The Art of Care: The IULM Project with VIDAS at the INCONTRO Festival at the Franco Parenti Theater
On October 17 and 18, the Franco Parenti Theater hosted the multimedia installation “The Art of Care: Fragments of Life,” created by IULM students as part of a collaboration with VIDAS.
IULM University participated in VIDAS’s INCONTRO Cultural Festival, which took place on Saturday, October 17, and Sunday, October 18, 2026, at the Franco Parenti Theater in Milan. In the Festival’s Exhibition area, the multimedia installation “The Art of Care: Fragments of Life” was presented; it was created as part of the University’s Solidarity Education course, in partnership with VIDAS.
The project involved students from all undergraduate degree programs. The students asked staff members from VIDAS, Hospice Casa VIDAS, and Casa Sollievo Bimbi to choose an object that best represented them: a candle, a pair of jeans, a hiking backpack, a pair of red shoes, or a stuffed animal with a special name. These choices gave rise to a photographic series, a campaign of six posters, and short first-person stories told from the objects’ perspective.
The videos created by the students as part of the project are available in a dedicated playlist on YouTube, which brings together all the audiovisual contributions produced.
The installation was curated by Silvia Borsari, an IULM professor; Beatrice Cidda, a teaching assistant; and students Francesca Buongiorno, Chiara Fernandez, Giulia Filomena, Lorenzo Forma, Francesca Picone, and Aurora Rucci.
The collaboration with VIDAS is part of the solidarity and educational projects coordinated by Prof. Alessandra Mazzei, through which the University carries out its commitment to individuals and the local community. This same commitment has given rise to the collaboration on the “Accademia dei Giorni Straordinari” project in Baranzate with Fondazione La Rotonda and Lombardini22, aimed at combating educational poverty.
These are initiatives in which education is combined with social responsibility and a focus on vulnerability.
During the two days of the Festival, IULM students also had the opportunity to participate as volunteers, supporting the activities scheduled at the Franco Parenti Theater, following a brief training session organized by VIDAS. The initiative involved the selection of up to six students.
Participation as a volunteer on both days entitled students to 1 Badge of Honor.