Volcano Project

VULCANO PROJECT. WHEN CREATIVITY IGNITES INNER STRENGTH

Can creativity help us feel better? Can it become a spark that ignites our inner strength, fuels hope, and breaks down the walls of isolation?

These questions gave rise to the Volcano Project, a social-artistic initiative conceived by artist and jurist Beatrice Zagato. The goal is as simple as it is profound: to awaken a sense of hope and vitality in the patients of Padua Hospital through the power of creativity.

WITHIN EACH OF US, A VOLCANO

The chosen name, Volcano, evokes the energy we all carry within. Even in the most difficult moments—grief, illness— there is the hope that exists an inner strength that endures and can be reawakened.
The project’s aim is to explore whether, in a delicate environment like a hospital, creativity can become a tool to access well-being or at least our inner energy.

A HOSPITAL THAT TRANSFORMS

Thanks to the collaboration with Padua University Hospital, an entire area of the hospital has been transformed into a creative space. A place where patients can not only produce artworks but also meet, talk, and feel part of a community.
The wards involved are Clinica Medica 1 of the Monoblocco and the UOC at Sant’Antonio hospital: here, patients and healthcare staff are invited to explore art through a unique creative process guided by the artist, who aims at creating new connections and humanizing health care.

ART AS RESEARCH

Rather than teaching artistic techniques, the Vulcano Project focuses on research. The real goal is to generate positive thinking, helping each person connect with their own creativity, which, according to the artist, is a direct channel to our emotions. This encourages the creation of authentic relationships, breaking through the loneliness and isolation that patients often feel during illness and hospitalization.

As Beatrice Zagato explains:

“This project combines the power of creativity and human rights: the dignity that must be guaranteed to everyone, in every circumstance, as stated by our Constitution. Volcano explores the transformative power of creativity, both for health and society. It generates interaction between patients, doctors, nurses and staff. If it succeeds, why not imagine the introduction of creativity as a permanent support to traditional treatments?”

The artworks created by patients are displayed in the space, forming a visual journey that tells the story of the project’s evolution. In this way, even time spent in the hospital gains a new and richer meaning.

A DIALOGUE BETWEEN GENERATIONS

After the launch of the project, a primary school in Brescia—F.lli Rossetti—asked to be involved. A teacher contacted the artist to share her students’ wish to contribute. Each child created an artwork expressing their inner strength—their own volcano.
This led to an emotional long-distance exchange of drawings and letters between the young students and the hospital patients: a colorful dialogue filled with closeness and hope.

THE FINAL WORK: A MESSAGE OF LOVE

At the end of the project, Beatrice Zagato created a piece of art that now hangs at Sant’Antonio Hospital, symbolizing Volcano and representing strength and energy.
The artwork includes patients’ thoughts and drawings, applied to the canvas as a collage. The strength of patients’ words generates a force which is symbolized by the curvy shape of the artwork. The colors reflect earth and sea, and beneath it all—there is light, the golden element. At the top right, one word stands out above all others, just as a patient wrote it: “Love”.
At the end, Volcano Project is exactly that: a message of love—for each and every one of us.

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO MADE THIS POSSIBLE

A special thank you to the patients who participated and shared their creativity, especially Ugo, Fabio and Franco.

The project was also made possible thanks to the presence and involvement of Dr. Matteo Simonato, who accompanied the artist during each phase of Volcano.

Essential support came from sponsors who believed in the power of this initiative:
Bottega S.p.A., GB Thermae Hotels, Franco Stevanato Foundation, Alì Supermarkets, Longwave, Guidolin Giuseppe – Eco. G. Srl, Xylem, Carmen Fusi, Unidici HP, Dr. Giovanni La Scala, and a private donation in memory of Vittore Pagan. Thanks also to the technical sponsor, Studio SFP.

Many others supported the project, believing in its transformative strength:
The hospital Directors Giuseppe Dal Ben, Maria Vittoria Nesoti, Tiziano Martello; Prof. Giuseppe Sergi, Prof. Paolo Simioni, Dr. Sandro Giannini, Giuseppe Penzo.
Thank you to the teacher Rosalba Candito and her students. A special thanks to Bo Live of the University of Padua for the beautiful video documentary created about Volcano Project.