Contemporary art hub Museo Marino Marini will wave goodbye to 2016 with a generous holiday gift: the museum will offer free admission to all visitors from December 15 to January 15, 2017. This “open month” is the first in a series of new initiatives set to increase the museum’s international clout and its engagement with the public.
The Rucellai Sepulchre | Ph. Michelle Davis
Formerly the Church of San Pancrazio, the Marino Marini uniquely bridges Italian art of past and present: it still houses the Rucellai Chapel, adjacent to the deconsecrated space now occupied by the contemporary art museum. The chapel houses the Rucellai Sepulchre, a Renaissance funerary monument by Leon Battista Alberti, while the museum’s permanent collection vaunts numerous 20th century sculptures by its namesake artist.
Sculptures from the museum’s permanent collection
In the coming year, the museum will broaden its reach by forming an international committee to promote its initiatives and exhibitions. The roster includes a variety of museum education experts, curators, academic leaders, artists and business executives, led by Michela Bondardo, a current member of the MOMA Contemporary Art Council.
Directly impacting the visitor experience will be the new Visiting Director’s vision. From 2017 forward, museum administration will select an Italian or international curator to temporarily oversee all of its exhibitions and event programming. First in the lineup will be Dmitry Ozerkov, Russian art historian and director of the contemporary art department at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
Film fans and Florence lovers the world over can look forward to the museum’s fall 2017 exhibition, which will celebrate James Ivory’s Florence-based film A Room with a View, adapted from E.M. Forster’s novel of the same name. The exhibition will take visitors behind the scenes of the Academy Award-winning film, showcasing previously unpublished images of stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Helena Bonham Carter, Julian Sands and Maggie Smith. Other institutions involved in the project include the Toscana Film Commission, New York University, the British Institute of Florence and the Odeon Cinema, as well as the City of Florence and the Tuscan Region.
