"Artonauts," the first sticker album for children dedicated to art history, is born

The company Wizart S.r.l.i.s, in collaboration with the publishing house La Spiga Edizioni and with the support of Fondazione Cariplo, gives birth to a new sticker album specially designed for children aged 7 to 11: it is Artonauts. The figurines of art, and it is the first album in Italy and in the world entirely dedicated to the history of art.

The album, which will be available at newsstands from March 15 (it will cost 3 euros, and along with the album there will also be 3 packs of free figurines), is not just a collection: it is the story of two children and a dog (Ale, Morgana and Argo) who go on a journey through time to discover the great masterpieces of art. The figurines will go on to make up paintings, sculptures, frescoes, revealing their details. And the interesting thing is that with the figurine exchange mechanism we have all played, children will be able to familiarize themselves with the works and the artists. In addition to the figurines, there will also be small anecdotes, games, riddles, and trivia, in a journey that starts from the Lascaux caves and through the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, will reach the twentieth century passing through the art of Giotto, the Renaissance (Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael), the Impressionists, and van Gogh. Thanks to this album, children will thus have the opportunity to start learning art history while playing and having fun.

The album consists of 64 pages containing an introductory story, 28 illustrations, 65 works of art, 20 quizzes and riddles, and 2 pages of games. 216 figurines are needed to complete the album. Each packet contains 5 figurines and a Twin Card. Collecting all 25 pairs of Twin Cards, children will shuffle them covered to enjoy the typical memory game, discovering them two by two. Each pair of “twin” cards depicts a work of art contained in the album.

The album’s title, Artonauts, is meant to be a synthesis of the words “art,” “astronauts” (to identify an adventurous journey) and “Argonauts” (to evoke epic characters and their fantastic journeys): a synthesis of the playful and educational aspects that every game should have. In fact, the project is based on three fundamental principles: the first is that art can be within everyone’s reach; the second is that play, particularly analog play such as a sticker album, is the most valid and effective educational tool for children; and the third is that art and creativity play a fundamental role in children’s evolutionary development. A social, educational and accessible game: the figurine game has always been one of the most popular and appreciated among children and, by its very nature, is accessible to all, reducing barriers of access and expanding the potential audience of the educational activity. The idea was therefore born with the key elements of discovery, play, self-constructive learning and accessibility in mind.

The idea and project of Artonauts were developed by Daniela Re (a teacher, cultural mediator and expert in cognitive rehabilitation, with extensive experience in the educational world in elementary school) and Marco Tatarella, who has been leading a publishing house dealing with art and architecture books, music periodicals and publishing services for eleven years. Together they founded Wizart S.r.l.i.s., a nonprofit social enterprise, which with Artonauts won the fourth edition of Fondazione Cariplo’s Cultural Innovation call for proposals.

"I think the strength of Artonauts,“ says Daniela Re, ”lies precisely in the personal story of a teacher who learned her trade in the field. I got to know fellow teachers, pupils and parents up close and involved all the actors who live the school world on a daily basis in the design of this educational tool. Artonauts wants to unhinge the prejudice that art is too difficult a subject for children, proposing an educational, intelligent and fun game: it is an ambitious project, aiming high. But Artonauts’s ambition has solid roots because it is a project born in the field, from the bottom up, from the experience of those who have known and know firsthand the world of schools."

For all information you can visit Artonauts ’s official website or Facebook and Instagram pages .

Below are some images from the album.

"Artonauts," the first sticker album for children dedicated to art history, is born

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