Lampedusa museum

Lampedusa

2016

Realized project

Partner: RS-architecture, Gandolfo Gabriele David.

PH: Enzo Cucchiara.

The exhibition.
The museum of trust and dialogue between the people of the Mediterranean, this is the theme of the exhibition that hosts the Archaeological Museum of the Pelagie in Lampedusa. The island is the gateway to Europe for many people fleeing from places of war and torture, where discrimination shall be made between peoples and religions, where being adult or child, being women or old makes no difference. The exhibition aims to highlight this aspect, not focusing attention on the cultural and religious differences, divisions, but wants to enclose the whole Mediterranean in a civil dialogue, rested on the sharing of the greatest works of art of the East and West museums. Masterpieces of the Uffizi in Florence, the Bard Of Tunis and MUCEM of Marseille meet in Lampedusa and find here the place of welcome, of dialogue.
Concept.
The archaeological museum of the Pelagie is a structure that has suffered, over time, strong transformations. In its place there was the castle of Lampedusa, shot down at the beginning of 900 for reasons of neglect and abandonment, leaving no trace of its primary presence. The exhibition site is located on the first floor of the museum, where there are the administrative offices. The area is wide of just 6 meters and long just over 25 meters, in which all the systems are left exposed, the ceiling is the typical one of public offices and the halls are not designed to accommodate a museum exhibition. The design challenge was exactly this and the solution has led to the creation of a ideal "box" which contains all works and the same structure, however, manages to combine together all the Mediterranean cultures. With this solution, the installation itself is detached from all superfluous elements of the hosting structure and ensures the safety of the works. Walls, corners, small overhangs, sessions and exhibitors are therefore the elements that are part of the ART BOX which ideally can be transported to any place, amplifying its meaning: to invite civil dialogue and trust between all peoples, through art and culture.
The input pavilion.
The entrance to the archaeological museum of the Pelagie was equipped with a built pavilion with a wooden structure and red braided ropes. Besides being a resting place and shadow near the square outside the museum, it combines all the keywords of the entire exhibition. The strings individually symbolize the routes, trade and consequently, the dialogue; inspired by ancient maps in the exhibit, borrowed from the Venice Naval Museum. The whole system of braided ropes want to weave a comparison with the traditional wooden gratings of the Arab regions, called "moucharabieh" that being permeable can symbolize trust, the acceptance of all those who ask for help.
Roof installation.
"We are here" "Cà Semu" is the title of the installation on the roof of the archaeological museum of the Pelagie in Lampedusa. A work of David Gandolfo Gabriele made with fishing poles and flags made from life jackets that link to become a "beacon", a cry of hope to those seeking help and those who provide aid for years.