Mufoco celebrates its 20th anniversary with an exhibition on Mario Giacomelli

Mufoco Museum of Contemporary Photography in Cinisello Balsamo (Milan) is celebrating its 20th anniversary with an exhibition dedicated to the great master of photography Mario Giacomelli, curated by Milo Montelli and Katiuscia Biondi Giacomelli. titled This memory I would like to tell. On view from Feb. 24 to May 19, 2024, the exhibition showcases the last photographic series Giacomelli made shortly before his death. “An unknown Giacomelli,” noted Mufoco director Gabriella Guerci, “recounted in the exhibition and the accompanying book.” “The last series created before his death, yet conceived as a hymn to life,” explained the artistic director of the Mario Giacomelli Archive, Katiuscia Biondi Giacomelli. “An art project that aims to instill regeneration, to give new meaning to things: this is why we are happy to have brought this exhibition to a moment of rebirth of the Museum.” The exhibit includes 66 vintage works from the series This memory I would like to tell, as well as 400 specimens that reconstruct Giacomelli’s movements in space and his photographic narrative. It also includes reproductions of negatives, manuscripts, and audio and video recordings that illustrate his work and thought. The exhibition is completed with the release and first presentation of the volume Mario Giacomelli. Questo ricordo lo vorrei raccontare (Skinnerboox), conceived by publisher Milo Montelli, who is its curator together with Katiuscia Biondi Giacomelli. The exhibition is thus a tribute on the threshold of the artist’s (Senigallia, 1925 - 2000) centennial celebrations.

the museum is housed in the Villa Ghirlanda, a 17th-century mansion that also in 2024 celebrates the 50th anniversary of its handover to the municipality of Cinisello Balsamo and its citizens.

“This is a great gift,” explained Mayor Giacomo Ghilardi, anticipating the confirmation of the imminent signing of an agreement to enhance the museum’s photographic heritage with the Ministry of Culture, the Municipality of Cinisello Balsamo and the Metropolitan City of Milan. “Mufoco thus confirms itself as an excellence of our territory. In addition to its prestigious collections, the museum boasts significant social projects, a testament to the fact that culture must be and truly is for everyone. In fact, the renovation carried out at its headquarters is characterized by its focus on accessibility. An important message that makes Mufoco even more a reality to be enhanced over time.”

“We are proud and happy of the attention that the Ministry of Culture reserves for the Museum through the agreement that is now close to being signed with the managing bodies, the Municipality of Cinisello Balsamo and the Metropolitan City of Milan, thanks to the commitment brought forward by Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano and Undersecretary Lucia Borgonzoni. Dealing with a Museum of Contemporary Photography means dealing with a central issue of our time, the issue of ”truth.“ And the battle of truth is played out today on the management of images. Mufoco is interpreting in an increasingly modern and contemporary way the function of the Museum, understood no longer just as a space but as a living, beating heart that goes beyond its exhibition vocation. Through its very rich archive, an invaluable cultural and artistic heritage, initiatives and activities are generated every day that go far beyond national borders, with an eye always on projects, in Italy and abroad, dedicated to new and young artists,” said Mufoco President Davide Rondoni.

“Investing in contemporary culture by enhancing a heritage of works and the museum’s function of preservation and dissemination, with attention to the present and a look that can anticipate future goals,” is also the commitment of the Metropolitan City of Milan, as stressed by Deputy Mayor Francesco Vassallo.

On Saturday, Feb. 24 and Sunday, Feb. 25, Mufoco20Fest will welcome the public with the new immersive installation that allows navigation through the museum’s collections (more than 2 million works housed in 40 photographic collections by more than a thousand Italian and international artists) and programs of activities and initiatives. The schedule of events will culminate on Sunday, Feb. 25 (from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.), with Che Lotteria! by international public art artist Ilaria Turba, curated by Matteo Balduzzi: the popular ritual of the lottery as an integral part of an unprecedented art installation that will be donated to the museum and will tell the story of the places, inhabitants, and imaginaries of the city. “What a Lottery!” allows people to win images and objects donated by citizens and friends of the Museum. These are important and precious things that people have the desire to transmit and exchange today and that will remain in time, like messages in a bottle, thanks to the final work of the project," explained artist Ilaria Turba.

Mufoco celebrates its 20th anniversary with an exhibition on Mario Giacomelli

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