The Industrial Revolution brought about an increasingly organized working class capable of furnishing its own novel forms of education. Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, a Catalan pedagogue working at the turn of the twentieth century, exemplifies the historical tendency to base such initiatives on modern principles such as rationality, science and equality. While only active for less than a decade, Ferrer’s Escuela Moderna (The Modern School) in Barcelona was exceptionally productive of radical thought, yet none of which was dedicated to art. As I was researching about this revolutionary educational program I found curious the conspicuous absence of art and therefore ventured to fill in the blank. Taking the principles of The Modern School, I started mapping authors and artists that could be sympathetic or promoted by the ideological affiliations of the programme. That compilation resulted in The Book of Aesthetic Education of the Modern School, an exhibition display, a book, and a set-up
for activities and debates relating to Art Education.

See also A Friend in Common.

This project is made possible thanks to CBK Rotterdam and Mondriaan Fund.