The Foundation
MAST, Manifattura di Arti, Sperimentazione e Tecnologia, is a private non-profit foundation established in Bologna in 2013 on an idea by Isabella Seràgnoli: an international cultural centre open to the city and to the people of the Coesia industrial group.
- Founding members
- Coesia and Fondazione Isabella Seràgnoli
- Location
- Via Speranza 42, Bologna, next to the Coesia headquarters
- Cultural activities
- Free of charge, for people of all ages
- Visitors
- 155,000 for the exhibition Anthropocene, 2019–2020
Mission and values
To promote social innovation and corporate welfare for shared economic, social and cultural growth.
MAST stands next to the Coesia headquarters, in a 25,000 m² multifunctional complex designed for the company’s employees and open to everyone: an ongoing experiment in bringing business and community together, a place where every citizen has access to learning, to the arts and to the photography of the world of work.
Welfare services for the people of the Coesia group (the Nido Scuola, the company restaurant, the wellness centre) are interwoven with a free cultural programme open to people of all ages. The Foundation aims to be a bridge to the community, starting with the city of Bologna, on the subject of work.
Its founding members are Coesia, a group of companies specialising in innovation-based industrial and packaging solutions, and the Fondazione Isabella Seràgnoli, a private and independent non-profit organisation that promotes activities and projects for the community, particularly in healthcare and in the social and cultural fields.
The name
MAST is an Italian acronym: Manifattura di Arti, Sperimentazione e Tecnologia (Manufacture of Arts, Experimentation and Technology). In English, a mast is also the main pole of a ship.
- Manifattura
- Manufacture: the productive identity of the region.
- Arti
- Arts: the highest forms of creative expression.
- Sperimentazione
- Experimentation: the practice at the root of innovation.
- Tecnologia
- Technology: applying techniques that can improve human life.
What MAST hosts and organises
MAST.Galleries
Temporary exhibitions devoted to the photography of industry and work.
MAST.Auditorium
400 seats. Talks, meetings, film series and concerts, public and private events.
Space hire
The Auditorium and the company restaurant spaces for conferences, presentations and events. Hire helps support the Foundation.
MAST.Academy and Education
Programmes with schools and institutions, Summer School, courses for companies and Coesia employees.
Collection
More than 5,000 works of the photography of industry and work, with a storage facility and a study centre.
Café
A meeting place with three large bookcases of photography books.
Nido Scuola
Opened in October 2012: a nursery for children aged 3 to 36 months and a preschool for children aged 3/4 and 5, with Reggio Children, Cooperativa Cadiai and Cooperativa Giannino Stoppani.
Foto/Industria
Biennial of the photography of industry and work in venues across Bologna: the 2025 edition and the archive of past editions.
MAST Photography Grant on Industry and Work
International invitation-only competition for young photographers, with its own website: mastphotogrant.com.
The building
The building was designed by Studio Labics of Rome, winner in 2005 of a competition launched by G.D, a company of the Coesia group.
It consists of two adjoining volumes with large glazed surfaces and steel frames; the spaces for the various services are arranged over three floors.
Two pedestrian ramps, running from the centre of the complex to the main entrance, symbolise the relationship between the G.D factory and the city: a bridge between the company, the neighbourhood and the adjacent park.
