EMOTIONS TO GENERATE CHANGE


WOMEN'S CRY

by Lia AND MARIANNA Beltrami

An extraordinary photographic journey into the often-invisible world of women, reflecting the words of Pope Francis from the encyclical Fratelli Tutti.

OFFICIAL PRESS CONFERENCE
held on Tuesday 2 May 2023, at 11.00 to present the photography exhibition.

Livestreamed in the original language on the Vatican News YouTube Channel:

Can a photo portray the often-hidden cry of women around the world? Eight diverse photographers from around the globe have tried to do so, taking us on an intense journey that captures the gazes of women, girls, children, old women. They range from the heart of the Amazon to the favela in the north-east of Brazil, and from the Greek islands, through the Ukrainian borders, the Anatolian highlands, across India and the Bangladeshi countryside, and throughout south-east Asia.

Through the beauty of the shots and interweaving a few phrases of Pope Francis’ Encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, WUCWO’s World Women’s Observatory tries to give visibility to women, who for many seem invisible, to transform their lives.

The exhibition is part of “Emotions to Generate Change” the place-non-place where art touches the deepest emotions and pushes for personal and social change.


WHO
The exhibition is the brainchild of and under the artistic direction of Lia and Marianna Beltrami, for the World
Women’s Observatory – UMOFC WUCWO, with the collaboration of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Communication. Handshake, as an agency that brings unlikely partners together around a common goal, made its realization possible.

The exhibition photographs are presented by photographers Neșe Ari, Sebastiano Rossitto, Asaf Ud Daula, Luca Catalano Gonzaga, Vassilis Ikoutas, Ferran Paredes Rubio, Giuseppe Caridi, Caterina Borgato, Silvia Tenenti.  Graphics by Mauro Radici.


WHERE
The first exhibition will be held in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican, from 2 to 29 May 2023, in the left colonnade.


The 26 shots with the sentences of the encyclical Fratelli Tutti will be displayed on supports (240×150) made of wood recovered from the storm Vaia, by the Environmental Valorisation Service of the Autonomous Province of Trento. The next stages of the exhibit will touch Cannes, Rwanda, Venice and New York.


RELATED EVENTS

  • The inauguration of the exhibition will be held in St. Peter’s Square on Tuesday 2 May at 12.30 p.m., with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
  • On 11 May, the Symposium on Art & Media in Society at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences will advance the mission of the exhibit through a gathering of global leaders and creatives from the private sector, civil society, government, and faith communities to discuss how each is advancing progress and shaping our shared future through their work.
  • On 13 May, 2,000 women from UMOFC WUCWO will visit the exhibition, bringing the colours of the world.
  • On 24 May, the Brazilian dance group Laudato Si’ Amazonia – O Espaco da Vida na Terra participates in the general audience and then dances around the photos in the exhibition. One of the photos on display shows the girls of the group dancing in the heart of the favela. In another photo, in Amazonia, the sacred headgear made by the indigenous women will be donated to Pope Francis.


LIA AND MARIANNA BELTRAMI
Lia Beltrami, director, producer and art director, has directed 50 documentaries, winning more than a hundred awards for her work. In 2017 she received the Golden Lion for Peace. She is an ambassador for Religions for Peace. She conceived and curated the exhibition Emotions to Generate Change, St. Peter’s Square November 2021, the performances of the Holy See Pavilion at EXPO Milano 2015 and the art direction of the photography exhibition at EXPO Astana 2017. In 1997, she founded Religion Today Film Festival, the first festival dedicated to interreligious dialogue. She founded the group Women of Faith for
Peace in Jerusalem. She is the author of six books. She is president of the Aurora Vision production company.

Marianna Beltrami, author, researcher and filmmaker, has a degree in politics and environmental philosophy from Oxford, with whom she collaborates on research into integral ecology. With the production company Aurora Vision, she has been assisting in the conception, production and distribution of documentaries since 2014, focusing on women’s rights, inter-religious dialogue and socio-environmental issues.

HANDSHAKE
Handshake is a business consulting firm that unlocks the transformational power of the private sector to address the biggest issues of our time. Handshake works with its partners to integrate impact into core business strategies, design and develop partnership ecosystems to deliver on those goals, and bring strategy and partnerships to life in creative and compelling ways through events and campaigns.