A cool breeze enters through the open doors of Sant'Egidio Art Labs, and the 'Friends' arrive. The artists are happy to be back - all people with disabilities, who give life to an artistic movement active in the centre and in the outskirts of Rome.
As soon as the Labs were reopened, in compliance with anti-Covid regulations, they became places where to meet together again after months of videolezioni and calls. People with disabilities have particularly suffered from the restrictions during the pandemic - the full or partial closures of schools, day centres and in-person activities. They have felt their need for relationships sacrificed.
City trips, art history lessons and painting sessions offer the Art Labs participants opportunities to express their understanding of reality, their thoughts and their view of the world. A summer outdoors and in large spaces has started in the 12 Labs in Rome - the photos have been taken in Garbatella, Tor Bella Monaca and Trinità dei Pellegrini - and in other Italian cities such as Naples, Genoa, Florence and Novara. This is a way of helping those on whom exclusion weighs most heavily to benefit from the reopening.
