text: The Istituto Italiano di Cultura is proud to partner with the Ontario Reggio Association (ORA) to host the Mosaic of Marks, Words, Material, an exhibition and atelier focusing on research completed in the infant-toddler centres in Reggio Emilia, Italy.
  14TH NORTH AMERICAN REGGIO EMILIA ALLIANCE
  An Essential and Ethical Dimension in the LIfe of Children and Adults
  March 16 to March 18
  9:00AM to 5:00PM
  EXHIBITION & ATELIER
  Mosaic of Marks, Words, Material
  March 19 to April 12
  Bishop Strachan School
  298 Lonsdale Road
  The Reggio Emilia Approach refers to the early childhood education project that originated in Reggio Emilia, Italy, by Loris Malaguzzi, following the destruction of World War II. It is an educational philosophy based on the concept that any child has strong potentialities for development and is a “subject with rights” who learns through the hundred languages belonging to all human beings and grows in relations with other. The Reggio Emilia education approach has become a reference point worldwide.
  The program varies from conference to conference. Typical features might include: presentations and reflections by noted representatives from Reggio Emilia and/or North America, school visits, small group discussions, encounters with the Mosaic of Marks, Words, Material exhibition and atelier, and local cultural experiences.
  The Mosaic of Marks, Words, Material exhibition and atelier, tells the story of research done in Reggio Emilia’s infant-toddler centres and preschools on mark-making and drawing woven with narrative.
  At the core of the Mosaic of Marks, Words, Material exhibition and atelier is the desire to open experiences lived by children as they encounter and navigate communication and mark-making prior to the symbol system of standardized writing and reading.
  Drawing and telling stories mean imagining, comparing, analyzing, and exploring spaces, forms, colours, words, metaphors, emotions, rhythms, and pauses, entering into a narrative dimension that is both internal and external to the self, playing on reality, fiction, and interpretation.
  For young children, words and stories, silent or spoken, almost always intertwine with drawing, creating an intelligent and often poetic mosaic. The investigations of children and adults that are the subject of this exhibition give us a better understanding of the interweaving between mark-making and narration with the aim to restore to drawing, materials, words, and the
  children all the cognitive and expressive richness they generate.
  There will be various ways to engage and participate in the atelier. CLICK HERE to see details about three different opportunities to experience this exhibition and atelier.
  ABOUT LORIS MALAGUZZI
  Collaborator Visionary Researcher Communicator
  LORIS MALAGUZZI lived an eclectic and highly participating life. He was an active and influential citizen within Reggio Emilia, within Italy, and within the global community of education. Born in 1920 in Correggio, a village on the outskirts of Reggio Emilia, his childhood corresponded to the 22 years when Mussolini’s fascist regime governed Italy. His strong community and collegial leanings were characterized initially when he joined the citizens of Villa Cella as they built a school for children “brick by brick” when WWII ended. He was 24.
  From that moment through the end of his life, he was a passionate promoter of children’s rights to a good education. He both travelled the world meeting key scholars and invited them to Reggio Emilia—a tradition of exchange that remains a cornerstone of Reggio Emilia today. More importantly, he brought together citizens of Reggio Emilia in the creation of a municipally-financed and municipally-valued system of infant-toddler centers and preschools—not just any system, but one that sought to revolutionize the current thinking of the time. Today, Reggio Emilia’s approach to early education remains known as a pedagogy that continually innovates.
  Presented with the support of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura Toronto