Count me in! Festa dei Boccalli
Count me in! Fiesta dei Boccalli
Salerno, Italy
“Count me in!” is all about sharing stories that highlight diversity, equality, inclusion, accessibility, and belonging in the seat of art festivals. In this series you will hear their stories, and see how we can all make a difference by standing up for each other.
“The condition from which I suffer, multiple sclerosis, has made me quadriplegic over the years.
My disabling condition makes even the simplest gestures unattainable, and at times I have felt as if trapped in a body that could not express what it felt.
My passion for art has led me to investigate further and into the potentially and freely expressive possibilities that it naturally allows.
I founded a social promotion association that promotes the enhancement of all diversities through the language of art: Officine AbilmenteInComune, and I actively collaborate with great pleasure with the voluntary association Humus di Lauretta Laureti, which promotes its mission through its ceramic art workshops.
My experience is the story of how through art I experienced a new voice.
I was not sure how it would be possible for me to paint, sculpt or create, but with the support of those who believed in my abilities, we designed an alternative way of working with materials. This is not a simple modification; it is a tool of freedom. Every single detail was designed to allow me to create with materials, and I began to experiment and then master a new way of communicating beyond words.
At first it was as exciting as it was a little scary. In front of me were brushes, pencils chisels, wax, clay, colours.
I wondered if I would really be able to use them and transform those materials into something meaningful. But slowly, with the support and backing of the customisation of work tools and the people around me, I began to move, to feel the ability to operate under my own control, albeit in a different way. Each stroke was like a small conquest, a step towards a world I thought I could not reach.
Art is a universal language. The colours the shapes the imperfections, they are all expressions of emotions that inhabit our insides. Each work is a fragment of oneself, a piece of a story to be told. Each of my works speaks not only about me but also about the people around me. Some see hope, some feel strength, some perceive resilience. And this makes me feel that I am actively working.
My works are artistic experiences and testimony of the possible. Creative forms of human experience and interpretation of common and peculiarly different reality.
The art of being in the world.”
By Lauretta Laureti
