ACCADEMIA DEI BAMBINI AT FONDAZIONE PRADA IN MILAN PRESENTS “THE ASTONISHING ADVENTURES OF A CELESTIAL ARCHAEOLOGIST”, A NEW SERIES OF WORKSHOPS CONCEIVED AND CURATED BY MUSICIAN AND VISUAL ARTIST

Milan,2 May 2018 – From Saturday 5 May 2018, Accademia dei bambini at Fondazione Prada in Milan will host a new series of workshops, titled “Imaginary Universes”, conceived and curated by internationally renowned musician and visual artist Devendra Banhart.

In the spaces of the Accademia, every Saturday and Sunday, children will have the opportunity to travel through galaxies in a magic imaginary spacecraft. After sailing past stars, space cakes, asteroids and comets, they will arrive at an undiscovered planet, inhabited by strange animals, cheese trees, lights, colours and sounds never seen or heard in any other universe. Employing blank globes and markers, children will be able to invent fantastical unexplored planets.

Devendra Banhart will personally lead the workshops scheduled for Saturday 5 May, “The Astonishing Adventures of a Celestial Archaeologist”, at 11am, 2pm and 4pm respectively. Workshops are open to all children aged 4-10. Due to the Accademia’s limited capacity, booking is essential. Places are assigned on a first-come first-served basis. The complete program schedule for May can be found on this page: http://www.fondazioneprada.org/accademia-dei-bambini/

The Accademia dei Bambini is the first project Fondazione Prada has dedicated to children. Its program, overseen by neuropediatrician Giannetta Ottilia Latis, is designed to create a space in which cultural offerings linked to art, cinema and science open up a dialogue between generations. Articulated in a series of themed workshops, each lasting several weeks, its programming is integrated in quarterly workshops led by “masters” in various disciplines. The architectural layout of the Accademia, designed in collaboration with a group of young students from the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Versailles (France), led by their teachers Cédric Libert and Elias Guenon, was developed according to archetypes, symbols and constructions designed to stimulate children’s imagination and creativity. The flexible nature of the setup allows the space to be organized according to different configurations, from a laboratory to a theatre, from a cinema to a stage.

Devendra Banhart – biographical notes

Musician and visual artist Devendra Banhart was born in 1981 in , Texas, and moved with his mother to her native Caracas, Venezuela, when his parents separated. The family relocated to Los Angeles during his teenage years; it was there that he learned to speak English, skateboard, and play music. Banhart first began to perform in public while attending the San Francisco Art Institute. He has since lived in New York City, Paris, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, where he currently resides. Banhart first attracted international notice with his 2002 debut , … The Way the Day Goes By the Sun Is Setting Dogs Are Dreaming Lovesongs of the Christmas Spirit – a collection of recordings he had made for himself. Subsequent include (2004), Niño Rojo (2004), (2005), and Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon (2007), (2009), Mala (2013) and (2016). Banhart has collaborated with fellow musicians including , , , , and Vetiver. He also has performed with both and , and was part of a David Byrne–curated at Carnegie Hall. An accomplished visual artist, Banhart’s distinctive, minutely inked, often enigmatic drawings have appeared in galleries all over the world, including the Art Basel Contemporary Art Fair in Miami; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels; and Los Angeles’ Museum of Contemporary Art. In 2015 Prestel published I Left My Noodle on Ramen Street, a collection of his drawings, paintings, and mixed media pieces. He has created the cover art for most of his records, and in 2010 his artwork and packaging for What Will We Be was nominated for a Grammy.

Information on workshops of Accademia dei Bambini

Accademia dei Bambini is open on Saturdays and Sundays, from 11 am to 5 pm. All activities are free of charge. For bookings, please contact [email protected], specifying the name and age of your children, chosen activity and a phone number we can reach you at. Booking is also required for family activities. Bookings can be made from Monday until 5 pm on Fridays. If you wish to enquire about available places on Saturdays and Sundays, you can call +39 0256662644 (the line is active exclusively on Saturdays and Sundays, from 11 am to 3 pm).

Press Contacts Fondazione Prada T +39 02 56 66 26 34 [email protected] fondazioneprada.org