«Genuine energy»—that's what filmmaker Paolo Virzì saw in the works created at Sant'Egidio's art laboratories when he spoke at the official opening of DIS/Integration. An energy that, in his view, «springs from the depths of what it means to be human»: speaking as a fellow artist with those whose work is on display at Roma Tre University's main hall through December 16, Virzì recognized the urgent need to encounter artistic expression seen through a different lens—the very lens that these laboratories cultivate and embody.
At Sant'Egidio's art laboratories, creation follows a particular path: the group selects urgent social and political themes—migration, war, discrimination, welcome, integration, inequality—and reads and discusses them together. About a dozen such laboratories operate in Rome, each meeting weekly with people living with disabilities (Sant'Egidio's «friends») and community volunteers. Beyond art-making, these spaces often host other activities: preparing meals for the homeless, or music workshops. After deepening their thinking on these themes, the collective artists work together to create pieces that embody their reflections—pieces that will stir emotion and thought in viewers. Each artist draws on techniques suited to their own gifts; creative, contemporary methods that allow them to express some fragment of that infinite mystery.
The artworks reveal society, its contradictions and fragilities, as seen by those already living with fragility themselves. They've been joined by Cesar Meneghetti, an international artist who has collaborated on earlier exhibitions and lends his name to this project. He created a video installation that highlights «that dialogue which frees us from silence»—drawing on the artists' own voices speaking about themselves and the exhibition's themes.
The choice of venue also matters. Rather than the usual gallery circuit, these locations reach a far wider and more diverse audience. Roma Tre's newly renovated main hall—the university is celebrating thirty years—floods the exhibition with light and space, though it does close on weekends.
This is a show worth visiting, to see through other eyes and to recognize that we're part of something larger—a process that includes us all, the way only true art can.