art events Florence

5 - 13 Decembre 2009  Fortezza da Basso -   Florence Biennale 2009
The seventh edition of the International Biennial of Contemporary Art of Florence  will be held from 5th to 13th December 2009 in the historical setting of Fortezza da Basso. Participants and guest will ahve the chance to meet within the many conferences and events, our Honour guests: Marina Abramovic and Shu Yong.

Marina Abramovic will exhibit some of her videos at the Fortezza da Basso and will offer a lecture to the audience followed by a book signing and an exchange of thoughts between public and her; Shhu Yong will exhibit some of the paintings from the series “Chinese Myths”.

Biennale artists from all over the world will exhibit more than 2,500 works of art and will take part in the exhibition for an extraordinary encounter between different cultures, styles and languages as the “Dialogue among Civilization” program promotes, the Biennale has been officially participating in this program since 2001.

Biennale 2007: The sixth edition of the Biennale dell’Arte Contemporanea of Florence was held from 1st to 9th December. The Biennale  included the presence of important artists individuals such as Gilbert & George, who received the “Lorenzo il Magnifico”award for their career.

Biennale 2005: The 2005 edition had a huge participation by the public and the presence of 768 artists from 80 countries. During the exhibition Christo & Jeanne-Claude and Richard Anuszkiewicz, were awarded with the highest recognition of the Flroence Biennale, the "Lorenzo il Magnifico" award for their career achievement. The International Biennial of Contemporary Art of Florence would like to thank John T. Spike for his precious collaboration as Art Director of the past editions.

Biennale 2003: The fourth Biennial of Florence turned out to be the most comprehensive exhibition of international contemporary art thanks to the participation of 891 artists from more than 72 countries. When thousands of stimulating works of art in all artistic fields, arriving from far away destinations are brought together, they create a spectacular laboratory of global creativeness, even if it is just for a short period of time. The challenge for everybody is clear: can a 10 day event produce results that last even longer than the “shock of something new”?

Biennale 2001: The third edition of the Biennial will be remembered as the first and largest exhibition in which artists from all over the world have expressed their reactions to the tragic events of 11th September in New York. On this occasion the Biennial adheres to the United Nations programme “Year of Dialogue among Civilisation”.

We can use the words of the ex Secretary of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, as an example: "I See...dialogue as a chance for people of different cultures and traditions to get to know each other better, whether they live on opposite sides of the world or on the same street."

Biennale 1999: The second edition of the Biennial included the participation of 532 artists from 33 countries, proposing an opportunity to exchange experiences and as a meeting point in the world of contemporary art.

Biennale 1997 :The first edition of the International Biennial of Contemporary Art opens its doors in Florence, a city with historical connections to culture and art, that reveals the charm of contemporary art through this exhibition. It proposes itself in a new way within a historical context par excellence, making this event unique. More than 300 artists from 20 countries took part in this first edition.