Every year on September 21st, World Alzheimer's Day is celebrated around the world. established in 1994 by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the'Alzheimer's disease international (ADI): throughout the month, initiatives are proposed to raise awareness and spread more information about the disease. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia. It occurs more frequently after the age of 65 and affects women more often. Like all forms of dementia, it involves a progressive decline in cognitive functions, starting with memory. Since its opening, the Luigi Rovati Foundation has placed the values of social inclusion at the center of its activities and initiatives. It is in this context that "Museo Gentile" is placed, a synthesis of a series of projects specifically designed to welcome people with fragility and special needs, independently or together with family members, friends and caregivers, through diversified paths of use of the Museum and its works of art. Within this broader system, on the occasion of Alzheimer's month, the Luigi Rovati Foundation, in collaboration with the Cooperativa La Meridiana of Monza, inaugurates the exhibition by Maurizio Galimberti Imperfect photography inside the fragile living and presents the project Being good together, the visit itinerary to the museum collections aimed at people with neurodegenerative diseases.
For the exhibition Maurizio Galimberti worked with two different techniques
With the first one, it starts from shots taken with a Leica Q3, a camera mirrorless, and then uses a Polaroid Giant Camera 50×60: this mode allowed the Polaroid to be transferred onto wet drawing paper, specially prepared to retain the photographic matrix. With the second one, he uses the Polaroid I-2 camera: four portraits were also made with an additional lens placed on the photograph printed from the original portrait. The project began with an experimental research phase that ended in July: a group selected from among the guests of the La Meridiana Cooperative's offer units, made up of several couples (caregivers and people with dementia), visited the Museum following six distinct itineraries, differentiated by three levels of difficulty. At the end of each visit, both the caregiver and the person with dementia filled out a questionnaire. The experiment resulted in the creation of a specific exhibition itinerary accompanied by a paper guide distributed free of charge at the entrance. Furthermore, the museum's cultural mediators were trained to welcome and accompany people with dementia and their companions with the utmost competence during their visit.
In-depth analysis and guided tours of the museum collections have also been recorded and are available on the app. Easy TV, a television platform produced by La Meridiana. With this application, users can explore the works on the route even from home, thus consolidating their experience and preparing for subsequent museum visits.
Comments Giovanna Forlanelli, President of the Luigi Rovati Foundation: Some of the protagonists of Maurizio Galimberti's portraits are among the people who took part in the experimentation of the project Being good together. They are guests of the Paese Ritrovato, the “village” where they are free to choose what to do with their time, thus rediscovering a dimension of sociality that restores value to their lives. Just as our visitors in fragility can live and share a visiting experience with their loved ones that is not just a moment, but becomes a habit.
Who is Maurizio Galimberti?
Maurice Galimberti (Como, 1956) is among the most famous Italian photographers. With the Polaroid he expressed a personal technique which resulted in the Photographic mosaic, a decomposition of the image that then recomposes and reinterprets the photographed subject. His portraits of famous people are famous, including Johnny Depp, Lady Gaga, Robert De Niro. His artistic research continues with landscapes, architecture and cities, using the same technique.
The Country Found Again It is one of the most original European experiences of Alzheimer Village, the first in Italy
Inaugurated in February 2018, it is a project by La Meridiana, a social cooperative that has been dealing with fragility for over 45 years. Located on the outskirts of the city of Monza, it welcomes 64 people diagnosed with dementia and is a real town: colors, lighting and signage help the orientation and well-being of residents. Simple glimpses of daily life with its rhythms: the bar in the church square, the cinema-theater, the workshops, the small shops, the hairdresser, the shady benches and the walks in the greenery of the large gardens. The life of people with dementia and their families experiences a decisive change because it flows in its authenticity, full of stimuli, encounters and opportunities.
The Paese Ritrovato project has been recognized in the World Alzheimer Report 2020 published by ADI (Alzheimer's Disease International) as one of the most qualified references in the international field
APPOINTMENTS:
Friday 13th September, 18.30pm: inauguration of the exhibition in the presence of the artist Maurizio Galimberti
Saturday 14th September: Exhibition opening
Friday 27th September, 11.00am: presentation of the project Being good together
INFO:
Imperfect photography inside the fragile living
Works by Maurizio Galimberti
Luigi Rovati Foundation
Corso Venezia 52, Milan
14 September - 1 December 2024
FREE ADMISSION
