ForumPhilo | To hope despite everything

To hope despite everything

Forum Philo 2026

BEHIND THE SCENE

Le Monde AD and the team of the Association Forum Philo Le Mans, invited me to work for the Philo Forum 2026 which took place in Le Mans from January 30 to 31 and February 1.

The theme of the Festival was:

To hope despite everything.

MY IDEA

I explored several ideas around this theme, and the one chosen was the most joyful and playful: a sun in the protagonist’s chest, gazing at a magical and wonderful world.

The world he imagines and carries in his heart seems to emerge from within him, unfolding among an incredible array of clouds.

I then brought the image to life in color. Naturally, the sun in the man’s chest shares the same colors as the clouds. A white dove soars over the landscape, while houses and a rainbow frame an almost domestic scene, calm and peaceful. I created three versions with lighter and darker backgrounds.

The one shown below is the selected version, with the other three variations displayed beneath.

These are the sketches I proposed. Each, in my view, conveyed the idea of Hope.

I believe the committee chose a subject that viewers could relate to, featuring a human figure in the foreground.

Cook Festival | Live Drawing at Le Cavallerizze, Milan

Live Drawing

Cook festival

On October 24 and 26, I had the pleasure of participating in CookFest, the Corriere della Sera’s culinary festival, with my live drawing sessions, during two evenings introduced by Angela Frenda and Alessandra Dal Monte.

Drawing live, I translated words into images while listening to Liliana Rampello and Walter Siti reflecting on Jane Austen’s and Marcel Proust’s writings on food.

As the drawings unfolded, guests tasted dishes prepared by chef Antonia Klugmann on the first evening and chef Ugo Alciati on the second, in the historic Cavallerizze space at the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia in Milan.

Courrier International | Facing Industrial Winds

Facing Industrial Winds

Internazionale

Beneath a gentle appearance, Ellinor Guttorm Utsi, spokesperson for the Sámi village of Corgas on the Nordkinn Peninsula, hides an unwavering determination. This 60-year-old Sámi refuses to sacrifice ancestral traditions in the name of the climate transition.

Reindeer herding is central to Sámi life, but in 2023 the Norwegian government decided to erect eleven wind farms on these Arctic territories, partly to supply electricity to the liquefied natural gas plant on Melkøya Island.

“Our right to carry out our activities is at stake,” she explained to Nettavisen, noting that turbine movement and noise disrupt the reindeer, essential to Sámi identity and family income. Authorities suggested reducing lynx and wolverine populations to protect the herds, but she insists this will never justify wind energy development.

As published in Courrier International.

First published in Internazionale.

Internazionale | Science Section

INTERNAZIONALE

SCIENCE

Illustrations on the topic of Science, as published in Internazionale.

Autism may exist in multiple genetically distinct forms, with traits and expressions varying according to the age at which it is diagnosed.

by Michael Marshall

China has rapidly increased its interest in Antarctica over the past decade.

by Xiaoying You

Is being bilingual good for your brain?
Perhaps. Learning languages offers other, more concrete benefits.

from the Economist

Quarter of people follow rules even with no downside to breaking them

by Helen Thomson

Why Weather Forecasts Are Poised to Improve Dramatically Right Now.

By Benjamin von Brackel

Trump has withdrawn the US from the Paris Agreement. Here’s why that’s not such a bad thing.

by Laura Hood

Researchers are questioning if ADHD should be seen as a disorder.

«It is “LIKE being inside a pinball machine with a hundred balls” says Lucy.»

Geothermal power is vying to be a major player in the world’s clean-energy future

Here is the article as published in Internazionale

A big advance in mapping the structure of the brain
After larval fruit-flies’, more complex brains are next.

Scientists make artificial human embryos without sperm or egg through these lab-grown embryos.

by Tibi Puiu

Attention plant killers: new research shows your plants could be silently screaming at you. by Alice Hayward

Why emotions can feel so painful and what it means for painkillers.

by Helen Thomson

Sequencing projects will screen 200,000 newborns for disease genes.

