'FOTOGRAFE!': A deeper dive

One of the primary goals of the project 'FOTOGRAFE' is a dual exhibition in Florence, enabling the public to explore women in the archives at the Alinari Foundation for Photography. From June 18 to October 2, 2022, the exhibition 'Fotografe! Women photographers: Alinari Archives and Contemporary Perspectives' is on show at Villa Bardini and Forte Belvedere in Florence. It takes viewers on a journey from the dawn of photography to the present-day.

Installation shot, Fotografe! at Villa Bardini, ph. Federica Narducci

This new and ambitious exhibition – whose protagonists are the women photographers of yesterday and today – brings two evocative venues together in a single, unique itinerary that combines original works by women from the Alinari Archives, with photographic production by their contemporary counterparts. Curated by Emanuela Sesti and Walter Guadagnini, the show is presented and promoted by the Alinari Foundation for Photography and the Fondazione CR Firenze, in collaboration with the Municipality of Florence.

Installation shot, Fotografe! at Villa Bardini, ph. Federica Narducci

Thanks to a grant by Calliope Arts, the exhibition will be enriched by two sections devoted to significant collections from the Alinari Archives: that of the sisters Wanda Wulz (Trieste 1903-1984) and Marion Wulz (Trieste 1905-1990) and that of Edith Arnaldi (Vienna 1884-Rome 1978), chiefly known as a Futurist writer and artist, under the pseudonym Rosa Rosà.

Viewing Fotografe! at Villa Bardini, ph. Federica Narducci

Historic and contemporary talent

The show will feature original prints by Julia Margaret Cameron, Dorothea Lange, Margaret Bourke-White, Lucia Moholy, Maria Mulas, Ketty La Rocca, Lisetta Carmi, Diane Arbus, and Bettina Rheims, among others, displayed in conversation with works by ten contemporary Italian artists, Eleonora Agostini, Arianna Arcara, Federica Belli, Marina Caneve, Francesca Catastini, Myriam Meloni, Giulia Parlato, Roselena Ramistella, Sofia Uslenghi and Alba Zari, proponents of new generation of photographers – born after 1980 – who have been carving their place in the field in recent years, both, nationally and internationally. Their works interact with Alinari’s historical legacy, eliciting a dialogue with the exhibition historical photographs and with the archive itself.

Read an interview with the exhbition's co-curator Emanuela Sesti in Restoration Conversations Magazine – Summer 2022.