così cosà

Così e cosà are two people, even though their initials are lowercase. They say they never really manage to feel uppercase, but instead they imagine themselves quite happily as two little things that decided to try doing wild flips and crazy pirouettes. Using each other as trampolines, they are becoming better and better at landing on their feet. And when one falls? The other helps her up. When they both fall, they get back up together, laughing.

Così e cosà are Je and Mati, two friends and freelancers who decided to team up so they could finally answer YES to the infamous question, “but can you really make a living as an illustrator?”. They still have not figured out whether two people can be called a collective, but they do not really care about that at all. What they do care about is showing people how easy it is to bring a bit of creativity into their lives, and how much more intense every moment becomes when it is lived with greater sensitivity. To do this, they think, take notes, and constantly design artistic workshops for adults and children. Staying true to their feeling of being small, their workshops do not aim to revolutionize participants’ technical artistic skills, but rather to give them a moment to breathe, away from the frantic and alienating pursuit of perfection and efficiency that haunts everyone from morning to night. For this reason, they are open to everyone, regardless of artistic skills or lack thereof.

With the musical leporello workshop, they wanted people to rediscover the joy of getting their hands dirty with tempera paint while being absorbed by music. With the paper garland workshop, they tried to show how beautiful it is to let hands speak and then see that conversation hanging there, swaying in the wind. With the cardboard portrait workshop, they showed how wonderful it is to take a moment to notice the essential details of those who are part of our lives and to capture them with cardboard, scissors, and a pinch of irony.

The core principles on which each of their workshops is built are: let us give ourselves time (it is the most precious gift), let us unlock creativity (which we too often forget, shut away in a cupboard drawer), and let us throw away that useless fear of making mistakes (thus stepping out of boredom).

In all of this, where is Così and where is cosà?

Je loves hazelnut ice cream and singing at the top of her lungs while she works. She drinks decaf coffee because she does not need any extra boost. She began her university studies by embracing art, music, and cinema all at once, and then decided to dedicate herself to communication. Today she works in visual communication with many, many different realities.

Mati loves eating figs with her hands and capturing thoughts with a 5H pencil. She always has music in her ears, but she only sings while riding her scooter. She started taking her life into her own hands by studying art history, then changed paths and devoted herself to illustration and art graphics. She also had a crush on the world of early childhood and primary education, one she does not think she will ever recover from.

They are both fully present in the shared moments they offer. The activities they propose to others are the same ones they experiment with themselves, sometimes consciously, sometimes by chance, on their own desks. They believe that if they had so much fun, or felt relaxed, or excited while doing them, why should they not try to let others experience those same feelings and emotions too? Their workshops are born from experiments of many kinds, all united by having been precious moments within a daily life that too often rushes by and that too often we feel we do not fully enjoy. Così e cosà invite you to enjoy it a little more, getting your fingertips dirty with color.