DESIGN/ Florence Biennale
October 23-31
Andrea Roggi ‘La vita in un bacio’
A major contemporary art and design exhibition comes to Fortezza da Basso in an unmissable display of international artistic production. The thirteenth edition of the festival focuses on femininity in all its guises, as expressed in the title: ‘Eternal Feminine – Eternal Change: Concepts of Femininity in Contemporary Art and Design’. The showcase features 450 exhibitors from 65 countries with over 1,000 works on display as well as a wide range of events and activities including film screenings, dance, music and talks. Lifetime achievement awards will be presented to British designer and activist Vivienne Westwood, Piedmontese artist Michelangelo Pistoletto, and the world-renowned photographer Oliviero Toscani as part of the proceedings.
Fortezza da Basso,
Viale Filippo Strozzi 1, Florence
CINEMA/ UNICEF Innocenti Film Festival
October 21-24
Showcasing the awe, excitement, uncertainty and struggles of childhood, the UNICEF Innocenti Film Festival (UIFF) returns to Florence from October 21 to 24. Thirty-seven films from 28 countries depicting diverse but universal experiences of childhood will be shown free of charge at Cinema La Compagnia and online via MyMovies.it. Screenings will be followed by dialogues between the filmmakers and UNICEF experts. Films include Antara, which charts the first few days of lockdown in the densely populated city of Dhaka in Bangladesh; The Game, telling the story of a group of football-mad children in one of the biggest slums in Kenya; and A Scarecrow, which depicts the lives of young girls in the high mountaintops of Nepal. Other films touch on the hesitancy to grow up in Eggshell (Ireland), the pressures of social media in The Right Words (France) and the stigma faced by children of ISIS fighters in Iraq’s Lost Generation. Full details of all the films to be screened will be announced on 14 October. For more information about the festival visit uiff.org.
Cinema La Compagnia and online
CINEMA/ France Odeon
From ‘Amants’ Copyright: Roger Arpajou
The film fest dedicated to French cinema takes place from October 26 to November 1 at Cinema La Compagnia and Institut Français Firenze. Guests of the festival include Bérénice Bejo, Stacy Martin, Anaïs Demoustier, Grégor Montel, Nicole Garcia and Benjamin Voisin. The thirteenth edition of the festival is directed by Francesco Ranieri Martinotti, and features a wide range of cinematic gems.
Cinema La Compagnia, via Cavour 50,
and Institut Français Florence, piazza Ognissanti 2
EXHIBITION/ Forma
October 22
Works on display by Soda and Etnik
CONCERT/ Restoring Ognissanti
6pm, October 22
Christian Levett, Florence Levett, Roberta Lapucci, Jane Adams, Anita Evi Gonzalez. Ph/ Kari Varner
A benefit concert on October 22 will go towards funding the restoration of the oil on canvas, Saint Francis Receives the Stigmata. The proceedings will get underway at 6pm with a presentation of the restored terracotta sculpture (in Italian) before soprano Sophie Gallagher delights with her performance. The Royal College of Music London graduate debuted with ‘Albert Herring’ at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and has given a solo recital at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace. She will be joined by countertenor Tom Scott-Cowell, also a graduate of the Royal College of Music London, and accompanying organist Sándor Károlyi. The concert programme features Gounod’s ‘Sanctus’, Pergolesi’s ‘Sancta Mater’, Mozart’s ‘Laudamus Te’ and Dvořák’s biblical songs ‘Gott erhöre mein Gebet’ and ‘Herr! Nun sing’ ich Dir ein neues Lied’. After the last notes ring out, the audience will be invited to view the Alcantara Chapel to see the newly restored sculpture, followed by an aperitivo in the courtyard. Reservation required by emailing jane@caravaggioandcontemporary.com. A generous donation is kindly requested, with all monies raised going towards the restoration. Four prints by Florentine artist Uliviero Ulivieri will be for sale, donated by the Faustini Arte Gallery to benefit the Church’s next project.
FEMALE/ L’eredità delle Donne
October 22-24
‘Next Generation Women’ are at the center of the fourth edition of the festival that celebrates females, under the artistic direction of Serena Dandini. Icons of feminism Gloria Steinem and Donna Ferrato are exciting highlights of the line-up, with intriguing collaborations with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and guests such as Virigina Stagni, the youngest ever manager of the Financial Times. October 23 will see psychologist and psychotherapist Loredana Renzi present Momolina Marconi, followed by Francesca Vannini on Sister Plautilla Nelli, with guests Roberta Lapucci and Jane Adams of Caravaggio & Contemporary discussing “Sisterhood: female creativity in Florentine convents”, followed by an egg tempera workshop with art teacher Francesca Vannini and restorer Anita Magdalena Gonzalez at Chiesa di Ognissanti.
Various locations and online
STREETART/ Woman’s World
October 22 to November 14
‘Madonna of Kabul’ by LeDiesis
As part of L’Eredità delle Donne, works by well-known street artists Lediesis, Ale Senso and Laika will be on display from October 22 to November 14 at Informacittà, via San Gallo 121, in an exhibition titled Woman’s World. The spaces of the well-known cultural information agency will hosts works by the all-female collective.
Informacittà,
via San Gallo 121, Florence
FAIR/ Artigianato alla Certosa
October 23 and 24
Picturesque setting
From 11am to 7.30om, high quality Italian craftsmanship will be celebrated in the charming setting. Discover jewellery, clothing, accessories, perfumes, furnishings, food, wine and more in the events series that also features art works by Anitya, guided tours of the Certosa, Voa VOa! Onlus Amici di Sofia as a guest, food trucks, and all with free admission. Info: 333 2521819 329 8056528, strana.mente@live.it
via del Ponte di Certosa 1, Florence
