Quindicipercento. Discussing Disability around the world

Photo: Christian Tasso
The photo exhibition "Quindicipercento – discussing disability around the world" by Christian Tasso, will be open until the 16th of January at CFZ.

From December 2nd - January 16th, the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, in collaboration with artist Christian Tasso and the cultural association Equality, presents the photography exhibition "Quindicipercento – discussing disability around the world", edited by Diego Mantoan. The project, which involved students of Ca 'Foscari in preparing the exhibition, creating a catalog and guided tours, provides the display of a selection of photographs and video installations of the young photographer from the Marche region, who chronicles the lives of people with disabilities around the world, highlighting the different approaches of various communities. Public seminars and workshop activities on the issue of disability are also in planning. The exhibition is sponsored by UNESCO  - Italian National Commission; the Veneto region; City of Venice and the Presidency of the Council of Ministers - Department for Equal Opportunities.

QuindiciPercento refers to the number estimated by the World Health Organization of persons with disabilities and the photos are the result of a journey through Ecuador, Romania, Nepal, Cambodia, Cuba, Germany and Albania, which tell the daily life of some of them. The cultural project, in collaboration with Sustainable Ca’ Foscari, aims to raise awareness of the issue of the rights of persons with disabilities in different social and cultural contexts. "My photographs tell stories and offer a point of view," says Tasso, ‘They push for a new reflection on the issue, leading a change especially among the younger generations. It is no coincidence that I chose the university to expose this project". The students of Ca’ Foscari are an integral and active part of the project, involved in all aspects of the realization of the exhibition, from the selection of works to be exhibited to the bodywork design and the production of the catalog. In addition, they are made available to conduct guided tours for secondary school students to explain the ideas from which the project arose.

The exhibition winds through the Tese 1 and 2 of Ca’ Foscari Zattere, through a series of photographs in black and white that, according to the photographer, tell of "a deep humanity, one without filters". It is the need to return to the origins that guides the artists technical decisions, who decided to use film to tell his subjects because, in a saturated society of images made by sophisticated post-production, what counts is no longer to create perfect pictures, but to be able to enter into a more authentic dialogue. "Portraying a stranger is never easy", says the curator of the exhibition Diego Mantoan, "a relationship with the subject must be built before taking a shot. Photography is not the final act of a relationship of trust cultivated over time. "These are not stolen images of their disabilities, but the ultimate result of intense conversations, part of which can be seen in video interviews conducted by the artist with his various subjects, included in the exhibition of this series for the first time.
An integral part of the project will be the public seminars on topics generated from the photos, along with workshop activities dedicated to students. These meetings are an important opportunity to grasp a deeper understanding of the international incidences of this matter in the present day. Hence, the active involvement of the entire Ca’ Foscari community and its territory.