordinary.

Exhibition information

The public will be able to admire the students' works during the event "Open Doors of Caffè Milani" (1, 8 and 29 October), and will be able to visit the Exhibition Caffè Milani , a fascinating journey from the plant to the cup, structured on several levels.