Clowns and smiles to break the feeling of isolation and loneliness of the elderly. An innovative therapeutic approach, experimented positively in Retirement Homes to stimulate in residents (sometimes suffering from cognitive deficit) their affective, social and recreational abilities through play, imagination, and the recovery of fragments of their past.
This is the objective of ‘Una bella visita’ (A nice visit), a project promoted by the Municipality of Castelfiorentino and realised by the professional artists of Teatro C’Art at the ‘EMD Ciapetti’ Rest Home, the results of which will be illustrated during an exhibition that will be inaugurated on Thursday 17 April (5.00 p.m.) at the events space of the ‘Il Progresso’ association (Corso Matteotti 19).
The inauguration of the exhibition (which will also include the presentation of a book explaining the entire project in detail) will be attended by the Mayor, Francesca Giannì, the Councillor for Culture, Franco Spina, and the Councillor for Social Policies, Federica Parisi.
The experience of the Clowns in Retirement Homes, conceived by the Teatro do Sopro of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and made a reality in Italy thanks to the collaboration with the Teatro C’art Comic Education of Castelfiorentino, aims to bring moments of joy and wellbeing to residents through a geriatric programme that privileges non-verbal language, reintroducing moments of play and lightness into their daily routine. The clowns also use ‘affective’ touch and tenderness to remove in the elderly the feeling of being ‘touched’ solely for medical care and their personal needs, ensuring a quality comic presence that complements that of primary care. At the ‘Ciapetti’ Rest Home, visits were held on three separate occasions, between the second half of March and the beginning of April, thanks to a project promoted as part of the ‘Festa della Toscana 2024’ with the co-participation of the Regional Council of Tuscany.
‘We are happy – observes the Councillor for Culture, Franco Spina – to be able to count on valuable realities such as Teatro C’Art, with which we won the call for bids for ‘Festa della Toscana 2024 – Toscana, terra di genio e innovazione’ with a project that aims to consolidate the link between theatre and social innovation, in continuity with the already enormous work, in retirement homes in Brazil and Canada, of the wonderful Flavia Marco, which resulted in the book ‘Una bella visita’. It is essential to encourage paths of high social value, aimed at improving the quality of life of fragile people, through relational methods and alternative communication paths that arise from the contamination, in this specific case, between art, theatre and therapy for the elderly guests of RSAs, often also suffering from dementia. ‘We were accomplices!’ is the phrase from the book that keeps coming back to my mind and sums up the wonder of these experiences. Being accomplices. Being together. Discovering oneself in the other. In the other, dwelling’.
The exhibition ‘A beautiful visit’ will also remain open on Friday 18 April (4.30-7.30 pm) and Saturday 19 April (10 am-1 pm).
