Bologna’s Piazza Nettuno hosts the very original installation of the international humanitarian organization: a giant 90-metre-long fabric architecture film-reel, bearing the faces of those who have joined the #ioconlafrica (mewithafrica) project.
Giving shape to participatory art with fabric architecture: ABS Group for “Doctors with Africa” Cuamm
Bologna’s Piazza Nettuno hosts the very original installation of the international humanitarian organization: a giant 90-metre-long fabric architecture film-reel, bearing the faces of those who have joined the #ioconlafrica (mewithafrica) project.
#TheChallenge
Giving shape to a creative idea: an enormous self-supporting ribbon of aluminium and fabric wrapped in a spiral and as large as a town square, to present a project of international solidarity.
#TheChallenge
Giving shape to a creative idea: an enormous self-supporting ribbon of aluminium and fabric wrapped in a spiral and as large as a town square, to present a project of international solidarity.
#WhyFabricArchitecture
Aluminium and fabric structures are perfect for creating complex installations that are difficult to make with other materials: in this case, the aluminium tubes are calendered to form the curves of the ribbon and the fabric cover is printed and sewn to fit perfectly into the structure.
#WhyFabricArchitecture
Aluminium and fabric structures are perfect for creating complex installations that are difficult to make with other materials: in this case, the aluminium tubes are calendered to form the curves of the ribbon and the fabric cover is printed and sewn to fit perfectly into the structure.
#SuperintendencyApproved
The installation was screened by Bologna’s Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape, and approved as suitable for inclusion in such a context as Piazza Nettuno. It confirms its aesthetic value and, despite its size, its limited “invasiveness” in the historical-architectural context.
#SuperintendencyApproved
The installation was screened by Bologna’s Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape, and approved as suitable for inclusion in such a context as Piazza Nettuno. It confirms its aesthetic value and, despite its size, its limited “invasiveness” in the historical-architectural context.
#BecauseWeCare
In the days leading up to the set-up, the installation was pre-assembled and checked in the company also with the client. This is part of the usual production procedures and is a key step, especially when the project is so complex and requires an such precise and tailor-made work.
#BecauseWeCare
In the days leading up to the set-up, the installation was pre-assembled and checked in the company also with the client. This is part of the usual production procedures and is a key step, especially when the project is so complex and requires an such precise and tailor-made work.
#QuickAssembly
Is it possible to set up a structure over 90 metres long in half a day in a town square, avoiding long and invasive construction sites!
If it’s fabric architecture, it can be done!
#QuickAssembly
Is it possible to set up a structure over 90 metres long in half a day in a town square, avoiding long and invasive construction sites!
If it’s fabric architecture, it can be done!
#DestinationPublicSpace
The historical central square of a large city: here’s where the project for Cuamm was installed. The structure is therefore installed in an outdoor public area, so it must have utmost weather resistance and perfectly meet safety requirements, as the square is frequented by a large number of people.
#DestinationPublicSpace
The historical central square of a large city: here’s where the project for Cuamm was installed. The structure is therefore installed in an outdoor public area, so it must have utmost weather resistance and perfectly meet safety requirements, as the square is frequented by a large number of people.
The project
To start out from an online solidarity campaign, which has involved thousands of people, groups and institutions, and to transform it into a participatory art installation: introducing the #ioconfrica (mewithafrica) project by Doctors with Africa Cuamm (University College Aspiring Missionary Doctors). Supporters of the project were invited to take a picture with their hands in front of their faces, and share it on social media: a simple but meaningful gesture, to express their closeness and trust towards a continent too often forgotten, and sometimes even feared. The public installation, set up at Piazza Nettuno in Bologna, was the result of this process of collective mobilisation, which took shape starting with the concept of the creative studio Heads Collective and through the structural design and implementation of ABS Group. More than 1,700 photos were uploaded to the initiative’s website were collected, and printed in sublimation on a fabric ribbon. To form the ribbon curves and give the structure the desired spiral shape, over 180 metres of aluminium tubes were calendered. The metal frame was then coated with photo-printed fabric, cut and sewn to size so as to keep a perfect fit: The result is a high-impact installation, a giant roll of film over 1 metre wide and 90 metres long, which interacts with the urban context and engages the public to giving voice to the solidarity of volunteers and supporters of Medici con l’Africa Cuamm, one of Italy’s largest non-governmental organisations for the promotion and protection of the health of African peoples.
The project
To start out from an online solidarity campaign, which has involved thousands of people, groups and institutions, and to transform it into a participatory art installation: introducing the #ioconfrica (mewithafrica) project by Doctors with Africa Cuamm (University College Aspiring Missionary Doctors). Supporters of the project were invited to take a picture with their hands in front of their faces, and share it on social media: a simple but meaningful gesture, to express their closeness and trust towards a continent too often forgotten, and sometimes even feared. The public installation, set up at Piazza Nettuno in Bologna, was the result of this process of collective mobilisation, which took shape starting with the concept of the creative studio Heads Collective and through the structural design and implementation of ABS Group. More than 1,700 photos were uploaded to the initiative’s website were collected, and printed in sublimation on a fabric ribbon. To form the ribbon curves and give the structure the desired spiral shape, over 180 metres of aluminium tubes were calendered. The metal frame was then coated with photo-printed fabric, cut and sewn to size so as to keep a perfect fit: The result is a high-impact installation, a giant roll of film over 1 metre wide and 90 metres long, which interacts with the urban context and engages the public to giving voice to the solidarity of volunteers and supporters of Medici con l’Africa Cuamm, one of Italy’s largest non-governmental organisations for the promotion and protection of the health of African peoples.