By Jocelyn Kaiser

Psychedelics: how they act on the brain to relieve depression.

by Clare Tweedy

Has the pandemic changed our personalities? New research suggests we’re less open, agreeable and conscientious.

by Jolanta Burke

The genes of a jellyfish show how to live forever.
The problem is that it requires a complete bodily metamorphosis.

People with endometriosis and PCOS wait years for a diagnosis – attitudes to women’s pain may be to blame.

By Anne-Marie Boylan, Annalise Weckesser and Sharon Dixon

Iceland targets herd immunity with controversial covid-19 strategy.
Many countries have scaled back their coronavirus restrictions, but Iceland is going further with a plan to let infections spread.

By Clare Wilson

We Accidentally Solved the Flu. Now What?

By Jacob Stern

Coming off antidepressants risks relapse, but so does staying on them.

By Clare Wilson

City-wide quantum data network in China is the largest ever built.

by Matthew Sparkes

From jet fuel to clothes, microbes can help us recycle carbon dioxide into everyday products.

by Jamin Wood, Bernardino Virdis, Shihu Hu

Group-think: what it is and how to avoid it.

by Colin Fisher

People from Mexico show stunning amount of genetic diversity.

by Lizzie Wade

Microplastics in household dust could promote antibiotic resistance Polyester and nylon seem to be common sources.

Sexual Attraction Is the Oldest Story on Earth when one cell drifts by another cell, pheromones fly.

by Ilana E. Strauss

Record $8 billion payout won’t turn back the clock on US opioid crisis.

by Clare Wilson

Brain baloney has no place in the classroom.

by Pete Etchells

Food allergies may be on the rise because babies start solids too late.
Giving babies potentially allergenic foods early on, may reduce the risk of allergies – but many parents don’t, as that conflicts with advice to breastfeed until six months.

by Clare Wilson

Some fish are still full of mercury, for a worrying reason.

by Ed Yong

Browsing deer affect how a forest sounds.
Changes in the auditory environment as a result of herbivory, could influence how animals communicate, and may have implications for sound-based monitoring of species.

by Jeff Akst

The loneliest stars in the galaxy – certain stars have a history distinct from all the others around them.

by Marina Koren

to purchase go here

Human drugs are polluting the water – and animals are swimming in it.

by Rebecca Giggs

Schrödinger’s cat and quantum mechanics.

Natural selection may help account for Dutch height advantage.

by Carl Zimmer

Actes Sud jeunesse | Naturoscope

Naturoscope

Actes Sud jeunesse

2025 – Actes Sud jeunesse (FR) Age 7+

Dedicated to the love for Nature, Naturoscope was conceived and written by Fleur Daugey. It consists of 25 infographics that describe various events or curiosities about Nature.

On the cover, you can see the chimera, of which I’m also attaching the draft. In the coming days, I will also share the story behind the creation of this book.

Naturoscope earned a Merit and an Honorable Mention in the 3×3 International Illustration Annual No. 22 for its illustrations and infographics, as well as being shortlisted for the HiiiBrand Illustration Competition.

Buy the book

The Future of relationships

private collection

The future of relationships

BEHIND THE SCENE

A leading strategic consulting company invited me to conduct a two-session workshop* on the Future of Relationships, and to create an artwork inspired by its outcomes.

MY IDEA

The workshop, centered on the use of collage as a tool for reflection and imagination, generated intense visual and verbal exchanges. It was a moment of mutual openness that left meaningful traces, which became the foundation for my artistic work.

We questioned the limits that sometimes shape our relationships, the fears that inhabit us, the boundaries—forced or self-imposed—and a strong desire emerged: to give vision to fluidity.

The final artwork consists of four modules, designed so that this same sense of fluidity guides the gaze of the viewer, from the first to the last. Each module opens up a different dimension of encountering the Other, within a changing time.

The digitally created work will be exhibited at the company’s Milan headquarters by the end of 2025.

