Arte in Erba was established in 2002.
The idea and the desire to engage in promoting the languages of contemporary art was developed by Stefania Gori after having organised an exhibition, entitled Art to start with, which was held in Quarrata (Italy) in 1998. The exhibition was designed in order to guide the visitors through the different movements and streams of contemporary art. It was such a success, with the general public and also with local schools, to push Stefania to think about how to develop a whole and permanent area of work out of it.
 
Nevertheless, Arte in erba was not created immediately. The first spin off of the exhibition of Quarrata was given by a series of collaborations and small projects with the Department of education of the municipality of Pistoia, during the years 1999-2000, aimed at involving children from primary schools in didactical activities and workshops on contemporary art. These activities were all organised and held at the Gori Collection, a well-known collection of land art, which is located not far  from Pistoia (Italy).

Being an ensemble of site specific works realised by some of the most important artists of our time, frequently visited by artists who spend time working there, the Gori Collection enabled the group of collaborators who gathered around Stefania to launch innovative activities. After several experiments, often carried out in cooperation with the municipality of Pistoia, a new methodology of work was developed.

Initially, the methodology was based on a path across the collection, guided by an elf, a mysterious character of the woods that created the climax of a visit all inspired by joy and surprise. Soon, however, techniques of communication taken from the domain of theatre were adopted and since then the work of Arte in erba has been structured on a mix of interventions carried out by actors, designers, artists, art critics, educators and so on: a real integrated approach to welcome children in a new world.

Meanwhile, the association developed a new interest also in the world of adults, particularly of those adults who have to interact with children: teachers, parents, educators. Therefore, Arte in erba launched specific training opportunities for those of them who wanted to develop their capacities to communicate or teach art to children.

A further step was the elaboration of schemes of work also for adolescents.

Today Arte in erba brings together a relevant know-how, which can be used by museums, schools, public and private institutions that desire to organise integrated projects of communication and education on contemporary art. Arte in erba has published many BOOKS about didactics of contemporary art. We have also developed several tales, often illustrated by artists, which have been published as children books.