Participants were invited to hone their collaboration skills by designing their ideal table sets. Despite not being able to travel to Murano due to the COVID-19 crisis, they were able to learn from glass maestro Lino Tagliapietra’s decades of wisdom and experience, thanks to a fifty-minute documentary.

This program saw the creation of a site-specific installation for the courtyard of Murano’s local high school. A collaborative effort between young artists Laila, Emma, Sofia, and Abate Zanetti’s fourth-year students Dorotea, Samuele, Melissa, and Yadali, the artwork was developed during a five-day workshop engineered to embody the initiative’s values of cultural enrichment and creative connection.

For the program’s third edition, 18 students and 9 instructors from three countries met at the Pilchuck Glass School, near Seattle, for a two-week residency. During the conference – aimed at fostering cross-cultural exchange and collaboration– the students partook in workshops and lessons about sustainability in glass art and design. Maria Vittoria and Dorotea from Abate Zanetti High School in Murano were selected to participate in the event alongside their teacher and glass master, Eros Raffael.

Autonoma’s fourth iteration was developed in collaboration with the US non-profit organization Firebird as part of their glassblowing program Project FIRE, offering a healing pathway to youth affected by gun violence in Chicago. Jojo, Cyencere, Jakwon, Chiontea, and Lynquell joined Abate Zanetti’s fourth-grade students Liam, Francesca, and Nicole, in Murano for a 10-day workshop in the school’s hot shop. The participants focused on crafting little animals and tumblers that were eventually assembled to create original goblets, symbolizing the connection of distant worlds.