The other side of the futurism exhibition: GNAM emptied, library and archives closed


So much has been said about the Futurism exhibition, less about what is happening at GNAM: at the moment, the permanent collection is partly unseen, and the library and archives are closed. These are macroscopic elements that perhaps deserve more attention than the details about the exhibition.

The current exhibition at Gnam, or Gnam/c, in Rome, Il Tempo del Futurismo, is probably the most talked about temporary exhibition in Italy in recent decades, and it is unlikely to be surpassed soon. It was talked about at the time of the announcement, in November 2022, then in 2023, then obsessively from August 2024 onward, when various newspapers began to tell of the unraveling of the exhibition project, then the postponement of the opening, then the end of the technical-scientific committee that was never formally appointed (but informally was), with various protagonists who, as never before in Italy, attacked in the newspapers an exhibition that no one had yet seen. Full-page pieces in several national newspapers, a report on Report-Rai3, space on other television programs.

Then it was talked about-as normal-at the opening, and then after the opening, as immediately more discussion arose about Boccioni’s Unique Forms being exhibited and, in 10 days, already removed. On December 19 we learned that during the installation work Boccioni’sAntigracious was damaged. In short, it will hardly stop being talked about. Starting with the absence of the scientific committee: there is, however, an organizing committee composed of Massimo Osanna (general director Museums), Renata Cristina Mazzantini (director of Gnam), Elisabetta Scungio (director Regional Directorate National Museums of Lazio), in addition to the curator Gabriele Simongini, chosen in 2023 by Gennaro Sangiuliano. People whose skills are not disputed, but who have never dealt professionally and scientifically with Futurism (Osanna is an archaeologist, Mazzantini an architect, Scungio a specialist in medieval art, Simongini an art critic). A major exhibition with over a million budget should never be organized without a scientific committee of acclaimed experts. Instead it happened as if nothing had happened, and so a very expensive but"normal" exhibition was born.

But in this huge amount of real or alleged problems, criticism, controversy or scandal, some macroscopic elements have passed under the radar that deserve some attention, and that have nothing to do with the content of the exhibition, which may or may not be appreciated by visitors, subjectively.



One of the rooms in the 2016 exhibit that survived the Futurism exhibition. Photo: Finestre Sull'Arte
One of the rooms in the 2016 installation that survived the Futurism exhibition. Photo: Finestre Sull’Arte

Emptying the museum for a temporary exhibition

An exhibition based entirely on Gnam’s masterpieces, featuring 80 works from the 1950s and 1970s, is on view until March 2 at the Musei Reali in Turin.Ettore Colla, Pino Pascali, Giuseppe Capogrossi, Lucio Fontana, Alberto Burri, Mimmo Rotella, Bice Lazzari, Afro, Piero Dorazio, Giosetta Fioroni, Carla Accardi, Giulio Turcato, Gastone Novelli, Toti Scialoja, Sergio Lombardo, Tano Festa, Franco Angeli, Piero Manzoni, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Mario Schifano and Emilio Isgrò.

The exhibition, which seems ill-timed, arose from the need to rid the museum of its permanent collection to make room for the temporary exhibition on Futurism: when specifically asked, Director Mazzantini admitted that the move is also functional to Gnam’s remounting in 2025. Given the delay in the opening of the Futurism exhibition, between October and November visitors to Gnam were faced with a half-empty museum, and such it still is, as also observed by Federico Giannini.

These are choices that are not entirely new (Capodimonte has repeatedly moved groups of masterpieces abroad for exhibitions entirely about Capodimonte) but that have nothing to do with the basic rules of European museology and Italian regulations, which would stipulate that exhibitions have scientific value, and that museum collections have immovable, identity-based pieces. The Royal Museums of Turin moreover is not a contemporary art museum.

The futurism exhibition. Photo: Finestre Sull'Arte
The futurism exhibition. Photo: Finestre Sull’Arte
The futurism exhibition. Photo: Finestre Sull'Arte
The exhibition on futurism. Photo: Finestre Sull’Arte.

The closure of the library and archive

Gnam’s library and archive have been closed since October, and there is no reopening date. While the spotlights are on the gallery, it is impressive that few are dwelling on such a serious gap. Gnam holds funds, archives and volumes that in some cases are essential for researchers and students, or simply for citizens with a desire to learn, particularly about twentieth-century art.

Not that prior to October the situation was good: to gain access one had to make an appointment, with mandatory entry between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., closing at 2 p.m. In short, it was not a very busy library. But that did not make it any less important. There was no press release to publicize the closure, but Gnam on its website speaks of “urgent and unpostponable works of plant and regulatory upgrading” and says that “the reopening will be promptly communicated with appropriate notice on this site.” The concomitance with the large and ambitious exhibition seems untimely, to say the least.

The futurism exhibition. Photo: Finestre Sull'Arte
The futurism exhibition. Photo: Finestre Sull’Arte
The futurism exhibition. Photo: Finestre Sull'Arte
The exhibition on futurism. Photo: Finestre Sull’Arte.
The futurism exhibition. Photo: Finestre Sull'Arte
The exhibition on futurism. Photo: Finestre Sull’Arte.

The line between cultural politics and political culture

Another point that has been little raised is that the “politicization” of Gnam’s spaces began before Il Tempo del Futurismo (an exhibition that cannot but be called political, having originated from the idea of a minister with a political role, and precisely without a scientific committee), nor with the appointment of Renata Cristina Mazzantini. Already in 2023 the museum had hosted an exhibition on Tolkien equally or even more disconnected from the Gallery’s function, and wanted by the government. And so the museum’s upcoming refurbishment in 2025 follows the previous director Cristina Collu’s 2011 refurbishment.

The happenings around Il Tempo del Futurismo , put together, with private individuals complaining in the newspapers and ministers commenting on the choice of works (or asking the Maxxi not to do an already planned exhibition), clarify how far the idea of ascientific use of exhibitions and museum spaces has gone. But they also clarify how difficult it is to have a cultural policy, and not a politicization of culture. At the end of this exhibition, whose catalog we have yet to see (which promises some novelties, and should also contain a paper by Günter Berghaus, who has already spoken very critically about the process of creating the exhibition), and whose developments we will certainly still comment on, let us try to consider the context in which it took place and is taking place, as well as the embarrassing, ridiculous or surprising details.


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