The words of Altiero Spinelli, one of the founding fathers of a united Europe, continue to resonate and inspire, as evident in a novel art exhibit now installed at the Murate Art District. The title of the exhibit includes Spinelli’s reflection on his internment at Ventotene, where he expressed that, despite being held ‘in a small space in the world’, he did not let it confine him.
The artistic project, initially hosted at the Central Institute for Restoration in Rome, stems from the intentions of Silvia Costa, Italy’s then-Special Commissioner for the recovery of the former Bourbon prison on the island of Santo Stefano in Ventotene. It was organised together with a number of EU National Institutes of Culture (EUNIC) in Rome, including the Czech Center, the Bulgarian Cultural Institute, the Polish Institute, the Slovak Institute, the Yunus Emre Turkish Cultural Center, the General Representation of the Flemish Community and the Region of Flanders, as well as Rome's School of Fine Arts. The Historical Archives of the European Union and Italy’s Ministry of Justice also collaborated on the initiative, which was subsequently taken up by the Murate Art District, involving additional artists from Florence's School of Fine Arts.
Petra Březáčková, Director of the Czech Cultural Institute in Rome, explains that "this exhibit confronts numerous fragilities in our society. The network of European cultural institutes hopes that it will encourage intercultural dialogue and raise attention to individual and collective freedoms."
The exhibition in Florence was curated by two collectives of curators, Dispositivi Comunicanti from Rome and Mind the GAP of Florence, who brought together the works of Stefano Bellanova, Giorgia Errera, Sadra Ghahari, Weronika Guenther, Martin Jurik, Katerina Kuchtova, Federico Niccolai, Marianna Panagiotoudi, Karina Popova, Ilaria Restivo, Zoya Shokooi, Maria Giovanna Sodero, Valerio Tirapani, and Laura Zawada.
The choice of the spaces in the Murate Complex for the Florentine stage of the exhibit derives from the location’s significant history. From 1424 to 1808, the structure housed the Convent of the Murate Sisters Congregation; between 1848 and 1983, it was converted into a male prison. During the Fascist Ventennio, one wing was used as a maximum security prison, destined for anarchists, socialists, and anti-fascists. Among the numerous high-profile political prisoners, the names of Carlo Levi, Gaetano Salvemini, Nello Rosselli, Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti, and Alcide De Gasperi stand out; the latter, along with Altiero Spinelli, among the promoters of the European Union.
The artistic projects contextualized in the maximum-security wing of the Murate explore the concept of freedom within the prison cell, questioning not only its nature but also the forms it can take when experienced, desired, or imagined within a place of detention. The works, employing different media, range from sculpture to performance, to the projection of a virtual world, transforming the cells into gateways to unknown realities, shared experiences, and places of memory.
The exhibition catalogue, to be published in late summer, tells the story of the exhibition and its featured works, and includes the chapter “Human Dignity and the Rights of Prisoners in Europe”, prepared by European University Institute Law researchers Marc Steiert and Alexandra Dubová.
Valentina Gensini, Director of the Murate Art District, expressed her hope that “the European values of community, union, collaboration, freedom and citizenship that guided the artistic works will be inspirational for both the local and international community to which it is addressed, especially to young people, to whom we have dedicated the project.”
The exhibit is free of charge and open to the public Tuesday – Saturday, from 14:30 to 19:30 at the Murate Art District, Piazza delle Murate, Florence.
Photo: "Un piccolo spazio di mondo non delimitato", by Sadra Ghahari. Photo courtesy of Murate Art District.