During the 2020–21 school year, Alba Rihe carried out sustained work throughout the year with the 2nd-year secondary students at Institut Montjuïc, located in the La Marina neighborhood, in collaboration with Imma Solé, the teacher of the elective subject in live arts. Through gamification and by placing the body at the center, she activates situated and critical thinking. These are weekly two-hour sessions in which Alba explores how to rethink play and its ritual aspects as a driving force in a time shaped by structured individuality. C.I.R.C.A. aims to convey that the context we inhabit affects us—and that learning to play with performative presence in everyday life is essential.
Once the school year had ended, the need to continue researching and developing C.I.R.C.A. became clear, along with the creation of physical materials that would make the game a tangible reality. The idea was to produce a few units that could become part of the Institut Montjuïc’s educational resources and be used by teachers or students without the artist’s presence. As part of this research process, C.I.R.C.A. continued to be tested and developed during the first term of the 2021–22 school year with 2nd-year secondary students at Institut Domènech i Montaner in the neighborhood.
Thus, C.I.R.C.A. (Interactive Rare Corporeal and Activating Community), by Alba Rihe, became in 2022 a pedagogical device conceived through gamification and the interests of its players. It explores the relationship between critical thinking and society by placing the body at the center and activating embodied, situated thought.
Graner’s educational projects are part of Caixa d’Eines. Culture and Education Programmes of the Pla de Barris, a programme led by ICUB, the Barcelona Education Consortium, and Pla de Barris.
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