Event
An art school beyond the academy
Afterclass is an independent post-graduate art school founded in Bergamo to support artists in the transition from the academy to the professional world: an intensive space for research, critical exchange, and access to the contemporary art system.
The Afterclass's project
I progetti Afterclass
DURATION
9
Months (October to June)
ADMISSION
15
Selected students
faculty
19
Faculty members (resident and visiting)
The School
Founded in Bergamo in 2026, Afterclass is more than a course-based programme: it is an intensive pedagogical environment where theory and practice come together to guide students beyond the boundaries of traditional academic training.
Running for nine months, from October to June, the programme is designed for a selected cohort of 15 students and led by a faculty of three resident professors, supported by an extensive visiting programme. Its structure combines theoretical seminars, practical laboratories, and intensive workshops, culminating in the development of a final project or end-of-year exhibition.
Applications will open in January 2027, and the first cycle of courses will begin in October of the same year. Until then, Afterclass will develop its presence through a programme of public initiatives, talks, and experimental formats designed to engage the community, communicate the school’s vision, and test new ways of presenting contemporary art.
Afterclass is a project by Fondazione Nuovo Principe, a non-profit organization responsible for developing the creative programme of the former “Principe di Napoli”, a seventeenth-century complex of more than 2,000 square metres in Bergamo’s historic centre. After over thirty years of abandonment, the building will reopen to the public in spring 2027 as the city’s new cultural hub.
The pedagogical model
The school’s main point of reference is the Post-Studio Art classes taught by artist and educator Michael Asher at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in Santa Clarita, where discussion developed around students’ works without predefined time limits. From the outset, Asher conceived his own work as a ‘relational device’: a means of fostering encounters and interaction between people. Applying the same principle to the academic sphere, the American artist identified the circulation of knowledge as the ultimate outcome of art education – knowledge understood not as an abstract or individual possession, but as a critical and public resource capable of generating access, interpretive tools, and possibilities for emancipation.
Grounded in his belief that education is a collective process of humanisation rather than a solitary path of individual consciousness, Afterclass is built on a pedagogical model of reciprocal learning, in which mentor and mentee work together to become more aware of the environment in which they live and operate. In this framework, the teacher does not simply transmit knowledge, but listens to the language of the class, identifying the words and themes that emerge with force, frequency, or intensity, and transforming them into a field of exchange, a productive tension, and a space for dialogue among all participants.
Finally, following the path established by intensive US-based programmes—from CalArts to CCS Bard—Afterclass approaches art not as a self-referential discipline, but as a tool for understanding and transforming the world. From this perspective, the classroom becomes a space for experimentation and exchange, where artistic practice is applied not only to the artwork, but to reality itself. The aim is to create tangible impact by educating people who can intervene through ideas, forms, and practices in the cultural, social, and economic contexts they inhabit.
The programme is built around three permanent faculty members with distinct but interwoven responsibilities: analysis of contemporaneity and critical framing, development of studio practice, and access to the professional field.
These are joined by visiting professors and guests who expand the programme through lectures, workshops, and reviews.
Teaching programme
Afterclass adotta una metodologia intensiva, seminariale e dialogica. Il programma alterna studio individuale, confronto collettivo e lavoro con la faculty. Particolare importanza è attribuita al crit come forma di apprendimento condiviso, al tutorial individuale come spazio di accompagnamento specifico e al confronto con visiting professors come momento di apertura verso il panorama nazionale e internazionale.
Primo Trimestre (Ottobre-Dicembre)
Fondazioni e posizionamento
Obiettivo: Mettere tutti sullo stesso piano, costruire linguaggio comune
- definizione della propria pratica/ricerca
- strumenti critici condivisi
- lettura della contemporaneità
- prime esercitazioni collettive
- tutorial individuali
- statement preliminare
- mappa di ricerca personale
- presentazione orale del proprio posizionamento
- primo crit / review collettivo
Secondo trimestre (Gennaio-Marzo)
Sperimentazione e produzione
Obiettivo: Trasformare la ricerca in lavoro concreto
- produzione artistica
- progettazione curatoriale
- scrittura critica ed editoriale
- lavoro con ospiti esterni
- esercizi pubblici, open studio, formati sperimentali
- corpo di lavoro in sviluppo
- progetto curatoriale individuale o a piccoli gruppi
- testo critico/curatoriale
- mock exhibition o public presentation
Terzo trimestre (Aprile-Giugno)
Presentazione, networking, transizione professionale
Obiettivo: Tradurre il percorso in una soglia pubblica e professionale
- finalizzazione dei progetti
- mostra finale / programma pubblico / pubblicazione
- portfolio e materiali professional
- simulazioni di studio visit, application, colloqui
- relazioni con istituzioni, spazi indipendenti, curatori, gallerie, fondazioni
- progetto finale
- mostra di restituzione conclusiva
- portfolio completo
- dossier professionale
- piano individuale sviluppo carriera post-programma
Il progetto finale e la mostra di restituzione conclusiva si svolgeranno all’interno e in partnership con un museo/istituzione cittadina di alto profilo, per offrire agli studenti l’opportunità di confrontarsi con un contesto espositivo riconosciuto e con una dimensione pubblica reale.
Areas of study
Location
Afterclass
ex Principe di Napoli
via Pignolo, 11
Bergamo
Afterclass will be based in the former “Principe di Napoli”, a seventeenth-century complex of more than 2,000 square metres at 11 Via Pignolo, in Bergamo’s historic centre. After over thirty years of abandonment, the municipally owned but privately managed building will reopen to the public in spring 2027 as a permanent cultural hub, hosting activities focused on education, experimentation, work, food and hospitality, and community-building, in dialogue with the city’s institutions.
Bergamo provides an ideal setting for Afterclass, combining a strong cultural tradition with a growing artistic ecosystem shaped by institutions such as the Politecnico delle Arti, GAMeC, and the Accademia Carrara. Its proximity to Milan also gives students and faculty access to an international network while allowing them to maintain an operational base in a more sustainable and cohesive city.
In this sense, Afterclass aims to bridge two complementary dimensions: the cultural density of the metropolis and the depth of human relationships in a city that has made balance, restraint, and quality of life defining elements of its identity.
La progettazione delle aule, dei laboratori e degli spazi comuni di Afterclass è stata affidata a 2050+, lo studio di architettura fondato da Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, il cui lavoro esplora l’intersezione tra tecnologia, politica e ambiente attraverso diverse forme di pratica spaziale critica.
La scelta di coinvolgere 2050+ riflette l’ambizione di conferire al progetto non soltanto un’identità spaziale funzionale e distintiva, ma anche un forte carattere culturale. L’approccio dello studio va oltre la progettazione formale degli spazi, indagandone le implicazioni sociali, simboliche e politiche.
In Afterclass, questa prospettiva permette di concepire gli interni come parte integrante dell’esperienza di apprendimento, favorendo il dialogo, la collaborazione e lo scambio tra studenti, docenti, professionisti e la comunità più ampia.
