“Art is a vehicle that allows us to transcend linear time, to travel backward and forward into personal and transpersonal history, into possibilities that weren’t realised, and those that might be.”
Federica designs and facilitates art workshops in collaboration with museums, hospitals, schools and organizations.
The arts have the power to transform lives, fostering emotional well-being, enhancing the healing process within healthcare systems, and playing a vital role in social justice and peacebuilding. Through creativity, individuals and communities can reconnect with their resilience, find solace in times of uncertainty, and build stronger connections with one another. On this page, some examples from her workshops. For information or collaboration: federica@aiellopini.com
“Federica’s presence has given us a great deal of public feedback, particularly from fine artists who find her involvement inspiring. Her contribution has supported young artists and encouraged public appreciation for collage art. ”
TAMASHA - Arts and Health Festival
As a fellow of the Global Arts in Medicine program, Federica has collaborated in the preparation of the TAMASHA - Arts and Health Festival, where she was curator of the Arts & Creativity for Displacement team, and organized two main events:
In Cameroon: A nature-based art workshop with the Nibung community of Bamenda, engaging internally displaced persons (IDPs) affected by the Cameroon sociopolitical crisis through creative arts.
In Sudan: The creation of a textile mural at the Wae Center for Intellectual Development in Dongala, North Sudan, in collaboration with Amaryllis Organization. Tha activity has been done with a group of displaced children who are dealing with war’s consequences.
The workshops aim to promote healing, foster a sense of community, build resilience, and reduce feelings of isolation.
TAMASHA Festival - Arts and Creativity for Displacement - Project presentation | Video
Presentation of the activities carried out at GSAHW – Global South Arts Health Week in Qatar | Video
Nature-based workshop with the Nibung community of Bamenda, Cameroon:
“I feel happy seeing everyone here happy. Just coming together is a sign that there is hope, and I have never known how important arts is, but now I do”
The creation of a textile mural at the Wae Center for Intellectual Development in Dongala, North Sudan, in collaboration with Amaryllis Organization:
Video from the Global Arts in Medicine Fellowship Closing Ceremony
Museoterapia
MUSEOTERAPIA – L’arTE che cura
MUSEOTERAPIA - L’arTE che cura project, born from the collaboration between the Carlo Poma hospital and Fondazione Palazzo Te.
A series of artistic workshops involved some Nephrology and Dialysis patients at the Mantua hospital in painting, dance, theater and music practices. The clinical gaze of the facility’s professionals has collected valuable information to construct a study, which will result in an article to be published in a scientific journal.
The objective is to verify whether artistic stimuli can contribute to a 10% reduction in the degree of physical and mental asthenia, a frequent condition in cases of renal failure with the need for dialysis. The participants are aged between 18 and 80, are male and female, and will be compared with a second group of patients who have not had the artistic experience. The project was carried out in collaboration with Fondazione Palazzo Te which already boasts significant experience in the field of cultural welfare.
2023 – Sign, Gesture, Colour. The Energy of Painting
At Palazzo Te, heroes who cry, fall and get up, teaching us the strength of fragility.
A workshop exploring the relationship between gesture, colour and pictorial energy. Inspired by the exhibition L’arTE che cura. Rubens e gli eroi, participants experimented with the expressive possibilities of painting, using marks, movements and colours to give form to energy and emotion.
2024 – Minotauromachia: Connecting the Dots of Life, and Beyond
«If all the stages of my life could be represented as points on a map and connected by a line, the result would be the figure of the Minotaur».
Starting from this reflection attributed to Pablo Picasso, and from his work Minotauromachy (1935), the workshop explored the relationship between memory, personal experiences and the construction of meaning. Through drawing and collage, participants were invited to represent the stages of their own journeys, connecting fragments, images and memories to create unexpected relationships and personal compositions. The Minotaur thus became a visual metaphor for an identity shaped by different experiences, interwoven into a unique journey.
2025 – Painting Instability
Inspired by All That Changes You. Metamorphosis, a multichannel film installation by British artist Isaac Julien, created specifically for Palazzo Te, this workshop explored metamorphosis and the idea of change. Through painting, participants experimented with fluidity, hybridity, openness and the transformation of forms. The activity invited them to question fixed boundaries and explore the relationship between human beings, nature and the surrounding world.
MUSEOTERAPIA at Palazzo Te, October 2024: “Minotauromachia: Unire i puntini della vita, e anche di più” drawing and collage workshop
Mandala Flower - Collective Collage
Art workshop for adults Sentimenti e Thanatos as part of the Alla fine dei conti cultural event at Casa del Mantegna.
Led by Federica Aiello Pini together with psychologists Elisa Rega and Rachele Sassi, and thanatologist Elena Alfonsi, the workshop offered a therapeutic opportunity to navigate one’s emotions related to loss through the creative process of collage, while also giving rise to a shared artistic expression.
Expressive Arts Workshop at ESAD (Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático) in Córdoba, Spain
An experiential painting workshop for scenography students at Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático “Miguel Salcedo Hierro” (ESAD) in Córdoba, Spain. Guided by music and brief instructions, participants explored colour and painting through spontaneous creative expression. The artworks created during the workshop were then exhibited in a final show at the school’s Patio Blanco.