The Venus of Botticelli with a stoma, Love and Psyche of Canova with a bladder catheter, Adam and Eve by Masolino da Panicale with absorbent diapers. The Federation of Incontinent and Ostomy Associations-Fais launches a new communication campaign to talk about incontinence and/or ostomy. The campaign is called “We are a Work of Art” and treats six artistic masterpieces with the technique of visual art, inserting aids for incontinence and ostomy in the works. The goal is to light a beacon, even provocatively, on a condition that is still too little talked about: theurinary or faecal incontinencea taboo accompanied by shame, fear, embarrassment, prejudices.
Urinary incontinence affects over 7 million people in Italy, with a prevalence of over 70% after the age of 80. On the other hand, there are more than 75,000 people with an ostomy. Even bladder catheterization, especially intermittent catheterization, has an incidence of about 0.5% of the Italian population. Despite these numbers, these three conditions are united by poor information to the patient, the lack of targeted institutional communication and procedures for the purchase of devices that are not suitable for providing people with the most appropriate device.
Thus was born “We are a work of art”, a project that includes a series of itinerant initiatives: on the one hand, the exhibition of the works that will be materially created on canvas, framed and displayed on the wall; on the other hand, a moment of in-depth analysis of issues related to incontinence and ostomy and discussion with health professionals, decision-makers, sector stakeholders and caregivers. The meetings will be held on June 28, 2023, on the occasion of the National Incontinence Prevention and Treatment Day, a Napoli at the Museum of Medical Sciences; The October 7, 2023 on the occasion of World Ostomy Day at Palazzo Vecchio, Firenze and the December 3, 2023 on the occasion of the World Day of Persons with Disabilities at the Museum of Science and Technology of Milano. At the end of the events, the works will be exhibitedto stay from Fais: the proceeds will finance four courses of psychological and/or motivational support for people with incontinence and/or ostomy.
«Surgery can upset a person’s life and in particular the perception they have of themselves: starting from this awareness, the campaign induces us to reflect on the concept of identity of the person, linked to experience. The message is loud and clear: like a masterpiece of art it remains such even if the protagonist is “dressed” with a medical device, even the person’s identity is not affected if an ostomy bag, a catheter or a diaper is used or any other garrison“, explains Pier Raffaele Spena, president of Fais.
«We wanted to use images because they are a powerful and immediate means of communication: in an instant they communicate messages that words would take much longer to produce and implement. Images can describe things that are difficult – if not impossible – to convey verbally», says Vincenzo Falabella, president of Fish and Faip Onlus.
The works are visible in a “virtual exhibition” on https://bit.ly/FAISOD. The works have been used with the permission of the Ministry of Culture, the Central Directorate of Religious Affairs and for the Administration of the Ministry’s Cult Buildings Fund, the Ministry of the Interior – Cult Buildings Fund, the Louvre Museum through RMN-Grand Palace / Dist. Photo SCALA, Florence. The campaign was created in collaboration with MCO International Group.