Artatse School, Bilbao-PS 86, Bronx, New York

Every year, the students of a school in Bilbao and another in New York exchange photos and texts of their art projects. They also share information about their school environments to find similarities and differences.

In the school year 2023–2024, the students from Artatse School in Bilbao and from Public School 86 in New York exchanged emails and photos describing their creative processes in the context of their schools’ art programs for several weeks. This correspondence is summarized in the pop-up book shown here. Language, writing, and communication (in Spanish and English) proved fundamental for the success of the exchange, connecting children in Bilbao with their pen pals across the pond.

Furthermore, the six participating schools had the opportunity of making online interactive tours to the exhibition A Year with Children, organized at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, and see the works created by the American kids in the program by means of live conference calls. With this experience, the classes had a window of sorts into New York City, and the schoolchildren got to know virtually the Guggenheim Museum in New York.