Vittoria Drago is Italian, born in Bergamo. She currently lives in Barcelona. Here she carries out her artistic work in a cozy workshop in the Gracia neighborhood. And this is also where she has discovered her great connection with children through art. For more than a year she has been teaching extracurricular contemporary art classes at PLOM Gallery, where she is, above all, happy. She tells us how she started working with children and why art can help them in all areas of life.

Obra artísica de Vittoria Drago, profesora de extraescolares de arte contemporáneo de PLOM Gallery                                         
                                                    El taller de Vittoria es tan inspirador como ella misma.

¿Qué querías ser de pequeña?

Architect! Like my father, my brother, my grandfather and my great-grandfather. I come from a family of architects. When I was little I always said I wanted to “draw houses”. But when it came time to choose a major, the art teacher told me I was very good at fine arts. I was lucky I listened to him! It was the best advice I ever got in my life.

Vittoria Drago, artist and teacher of contemporary art extra-curriculars at PLOM Gallery
¡Somos afortunados de que Vittoria siguiera el consejo de su profesor de plástica!

¿Cómo reaccionaron tus padres?

They wanted me to make a trade, so I enrolled in a painting restoration school. I dedicated myself to restoring pieces and frescoes. I combined it with making portraits on commission. I had a very good technique but I wanted to develop my creative side.

¿Cuándo empezaste a crear tu estilo propio?

I have always been passionate about handmade graphics. In the Faculty of Fine Arts I had a professor who made me fall in love with printmaking techniques, he went out of the classic role that all the other subjects had. He made us learn the techniques and made us experiment being free to make mistakes. He always told us: “the only limit is your creativity”. I saw that printmaking was my path….

Vittoria Drago, artist and teacher of contemporary art extra-curriculars at PLOM Gallery

How nice it is to know that you have a way…

Qué técnicas usas en la realización de tus piezas?

All my work is printed. I print on canvas and also paint on it. Sometimes I mix painting, printmaking and collage.

Se puede observar cierta influencia de la escuela Bauhaus en el estilo de Vittoria Drago.

Yes, I have always loved the avant-garde vision and practice of the Bauhaus. I like to merge fine arts, craftsmanship and technology. I am a big fan of the three primary colors and the three basic geometric shapes. I am currently very interested in geometry.

No hay medias tintas en tu obra. Tus piezas son o muy coloridas, o en blanco y negro. ¿Se debe al estado de ánimo de cada momento?

All people have a polarity that coexists within them. I try to understand myself through my own work. It is like a form of meditation. Within me there is storm and peace; realism and abstraction; nature and geometry.

Artistic work by Vittoria Drago, teacher of contemporary art extra-curriculars at PLOM Gallery

How did you get to know Martha Zimmermann and her PLOM Gallery project?

We met through social media! We started following each other on Instagram and commenting on our photos. We met for the first time two years ago, at Movimiento en Blanco, my first solo exhibition in Barcelona.

When did you start collaborating?

My first collaboration with PLOM Gallery was at the SWAB (Barcelona Contemporary Art Fair). We did a workshop for children for 3 days. I felt a lot of connection with the children. Previously I had done children’s workshops in Italy, for one or two hours. But in the SWAB we spent 3 very intense days in which I was very happy.

Vittoria Drago, artista y profesora de extraescolares de arte contemporáneo de PLOM Gallery               
                    Vittoria con dos participantes de nuestra más reciente colaboración, en el TheCreativeFest ’19.

Ciertamente, al verte dar las clases uno observa la enorme conexión que tienes con los niños…

I believe that all artists have a child inside. In my case, I have a lot of empathy with them. I always get very excited.

Hace ya un año que empezaste a dirigir las extraescolares de arte contemporáneo de PLOM Gallery. ¿Cuál ha sido la clase que más han disfrutado?

I try to do very varied classes. Some like to cut, others like to draw. I try to change constantly. In this respect, my technical training has helped me a lot. But if I had to choose, I would say that the children had a great time with the art brut, especially the older ones. They also loved the work we did with Picasso. They became picassini (little Picassos) themselves. We did face-painting, photography, collage… We gave free rein to the imagination and the result was amazing.

It was very exciting to mount the vernissage at the end of the course, when they saw the result they were astonished at the work done during all these months.

 
These are just some of the wonderful works of Vittoria’s students!

¿Con qué momento te quedarías?

I feel very fulfilled when I get home, go through the pictures of what we have done and see how much fun they have had. It gives me great satisfaction when at the end of the class one of the children comes up to me with a drawing for me; when the little ones say goodbye to me with a big hug or when I see the happy parents.

Extraescolares de arte contemporáneo de PLOM Gallery con Vittoria Drago
                          Vittoria acompañando a dos alumnas en la creación de este genial mural estampado.

¿Qué le dirías a unos padres cuyo hijo quiere ser artista?

Support him! There is nothing worse than dedicating yourself to something that is imposed on you or that you do not like. If they see that the child has qualities, they should encourage him/her to develop them.

¿Crees que ha habido un cambio generacional en la mentalidad de los padres?

Yes. People are more open. I see young parents and I see children who can become wonderful illustrators in the future. I’m sure they will have no problem feeling supported.

Parents are increasingly interested in their children being creative. Creativity is not only useful to make art pieces, it is useful in all aspects of life. It helps you to be more decisive and to understand yourself better.

“Creativity helps develop happier children”

Vittoria Drago.

¿Qué sueños te quedan por cumplir?

I would love to have the opportunity to work with refugee children. Art can help them a lot to have a moment of happiness and escape from their sad reality. I would also like to be able to carry out a collective art action with the children, somewhere in the city. And, of course, to continue developing my projects as an artist and working with children.

Interview by Ariadna Rousaud for PLOM Gallery

Photographs: @kimuytterhaegen