Gomito a Gomito is a sartorial workshop created in 2010 by Siamo Qua (We Are Here), a social cooperative founded in Bologna in 2003 with the aim to offer training and work experiences to underprivileged women. Today, Gomito a Gomito is the main activity of Siamo Qua and focuses exclusively on the female inmates of the Dozza prison in Bologna. With the assistance of Elena Giulia Dall’Acqua, Program Associate at the Italian Dickinson Center in Bologna, four groups of students have explored Gomito a Gomito for their Dickinson Wears Prada final project:
- Jacob De Carli and Hannah Youmans wrote a journalistic article focusing on the work experience of the inmates of Gomito a Gomito. Their article “L’indipendenza creativa delle donne in carcere,” in Italian, explains how the inmates have developed creative skills as designers within the prison context.
- Olivia Trombley and Maryam Khalil focus on Elizabete’s and Maria’s personal stories of growth and hope. In their interview essay, “Seamstresses of Gomito a Gomito: Inmate Stories” you can read excerpts from the interviews, in English, and listen to the actual interviews to Elizabete and Maria, in Italian, made by Elena Giulia Dall’Acqua.
- In “A Second Chance,” Sasha Quinlan and Julia Settle explore the Gomito a Gomito successful project offering a comparative reflection on the Italian and North American incarceration systems. In order “to get a better gauge on the inner workings and aspirations of Gomito a Gomito,” as they write in their article, they interviewed (through Elena Giulia in Bologna) Enrica Morandi, a Gomito a Gomito volunteer.
- In the podcast “Dickinson Wears Prada Podcast: A Look Inside,” Brad Hansell and Nikolas Mikelinich discuss Gomito a Gomito as a business and socially advanced experiment that encourages the autonomy of the inmates.
All the projects are available on the Students’ Projects link on the right column.
I nostri sentiti ringraziamenti a Gomito a Gomito, Elizabete, Maria, Enrica Morandi, Silvia De Pasquale ed Elena Giulia Dall’Acqua per la loro generosa collaborazione e il materiale fornito.