2024-01-20 16:04:59
Transforming a place of confinement into a more welcoming living space through art. This is the objective implemented by the Pistoia Prison, a small prison in which 60 inmates reside, which has given rise to the creation of a series of murals created by inmates in the common areas of the structure. The initiative, conceived by the prison management with the support of the Caript Foundation and with the collaboration of Nico ‘Lopez Bruchi’ and Marco ‘Sera’ Milaneschi of the Elektro Domestik Force Association, involved around 25 inmates who participated in co-planning meetings with the artist Nico ‘Lopez’ Bruchi and Marco ‘Sera’ Milaneschi of Edf Crew.
“As part of the initiatives in favor of the detained population – states the director of the prison Loredana Stefanelli – this Directorate has started, with the support of the Foundation and the collaboration with Nico Bruchi, Marco Milaneschi and the Elektro Domestik Force cultural association, the creation of some murals in three of the detention areas of the Pistoia prison. The objective was to transform physical spaces into vital spaces in which inmates can rediscover their roots, fears, expectations but also the hope that prison from an island of desperate people will become, as far as possible, an area of life”.
The creation of the murals was preceded by four co-design meetings, led by Nico ‘Lopez’ Bruchi and Marco ‘Sera’ Milaneschi of EDF Crew. The video-maker Carlo Settembrini documented every phase of the project, helping to immortalize the creative process and the active participation of the prisoners. Nico ‘Lopez’ Bruchi, artistic director of the Crew, emphasized the importance of moments of exchange with the inmates to understand the artistic direction of the operation. The goal was to create murals that communicated simply and effectively, representing the ideas and aspirations of the inmates.
“Our interventions – says Bruchi – always arise from expressive desires shared with the people who live in the places where they are hosted and it was essential to have moments of exchange with the inmates to understand the direction that this artistic operation had to take. Guided by their ideas we designed the murals trying to find simple and effective communication channels. Creating beauty together is something that doesn’t happen every day inside a prison. The support from all the inmates was exciting, their deep involvement meant that, even in the construction phase, there was a spirit of collaboration to improve the common spaces of the prison”.
The murals, located on an arch on the upper floor, on the wall of the multipurpose room and on the wall of the football field, tell different stories. In the arch of the upper floor, a ‘tree of hope’ with leaves transformed into letters without a specific recipient, symbolizes the introspective journey of the prisoners. Broken bars and a brain engraved on the cortex represent the wisdom that sets free, while an Italian landscape and the key words chosen by the inmates complete the picture. In the multipurpose room, the sea is depicted through a broken window of a cell, with the hands of an inmate breaking chains. Flags and words selected by inmates complete the mural, conveying universal messages of hope.
The mural in the football field, set in a spaceship, symbolizes a journey into the infinite possibilities of the universe. Images of loved ones, celebrities and symbols of hope are painted on the glass of the spaceship. The entire process was documented through video footage taken by Carlo Settembrini. The participation of prisoners has opened the prison to new horizons, transforming the common spaces from places of confinement to territories of expression and hope.
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