The goal is simple: help young adults with intellectual disabilities develop independence in how they spend their leisure time, and give them a meaningful new experience. That's the heart of #Vadoalmuseo, a project designed and led by Paola Bartoli for the Fondazione Dopo di noi Bologna. This is the program's second year. In 2016, the first version brought together museums from Bologna's university system, about fifteen young adults with intellectual disabilities, and the Associazione Mirada from Ravenna, which helped create a comic-style guide alongside participants. "This year we chose photography as our medium," says Lucia Alvisi of the foundation. "We're working with Spazio Labo', an organization that promotes photographic culture throughout the city." The museums involved this time are part of Bologna Musei and include the Museo della musica, the Mambo (Museum of Modern Art Bologna), the Museo per la memoria di Ustica, the Museo civico archeologico, and the Museo del patrimonio industriale. "The real challenge," says Tiziana Roppoli, a pedagogue at the Fondazione Dopo di noi, "is to show that leisure time for people with disabilities can be high-quality time—a chance for genuine social and cultural growth." Through January 18, 2019, the project can be supported via online crowdfunding.
The first outing took place on September 8 at the Museo della musica, where a cultural mediator guided the group through the galleries. "The young adults really enjoyed it and were very curious," Alvisi recalls. "Since it was the first visit, they were focused on taking photographs and got a bit distracted from other things." The tool they chose for shooting images is the smartphone. "One person decided to use a reflex camera, but the others went with their phones. It's also a way for them to develop their skills using the device and learn new features." After each visit, Eleonora Ondolati, a photographer and instructor at Spazio Labo', leads a workshop to help participants creatively process what they saw. The plan is to create a boxed collection of the photographs taken by the young adults—postcards that can be flipped through, sent to others, or framed—all to be presented in an exhibition.
Source: Redattore Sociale (LP)