This is what the National Gallery of the Marches will look like. New director Gallo introduces himself

The new director of the National Gallery of the Marches in Urbino, Luigi Gallo, who took office at the helm of the Ducal Palace last November, presented his program for the great Urbino museum, where a very important year, 2020, the anniversary of Raphael’s death, in which the Gallery participated with the major exhibition Raphael and the Friends of Urbino, between October 2019 and January 2020, has just ended. The exhibition closed the tenure of the previous director, Peter Aufreiter(a lengthy interview with him here), with a very successful event.

The change in the Gallery’s management overlapped with contingencies related to the Covid-19 pandemic, which not only altered the programming put in place by cultural institutions, but also profoundly marked the relationship between the museum and the public, triggering transformations that suggest a different way of approaching the world of culture in the future. The Galleria Nazionale delle Marche therefore declares itself ready to build on past experiences, but announces that it will project itself into new scenarios with an approach that will see the palace and its collections at the center of interest.

In spite of the difficulties of the moment, it is indeed the intention of the new director of the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche to continue in the cultural offering both at a distance and in presence. During the closure of the Institute, a strong communication campaign via social media has been launched, with various popular programs such as the series Il Museo si Racconta. In addition, the exhibition Spirits. Eight Photographers Tell Giancarlo De Carlo in Urbino, the extension, Luigi Gallo points out, is not only intended to allow the public to enjoy the exhibition (and the interesting layout) that, due to Covid, has been closed to the public for a long time, but also to mark the attention that the current direction has for contemporary architecture and art.

Architecture and contemporary art will be two important strands of the gallery’s new direction. In addition to the exhibition On the Thread of Raphael. Enterprise and Fortune in the Art of Tapestry, which will be mounted in the Salone del Trono of the Ducal Palace in Urbino and will close, at least symbolically, the Raphael celebrations, the first proposal for 2021, Dante’s year, will be an exhibition centered on the relationship between the imagery sparked by the Florentine writer’s Commedia and contemporary architecture, which will feature, for the first time, the plans for the Danteum project by Giuseppe Terragni and Pietro Lingeri.

“If for the young Raphael, Urbino, with the Ducal Palace, were the first training ground for his artistic training,” the Gallery points out in a note, “today we must recover that value, no longer considering them mere frames for events, but protagonists. The palace that once belonged to Duke Frederick is, itself, one of the main works of art in the collection of the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, a collection that must return to the forefront of enhancement projects, with its internationally known masterpieces placed side by side with those that, more specifically, tell the story of this territory so rich in history and culture. And to the palace and its collections, the efforts of the coming months will be dedicated, with the expansion of the exhibition itinerary, greater accessibility, the refitting of some rooms and the study of new lighting. But also with new outreach projects, visitor support tools and opportunities to meet and reflect on the world of visual arts and beyond. A new museum narrative closer to the users, involving them more by establishing, with the public of the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, a real dialogue.”

Finally, the new cultural policy of the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche will be made visible by the Institute’s new image curated, in collaboration with the ISIA of Urbino, by professors Leonardo Sonnoli and Irene Bacchi.

Pictured: Palazzo Ducale in Urbino, the facade of the torricini. Ph. Andrea Castellani

This is what the National Gallery of the Marches will look like. New director Gallo introduces himself

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.