Progetto Costellazioni
2013-2025 12th anniversary
YOUNG TACTILE CONSTELLATIONS
A multidisciplinary, inclusive and immersive art workshop
in collaboration with:
Fermi High School in Cecina, project “School paths, paths of life” – PNRR – Next Generation EU Call
and the Cascinese Amateur Astronomers Association
Corona Borealis
site-specific, inclusive and audio installation
wood, plexi, led, audio system
6,5 x 5 mt
2025
Student collaborators:
Dilara B., Lorenzo C., Melissa C., Alice L., Ashly M., Gloria M., Sara N., Sofia N., Lorenzo P., Drilona R., Elisa S., Manuela S. and Francesca V.
Texts by Lorenzo C. and Alice L.
Voices by Melissa C. and Alice L.
Piano by Manuela S.
and with:
Prof. Giulia Scarpone – tutor of the project
Michela Castello – translation and writing in Braille
“Young Tactile Constellations” is a project that aggregates different cultural fields: from contemporary art to notions of astrophysics to mythology and poetry, passing through the material construction of an artistic work of land art, this initiative is part of the Progetto Costellazioni.
“Do we still need the stars? We, living in illuminated cities and towns and immersed in technologies – smaller and smaller – of all kinds, are we still able to look at the immense night sky and get excited?”
These questions are the starting point for the journey of the Progetto Costellazioni, which aims to convey the emotion of the immensity of the Cosmos through immersive experiences, with land art installations, allowing visitors to walk along the stars, touch them and interact with the electronic devices where the stars tell their stories.
THE PROTOTYPE OF AN INCLUSIVE LAND ART
The students involved in the workshop were asked to find ideas and viable solutions to create a prototype of a land art installation dedicated to the stars, also accessible to a blind public. Thanks to the indications, limitations and needs defined by both the environment and the artist, using the artistic-visual code of the Progetto Costellazioni, the goal of the workshop was to offer the students (and the public) an engaging experience that combines art, science and inclusiveness.
Thanks to the valuable discussion with some members (including blind members) of the Cascina Amateur Astronomers Association, it was possible to define the aspects relating to the inclusive accessibility of the installation.
Together with the girls and boys (about 13 in total, aged between 15-19 years), divided into dynamic groups, very different subjects were addressed, including:
- astronomy and mathematics: for the selection of the constellation to be built (the Corona Borealis was chosen) and to convert some characteristics of the stars (such as the apparent magnitude) into construction parameters for the elements of the installation;
- mythology and legends: not limiting the research to classical Greek, but including older myths, such as Babylonian myths, and other places on the planet, such as Africa, Australia and America.
- prose, poetry and music: The girls and boys connected the constellation to the legends of the Native Americans, writing two short texts both in prose and in poetic form to be used for piped music during the inauguration of the installation and, subsequently, to be used as an audio track for the interactive device to be placed inside the major “star”;
- geometry: for the reproduction on the ground of the shape of the constellation (on a scale of 1:6 compared to the sketch on paper), using simple tools such as rope and tape measure;
- technical design: inventing ad hoc technical solutions for the practical realization of the installation, for the choice of materials (mainly wood, but also LED and opal plexiglass) and to make it accessible to the blind public.
- contemporary art: from the teachings of the historical masters of land art (Chisto & Jeanne-Claude, Smithson), the participants made some graphic drawings of the views and construction details of the installation.
WORDS TO STUDENTS
(form the interview by Federica Lessi for Il Tirreno, Cecina-Rosignano)
“I’m passionate about the stars. I was struck by the idea of land art and doing something for those who can’t see. Together we share the work, I like problem solving. I have also written a story about the Corona Borealis that will be broadcast on cable radio.”
— Lorenzo (V classical high school)
“Art and science are the things I like the most, I have discovered that I also like to design and organize work. The knowledge I exploited the most is geometry, but manual skills were a nice discovery.”
— Sara (III scientific high school)
THE STORY:
THE POETRY:
THE PROJECT “SCHOOL PATHS, PATHS OF LIFE”
This activity is intended for groups of students from the Fermi High School in Cecina and is part of the training and laboratory courses carried out outside curricular hours aimed at reducing territorial gaps in the first and second cycle of secondary school and combating early school leaving as part of Mission 4 – Component 1 – of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, funded by the European Union.
The Fermi High School has activated numerous courses related to several areas (Music, Citizenship, Theater, Mentoring and Coaching …) which see the active participation of the students of the Institute, who thus have the opportunity to be involved in transversal activities that strengthen their ability to work in a team, self-confidence and enhance their talents. This project has achieved its goal, that of experiencing the school as a place of well-being.
