Restoration Conversations: Women Artists and the Abstract Revolution
5pm/ April 21
On April 21 at 5pm, Christian and Florence Levett will talk with Linda Falcone, director of Advancing Women Artists, about the (mostly American) female abstraction art collection in his Florence home, which features works by Elaine de Kooning, Louise Bourgeois and Louise Nevelson, Joan Mitchell, Helen Frankenthaler, Cecily Brown and Tracey Emin, amongst others. Tune into The Florentine’s YouTube channel for the live conversation.
CONTEMPORARY/ Creative People in Florence
6pm, April 15
Tune in to the Creative People in Florence’s Facebook page, or alternatively via Zoom, for what’s sure to be a fascinating peek inside three bottegas in the Oltrarno. Co-founders of CPiF, Anna Rose and Sara Amrhein will speak with Officine Nora, Campucc10 and Frau Leman, in collaboration with The British Institute of Florence, Advancing Women Artists and Residenza d’Arte il Palmerino for their Oltrarno Gaze project. Step into these studios virtually, for a look at their work and crafts, as well as taking advantage of the chance to submit any questions you’ve ever wanted to ask about being an artisan in Florence. Topics include what it means to be contemporary artisan in Florence, and how tradition can be renewed to create the future of Florence.
EXHIBITION/ Empresses, matrons, freedwomen
Until May 9
The Uffizi exhibition on women in Ancient Rome goes digital and is now available as a virtual tour. Titled Empresses, Matrons, Freedwomen, the exhibition opened last November, but had to close after just one day due to the pandemic-necessitated restrictions. It’s the first time the Uffizi has ever offered a tour in digital tour format that is free and and accessible both via computer and smartphone. The archaeological display focuses on the figure and role of women in ancient Rome, with about 30 sculptures set up in the Detti room and the Sala del Camino. Curated by Novella Lapini and support of the Antiquities manager, Fabrizio Paolucci, it can now be admired from wherever you are
MARKET/ La Fierucolina
9am-7pm, April 18
From 9am to 7pm on April 18 in piazza Santo Spirito, stalls are stocked with local products that vary from jams and honey to grains of all sorts. More info on their Facebook and website. Given that the artisans’ market is currently not able to go ahead, have a look at the La Fierucola craftspeople and support their work here.
Piazza Santo Spirito,
Florence
ART/ Apprehensions of the Material World
9am-5pm, April 20-23
The exhibition titled Apprehensions of the Material World features selected works by SACI MFA candidates in Studio Art, Photography, and Communication Design, on display from April 20-23 at the SACI Gallery. Open 9am-5pm, you’ll have the opportunity to see works by Lindsey Campbell (MFA in Photography), Joseph Cimino (MFA in Studio Art), Eric J. Frey (MFA in Studio Art), Bridget Hannah (MFA in Communication Design), Arais Meteyard (MFA in Studio Art), Melissa Morris (MFA in Studio Art), Rudransh Nagi (MFA in Photography), David Neal (MFA in Studio Art), Victor Restrepo (MFA in Photography) and Marie-France Robichaud (MFA in Photography). The show is the culmination of 2 years of graduate-level study, more than half of which was conducted during the global pandemic. The resulting works, in various mediums, examine the material world that is both fragile and continuously seeking equilibrium, in a society driven by a materialistic economy that upends all attempts at balance. The works are present on the SACI website and will be on display in the SACI exhibition spaces from April 20-23, from 9am to 5pm, pending orange zone restrictions.
Jules Maidoff Palazzo for the Visual Arts / SACI Gallery,
Via Sant’Egidio 14, Florence
LECTURE/ The Invisible Enemy: Fighting the Plague in Florence, 1630
7pm, April 21 and April 28
Talk presented by Professor Giulia Calvi
The Breyer Center for Overseas Studies in Florence presents a two-part series dedicated to the 1630 Plague in Florence, delivered by the Stanford in Florence instructor, historian Professor Giulia Calvi. The talks take place at 7pm on April 21, looking at ‘Patient O: The Story of the Poulterer from Bologna’, and the arrival of the plague into the city. The session will also feature an interview with Marco Geddes, past medical director of the Florence’s Santa Maria Nuova Hospital and former Florence city council member for public healthy, as well as the author of ‘Healthcare in the Time of Coronavirus’ (2020). Part 2 will be held at 7pm, April 28, and will focus on ‘Public Health in Times of Contagion: An Integrated Structure’. The talks will explore how the plague was handled 400 years ago, and what history can teach us about today’s global pandemic. The series is pre-recorded, with a live question and answer session to follow the lectures. Register here, and find info about upcoming events on their website.
