In 2007 AIDA Foundation took part in the European programme Crossing Borders-Connecting Cultures 2007-2013 with the project ReconcArt, which stands for Reconciliation through Art: Perceptions of the Hijab.

The project aims to explore the fundamental questions related to the meaning of the HIJAB (veil in Arabic) and how it is embraced by Muslim and Italian women.

The partner countries involved are Greece and Bulgaria.

In Italy, the project involved a group of twelve women from Algeria, Morocco, Syria, Palestine, Brazil and Italy who, from March 2008, took part in a theatrical storytelling workshop that gave them the opportunity to express themselves and discuss the meaning of the hijab (veil in Arabic).

The natural evolution of this process has led to the staging of a play entitled: HIJAB or the border: voices and looks of women between the hidden world and the sacred world of the veil, directed by Letizia Quintavalla (one of the founders of the Teatro delle Briciole in Parma), which, as she explained, is brought to the stage “not to give answers but to arouse in others the desire to research”.

The theatrical production is entrusted to seven women who have become the spokespersons for the entire group of the workshops.

An example of cultural mediation, which reaffirms how art can produce change and questions about the nature of the boundary that each person carries within themself and the possibilities of a shared boundary.

The artistic cast

The dramaturgy was written by four people: Letizia Quintavalla (director), Gabriel Maria Sala (Director Master in Cultural Mediation-University of Verona), Rosanna Sfragara (actress of Fondazione Aida and curator of the workshops) Susanna Bissoli (writer).

The workshops were attended by: Livia Alga, Sandra Calcagnile, Rossella Cevese, Elena Migliavacca, Siham Khalaile, Ladib Zhora Fatima, Fatima Ismaili, Huda Milad, Elena Spola, Cinzia Vigilante, Hanan Essoubai, Asmaa Chakir and the linguistic-cultural mediators Jamila Chtioui and Najat Rezki.

The tour

The show was also presented on an international tour in Verona, Athens, Mantua, Gibellina, Sesto San Giovanni and Concese.

The partners

The project is realised with the collaboration of Equal Opportunities Commission of the Veneto Region, University of Verona, Directorate General Education and Culture – Culture of the European Commission.