Module 1 – The encounter: staying in the flow and opening to the Other
Two individuals look at and see one another. Each intersects with the other and, through this encounter, neither remains the same.

Module 2 – Emotional intelligence that lights up the world
Like a great light shining over everything, emotional intelligence becomes a beacon and a glimmer of hope for a future of acceptance and understanding.

Module 3 – Carrying new flags
The symbol of the flag is powerful, almost archetypal. Each individual carries unique qualities to be shown without fear. A shared wealth, for a more open and loving future.

Module 4 – Different paths meet
Each person is their own path. Trajectories intertwine and embrace, giving life to something new, common, fertile.

The workshop was carried out within the framework of my educational project SMALL ACADEMIA.
For collaborations and proposals, please write to small@chiaradattola.com.

Le Monde | The Longevity Business

Le Monde

The Longevity Business

Luxury “longevity clinics” are booming worldwide, offering anti-aging treatments to wealthy clients, though their benefits remain scientifically uncertain. Along Lake Geneva in Switzerland, the famous Clinique La Prairie attracts an international elite, not with miracle waters but with its promise of the “secret of youth.”

Here you can find the original article.

As published in Le Monde.

Hystrio Festival | Mascotte

Hystrio festival 2025

mascotte

BEHIND THE SCENE

The Hystrio team, the theatre magazine I have been collaborating with for decades, asked me to create the mascot for Hystrio Theatre Festival, held at the Teatro Elfo in Milan.
I first focused on the idea of flight and on a gaze that feels both luminous and young.

MY IDEA

From there, I studied characters from world folklore, wishing to infuse the mascot with an ancestral strength — the kind that belongs to totems and nature spirits.

I then focused particularly on the character’s eyes and face. After that, I thought about all the beings that fly — birds, butterflies, insects of various kinds — eventually arriving at the idea of a stellar being.

As sometimes happens while I draw, I began to call it by name. Sometimes a part of me recognizes the image I’m working on — in this case, a being — and starts naming it even before it has fully come to life. Stellino… Stellino…

And here it is.
We established the base colors and developed Stellino’s figure. And even though Stellino is a star in itself, he has strong wings. I drew the wings to emphasize the idea of flight, and while continuing to imagine his story in my mind, I pictured him as a comet that never falls.

Hystrio also asked me to record a video in which I talk about this mascot, and as the words flowed, I realized that Stellino really is a star guiding the way to the Festival, while at the same time determining his physical characteristics.
This way, anyone searching for theatre excellence can keep Stellino in sight and find what they are looking for.

Below are the final artworks: the character holds two poses.
In the first image, he is shown flying; in the second, he is seated on the ground, relaxing.

Here are some variations with graphic treatments for the socials, the poster, tote bags, prints that will be the prizes for the Hystrio Festival, and the flyer with all the Festival events.

Graphics by @Neo-studio

Le Monde | The Pau Experiment

Le Monde

The Pau Experiment

In Pau, employees test autonomous work – Home care workers at the AID64 association experiment with greater responsibility.

The association AID64, based in Pau, has introduced a self-managed team model, granting greater autonomy to its 56 social and family intervention technicians (TISF) and 65 social care assistants (AVS). Initiated in 2021, this four-year transition stemmed from the leadership’s belief that employees should be trusted to make decisions rather than managed in a top-down way. The change also responds to recruitment and retention challenges in a sector often marked by difficult working conditions and low pay.

Here are some drafts and the final image.

The intermediate steps led to the right translation of the text into image.

Here you can find the original article.

As published in Le Monde.

Internazionale | Amore che vieni

Internazionale

amore che vieni

BEHIND THE SCENE

The Internazionale team invited me to create a series of images to accompany texts by Lorraine de Foucher.

MY IDEA

The theme was love relationships, and more specifically, their difficult sides.
I chose to focus on the idea of incommunicability, which I find to be the most painful aspect of such relationships: even when people are close, a certain distance remains.

The series was published exclusively online on Internazionale’s website — here is the link.

Below are some drafts, the final images, and the page layout.