Fondazione MAST CIAO, Modern art museum in Bologna, Italy.
Fondazione MAST is a museum of photography and art located in a former industrial complex in the northern part of Bologna. Its exhibition spaces are spread across several floors connected by ramps, and it also holds a dedicated area for photographic research.
The industrial complex that now houses the museum was redesigned following a 2005 architectural competition won by Studio Labics. The project was completed in 2013, turning a former production site into a place devoted to art and photography.
The MAST Foundation runs Foto/Industria, a biennial of industrial and work photography launched in 2013 and described in the sources as the first initiative of its kind worldwide. It is curated by François Hébel, director of the Rencontres internationales de la photographie d'Arles, and its first edition comprised 17 exhibitions in 10 venues across Bologna. The opening show, "I Mondi dell'Industria", curated by Urs Stahel, drew on the MAST archive with works by 48 international photographers.
The building is easy to reach and has wide entrances and ramps that make all exhibition areas accessible. Visitors who want to spend more time can also use quiet work areas with free wireless internet.
Inside the same building there is an experimental nursery school for children from three months to three years old that applies creative learning methods. This makes the place one of the few art institutions in Italy where early childhood education and contemporary art share the same roof.
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