“Do not judge wrong what you don’t know, take the opportunity to understand.” Pablo Picasso’s phrase, chosen as a manifesto of this edition, contains the spirit of Aut Art Festivalwhich from 25 to 28 September will transform the Theater of heroes of Rome In a laboratory of humanity, beauty and encounter. Four intense days-52 hours of non-stop events-in which autism will not be reduced to diagnosis or difficulty, but it will become an alive story through art, music, theater, dance, sport and shared word.
The initiative, now in its third edition, is promoted by the Association We are dolphinsborn from the personal and family experience of Paola Nicoletti, Mother of Gabriele, boy in the autistic spectrum. «For many years – he says – I have lived autism as a private fact, as if it were a stretch among others, without asking society nothing particular. But with the passage of time, when my son’s life entered into relationship with the outside world, I understood that it was necessary to tell, open up, build meeting spaces ». So the association was born, a small family unit enlarged to few friends, who chose not to remain closed in pain but to transform the experience into a cultural proposal.
Autism beyond stereotypes
Aut Art Festival does not intend to offer a pietistic showcase, but a place of truth. “We are not looking for perfection – underlines Nicoletti -. On stage we want to bring reality: guys who sing or play, someone very good and others less, but all authentic. The important thing is not the impeccable performance, it is the atmosphere that is created, the meeting that is born ». In this sense, art becomes a privileged language for those who struggle to communicate with words. Painting, sculpture, music, dance are channels through which emotions and thoughts find shape and offer themselves to the world.
For many autistic boys, in fact, the deep and concentrated interest in an area becomes a key of genius. These are not myths from “superheroes”, but of talents cultivated in daily dedication, as happens for each person. “If my son, after years of attempts, manages to live a moment of autonomy, the joy is the same one I feel for my daughter when he graduated – he confides Nicoletti -. This is the new relativity with which we must look at autism ».
The Festival alternates morning conferences And afternoon shows. The mornings open with the “auto meetings”, round tables dedicated to crucial issues: from the project of life to safety, from emergencies to social resources, from the role of caregivers to the contribution of osteopathy. There is no shortage of moments of comparison on the fatigue of the parents, often worn out by the “Caregiver Burden”: “It is necessary to learn – explains Nicoletti – to stop for a moment, to look at the mirror and recognize the wounds, but also the strength that arises from this journey”.
The afternoons, on the other hand, light up with Aut Books, book presentations, followed by artistic exhibitions, concerts, theatrical and cinematographic shows. This year the film arrives on the stage of the Teatro degli Eroi LIFE LIFE Di Greta Scarano, with Yuri Tuci and Matilda De Angelis. Next to the autistic artists, well -known protagonists of the cultural and sports world will bring their support, in an intertwining of experiences that restores dignity and visibility.
Among the novelties, theAut Art Awardprize for the most virtuous association project, and theAut Labspace for creative workshops open to children and teenagers together with the peers of Roman schools. I also expected i Rubricautyoung Campania journalists who will follow the Festival by telling it directly, a sign that Autism is not only the object of narration, but becomes an active subject of storytelling.
The kind force of art
The festival’s heart is the relationship. “The real goal – Nicoletti confides – is to bring together the world of autism with the neurotypical one. It is not enough that parents or associations speak. People must really know each other, that they can be seen, that they listen to. Only in this way can right decisions be made, only in this way is an inclusive company built ».
In this sense, Aut Art is not only a party, but a collective exercise of citizenship. The boys in the spectrum are not put on the edge, but in the center, as protagonists of a community that does not judge and does not exclude. “My grandmother said: you don’t decide life, you have to learn the steps with music – recalls Nicoletti -. Here, we try to dance together, even when the steps are uncertain ».
The basis of everything remains art, understood not as an ornament, but as a vital communication and growth tool. Painters, poets, musicians, actors, dancers and sportsmen in these days will testify that autism is not silence, but different language; It is not insulation, but possibility of relationship; It is not only effort, but also energy and creativity.
Four days to reiterate that there are no Serie B lives. Four days to unhinge stereotypes and return to people in the spectrum the space that is due to them: that of dignity and beauty. Because, as a Kierkegaard quote remembers that accompanies the Festival: “It is not the path that is difficult, it is the difficulty that is the path”.
Photo © edition 2024 Aut Art Festival
