The 13th Florence Biennale, an international exhibition of contemporary art and design, opened in Florence

The 13th Florence Biennale, the international exhibition of contemporary art and design, opened on Saturday, Oct. 23, in the spaces of the Fortezza da Basso in Florence. Visitors can access the well-established event until Sunday, Oct. 31, with hours from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (excluding Monday, Oct. 25, for closing of the exhibition and Sunday, Oct. 31, for closing at 7 p.m.) and with admission costing 10 euros (concessions 7 euros, conventions 5 euros).

Florence Biennale is spread at the Fortezza da Basso in both the Spadolini Pavilion and the Cavaniglia Pavilion; in particular, one of the novelties of this thirteenth edition is located in the latter space, namely the special concept curated by Fortunato D’Amico with the installations of more than sixty artists, selected from an interdisciplinary and multicultural perspective, who have created individual and collective works on the theme of the exhibition: EternalFeminine | EternalChange. Concepts of Femininity in Contemporary Art and Design.

Indeed, the theme of this edition is the polychrome and multifaceted universe of femininity, which will be investigated in its various facets, starting from two major lines. On the one hand, the idea that delineates femininity in its immutable essence, which has inspired the most important artistic and literary creations in human history and which, starting from the primordial cult of the Great Mother reaches all the way to Dante Alighieri’s Beatrice and Johann Wolfgang Goethe’s Eternal Feminine: the idea of femininity as a reflection of divinity, as a spiritual love that goes beyond the boundaries of time, as a source of purification and elevation, and as a force in the universe that forms and governs everything. On the other hand, the idea of the perennial change that characterizes the contemporary world and that also invests femininity, which has transformed and is transforming itself on the push of social and cultural movements, such as those developed around feminisms and LGBTQ communities. From the sexual revolution of the 1960s to the battles for equal opportunity and the debate on gender identities, there are countless stimuli that have led to a redefinition of the concept of femininity, increasing even more its complexity and multidimensionality.

For the first time, the Audience Prize will also be awarded thanks to a technologically advanced popular evaluation system developed as part of the partnership between the event and Fynd.art, an Austrian art promotion platform. The work most scanned by the smartphones of the public visiting the exhibition will win the prize.

The inauguration took place in the theater area of the Spadolini Pavilion in the presence of Eugenio Giani, President of the Region of Tuscany; Dario Nardella, Mayor of Florence; Pasquale Celona, President of Florence Biennale; Piero Celona, Vice President of Florence Biennale; Andrea Pessina, Soprintendenza Soprintendenza Archeologia, belle arti e paesaggio per la città metropolitan city of Florence and the provinces of Pistoia and Prato; Lorenzo Becattini, President of Firenze Fiera; Umberto Cabini, President of Fondazione ADI; Fortunato D’Amico, Curator of Cavaniglia Pavilion and Fondazione Pistoletto Città dell’Arte; and Jacopo Celona, Director of Florence Biennale.

Mayor of Florence Nardella spoke of the exhibition as a clear demonstration of the will to restart Florence and culture in general; he also stressed “the need for a new pact between culture and politics, because artists need an art market that restarts, both for a great social project and for a dream, because it is artists who help us dream.”

This edition of Florence Biennale involves 465 artists and designers from 71 countries.

For more information and to find out the detailed program of the Florence Biennale awards and events, you can visit www.florencebiennale.org.

Ph.Credit Flora Borsi

The 13th Florence Biennale, an international exhibition of contemporary art and design, opened in Florence

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