Conferences open to the public:
Monday 18 March
From 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Presentation of the book “Che brava che sei!” with Witty Wheels
Thursday 30 May
From 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Presentation by Chiara De Marchi
with Dr Franco Scaldaferri of CEMAD Policlinico Gemelli
Workshop dates:
19 March
From 11:00 am to 1:30 pm
Workshop with Witty Wheels
16-17-18 April
From 10:30 am to 3:00 pm
Workshop with Rita Petruccioli
15 May
From 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Workshop with The Glorious Mothers
30 May
From 2:30 pm to 6:00 pm
Workshop with Chiara De Marchi
Workshop curated by Luana Perilli
For info and bookings: l.perillli@abaroma.it
Models of interdependence: development of new forms of creativity centred on relationships is a workshop structured in various sessions in which the speakers will introduce students to models for the production of images, narratives and thoughts that overturn the perception of independence as a value and generate new values and creative methods based on relationships, from feminist causes and from the fight against ableism and systematic discrimination discrimination in general.
Among the guests involved, the Witty Wheels (Elena and Maria Chiara Paolini), disabled activists and popularisers, will present their comic novel “Che brava che sei! 8 storie di abilissimo quotidiano” and then meet with the students for a workshop on deconstructing ableist narratives.
In a second event, Rita Petruccioli, an illustrator, will be involved. She will accompany the students over three days of workshops and meetings to construct a comic strip story based on the relationship and encounter with an activist from the Lucya y Siesta centre.
Afterwards, the representatives of the collective The Glorious Mothers, which deals with cultural production and motherhood, will offer a performative and drawing workshop on the modalities of interdependencies linked to gender issues and parental care networks, as well as a presentation of their activities.
To conclude the sessions, Chiara De Marchi will give a presentation on her work as a photographer in collaboration with associations and hospitals that deal with invisible disabilities. Her presentation will be accompanied by Dr Franco Scaldaferri, head of the MICI department at the CEMAD of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic. Afterwards, De Marchi will meet the students for a photography and creative writing workshop based on relationships with others.
Maria Chiara Paolini and Elena Paolini are trainers and bloggers. Their work is dedicated to analysing and deconstructing ableism, i.e. the structural oppression that surrounds people with disabilities.
Maria Chiara Paolini studied English and Arabic languages and literature, teaching Italian as a foreign language and literary translation from English.
Elena Paolini studied international relations, human rights and political science, and filmmaking.
They draw on feminist practice and Disability Studies and hold workshops on disability in schools, universities, associations and professional organisations. They have published the first Italian popular essay entirely on the theme of ableism, “Mezze persone. Riconoscere e comprendere l’abilismo” (2022) for Aut Aut edizioni and the essay in the form of a graphic novel “Che brava che sei! 10 storie di abilismo quotidiano” (2023) for Laterza.
The Glorious Mothers is a discussion and exchange group on the theme of parenthood in the field of visual arts. It was created informally during the lockdown as a means of support and discussion between artist mothers who were confined at home with very young children and who were finding it difficult to resume their artistic work. Subsequently, the debate on the parenting experience extended to artistic research, seeking to go beyond stereotypes, pre-established canons and prejudices linked to the heteronormative family institution. The group is committed to bringing the issues faced by artist parents to the fore in public debate and in artistic institutions. The meetings take place on a bi-weekly basis and, through the method of self-awareness, the collective carries out work of self-education, research, and the development of political demands.
In these two years, two residencies have been held for artists and their children (the only experience of its kind in Italy), as well as a symposium with the Gruppo Immagine of Varese for an intergenerational discussion on feminism and motherhood in art at Albumarte.
Chiara De Marchi, photographer, content creator, science communicator and soon to graduate in biological sciences, has over time specialised in portraits of motherhood and the feminine, developing a particular focus on breastfeeding and positive body photography. Her photography project “Invisible Body Disabilities”, subsequently developed with the National Association for Chronic Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, AMICI Italia, is a website and a travelling photography exhibition inspired by the photography book “Women Fighters”. It has been reported in several national and international newspapers and online media, and in scientific information journals. To date, the exhibition has had 22 stops, including 6 permanent ones in leading hospitals throughout Italy, such as the Policlinico in Milan, the Sant’Orsola Hospital in Bologna, the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, the Azienda Ospedaliera Brotzu, the Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Pisana – Cisanello, and the Murri Hospital in Fermo.
Rita Petruccioli, illustrator and cartoonist from Rome. She collaborates with the major publishing houses in Italy and abroad and with magazines such as Internazionale Kids and La Revue Dessinée Italia. Ti chiamo domani is her debut graphic novel as a sole author, published by Bao Publishing in 2019. Together with Lorenzo Ghetti, she is the author of Isa Vince Tutto, a comic book published in 2022 by Rulez and winner of the award for “Best webcomic” at the TCBF and the “Premio Giovani Letture” at the 2023 Comicon in Naples. In 2021, her work was exhibited at the Venice Biennale, with the installation “Sisterhood in the Neighborhood. Detoxing Public Space From Patriarchy”. She has taught at RUFA and The Sign Comic & Art Academy. She has been involved in cultural planning and curation for the ARF!and La Città Incantata festivals, for the Women in Comics exhibition and for the Lucha y Siesta Women’s House.
Communications Office of the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome
Coordination: Prof. Guglielmo Gigliotti g.gigliotti@abaroma.it
Collaboration: Chiara Picco, Marianna Pontillo comunicazione@abaroma.it