Officine Grandi Riparazioni dedicate a space to telling their own story. A journey from 1885 to the present day, made possible thanks to the testimonies of former workers, interviewed by the students of the Berti and Cavour high schools of Turin and hosted in a section that resembles a long railway wagon.

Originally home to a proud "working class aristocracy" that played an important role in the development of Turin's industry, nowadays a venue for exhibitions, experimental music events, cultural and educational projects, and an innovation hub heading towards the future:  the Officine Grandi Riparazioni have always been for Turin a place of creation. Steam engines and skilled workers used to pass through the same gates that now are wide open to let in the international public of Art and Technology.

Ideally bringing to completion the great restructuring project started in 2014, now Officine Grandi Riparazioni dedicate a space to telling their own story, with com’era com’è, hosted in a section that resembles a long railway wagon, where visitors are invited to take a journey through time, from 1885 to the present day.

com’era com’è consists of a number of interactive and immersive installations, including a virtual reality headset that allows visitors to relive the experience of the activities that used to be carried out at the OGR workshops. These installations, together with the structure

housing them, were designed by Alice Delorenzi, who also contributed  to arranging the contents, developed by the  Education Department headed by Roberta Zendrini, curator of the entire project. com’era com’è stems from the direct involvement of former OGR workers, interviewed by the students of the Berti and Cavour high schools, and it invites the audience to reflect on what the memory and the future of these spaces have in common, on what may seem just coincidences but actually are a deeper and more intimate connection.