FOOD/StreEAT April 10–12 Cascine Park, Florence Prepare your palate for the most delicious weekend of the month! Whether you crave salty treats or have a sweet tooth, you can snack on suppli, spring rolls and other tempting street treats from Italy and beyond at the StreEAT Food Truck Festival. Admission is free. For more information, visit the website.
ART/Slow Art Day April 11, 9.30am at Ognissanti Church; 11am–3pm at Palazzo StrozziPalazzo Strozzi, piazza Strozzi, Florence
Visiting a museum or historic monument should be an enriching experience, not an exhausting one. Slow Art Day aims to calm ‘checklist tickers’ and encourage a more intentional, reflective approach to art. The event takes place around the world in a variety of venues, and though the official Florentine locations are the Church of Ognissanti (9.30am) and Palazzo Strozzi’s Power and Pathos exhibition (11am), the mentality can be applied anywhere. You’ll look at several pre-assigned pieces—slowly and deliberately—then reflect on them with fellow participants. For more details and to sign up, see the EventBrite for this year’s edition.
POETRY/Poetry Night April 14, 7.30pm St. Mark’s English Church, via Maggio 16–18, Florence
Join the Florence Writers and The Sigh Press for an open-mic poetry night! Local English language poets will present their work, along with bards of the ‘budding’ variety. Entry is free and all are encouraged to participate or simply enjoy others’ work. Negroni will be served for anyone who needs a little extra courage—the bold Florentine beverage just may make you realize that you’re a ‘poet who didn’t know it.’
MARKET SHOWCASE/Old meets newApril 11, 10.30am–midnight & April 12, 10.30am–9pm Villa Romana, via Senese 68, Florence Villa Romana is the venue for Un Nuovo tra L’Usato, a springtime showcase featuring an eclectic fusion of vintage and contemporary. MIB Firenze is organizing a two-day event spotlighting fashions of another era, along with emerging contemporary artists. Weekend highlights will include the ‘Vestiti ad arte’ exhibition, a selection of paintings, photography, sculpture and installations which will take place alongside a vintage marketplace, packed with accessories, dresses, hats, collectibles, children’s clothing and more. For more information, see the Facebook event.
EAST/Middle East NowExhibition openings: April 11, 6pm; festival continues through April 13Odeon Cinema, piazza Strozzi, and ETRA – Galleria Studio Tommasi, via della Pergola 57, Florence
Fresh on the heels of the Florence Korea Film Fest, the Middle East Now festival has started at the Odeon, celebrating the best in cinematic achievement from the Middle East and North Africa. Movies will continue to show all week, but two related art exhibitions are particularly worth noting this week. ‘Every Day Middle East’ is a photography project with roots on Instagram, started by a network of photographers intent on depicting a ‘different’ Middle East. ‘Finding the Middle East in Florence’ showcases sketches by a Bahrain-born artist who’s found references to the region in unexpected Florentine spots. Both exhibitions will be inaugurated on April 11 at 6pm at ETRA – Galleria Studio Tommasi (via della Pergola 57). For the full Middle East Now program, which includes concerts, tastings, films and more, see the website.
