In un antico ex asilo di Bergamo sta per aprire una innovativa scuola di alta formazione per artisti
Nicola Ricciardi, former director of OGR Torino and miart Milan, is launching Afterclass, a new postgraduate school for artists in Bergamo, Italy. Housed in the historic Ex Principe di Napoli complex—a 17th-century building abandoned for 30 years—the school will offer an intensive, in-person program from October to June with a small core faculty and numerous visiting professors, including artists, curators, gallerists, and collectors. Co-founded with Francesco Pedrini and Viviana Bertanzetti, Afterclass is inspired by Ricciardi's experience at Bard College in New York and aims to fill a gap in Italy's art education system by providing structured post-academic guidance and professional networking.
This initiative matters because it directly addresses a perceived weakness in the Italian art system, where few domestic artists gain prominence at major events like the Venice Biennale. By creating a dedicated, immersive postgraduate program modeled on successful international examples, Afterclass could help cultivate a new generation of Italian artists better equipped to navigate the global art world. The project also revitalizes a neglected historic building in Bergamo, combining educational, cultural, and commercial uses through the Fondazione Nuovo Principe, potentially serving as a model for art-driven urban regeneration.