Through the Female Gaze: Women and Work in Italy since the 1950s

06/05/2022

The exhibition at the Italian Cultural Institute is now extended until the 13th of May as there has been considerable demand to keep it open. Hope you will have a chance to visit if you haven't done it yet.

06/05/2022

Very interesting exhibition review by Sofia Cotrona

Categories Art Culture Review: Through the Female Gaze – women and work in Italy since the 1950s Post author By Sofia Cotrona Post date April 18, 2022 According to Laura Mulvey, the world is perceived through a male gaze: a gaze that frames femme presenting individuals and women as sexual objects ...

19/02/2022

Opening in Edinburgh after a stellar success in London, Through the Female Gaze presents the work of Italian female photographers whose appreciation outside of Italy is long overdue, such as: Paola Agosti, Marcella Campagnano, Lisetta Carmi, Liliana Barchiesi (photo credits), Letizia Battaglia, Cristina Omenetto, Collettivo Donne Fotoreporter, Nicole Gravier, Gruppo del Mercoledì, Allegra Martin, Gabriella Mercadini, Michela Palermo, Alessandra Spranzi, Francesca Volpi. It also draws on photographic images of women at work (sometimes shot by male photographers) collected and curated by the Archive of UDI (Unione Donne Italiane or Union of Italian Women) in Bologna and the archive of Noi Donne, the national UDI’s official magazine. The majority of the photos are on loan from the famed Collezione Donata Pizzi, solely dedicated to female photographers.
Through the Female Gaze opens on the 8th of March at 6:30 at the Italian Cultural Institute, Edinburgh. Entry is free but reservation is required for the opening night, at this URL https://iicedimburgo.esteri.it/iic_edimburgo/it/gli_eventi/calendario/2022/03/through-the-female-gaze-women-and.html
The exhibition will remain open until the 30th of April.

(Photo credits: Gabriella Mercadini)

12/02/2022

Proudly announcing the forthcoming opening of Through the Female Gaze in Edinburgh, 8 March-30 April at the Italian Cultural Institute. If you are in town on the 8th, there is no more suitable celebration of the International Women Day than attending the opening at 6:30. Maud Bracke Phil Cooke Ilaria Favretto and myself will introduce the themes of the exhibition. Free to attend but booking required https://iicedimburgo.esteri.it/iic_edimburgo/it/gli_eventi/calendario/2022/03/the-inauguration-for-the-photo.html?modulo=1
(Photo Credit: Alessandra Spranzi, Tornando a casa, Courtesy of Donata Pizzi Collection).

Inauguration of the photo exhibition 'Through the Female Gaze: Women and Work in Italy Since the 1950s'

08/12/2021

We opened last Thursday to a sold out event at the Italian Cultural Institute, London! A great thank you to those who attended and those who could not, but will catch up with the exhibition on display until the 23rd in London and from the 8th of March in Edinburgh. The exhibition is refocusing the attention on what work means in a contemporary society from an intersectional point of view, it has been covered by the Corriere della Sera https://www.pressreader.com/italy/corriere-della-sera-la-lettura/20211128/281706912954959, La Stampa https://www.lastampa.it/cultura/2021/12/01/news/le_grandi_fotografe_raccontano_il_rapporto_fra_donne_e_lavoro-934237/ and other media, online and radio. If you cannot travel to London or Edimburgh, we will release soon a link to a virtual platform with a selection of the photos.

28/11/2021

Working as a female photographer meant in the 1970s to subvert gender roles predominant in the photo industry. The Collettivo Fotoreporter, established in Milan by Giovanna Calvenzi, Mara Italiani, Marisa Chiodo, Livia Sismondi, Kitti Bolognesi, Laura Rizzi, did this in playful way through the 1977 series "i ruoli", the roles. I particularly love this image in which Giovanna Calvenzi and a male photographer invert the famous macho shot of Antonioni's Blow Up. This is photo is on display in "Through the Female Gaze" with other images of the same series.

25/11/2021

For the first time in the UK, Through the Female Gaze presents the work of Italian female photographers whose appreciation outside of Italy is long overdue, such as: Paola Agosti, Marcella Campagnano, Lisetta Carmi, Liliana Barchiesi (photo credits), Letizia Battaglia, Cristina Omenetto, Collettivo Donne Fotoreporter, Nicole Gravier, Gruppo del Mercoledì, Allegra Martin, Gabriella Mercadini, Michela Palermo, Alessandra Spranzi, Francesca Volpi. It also draws on photographic images of women at work (sometimes shot by male photographers) collected and curated by the Archive of UDI (Unione Donne Italiane or Union of Italian Women) in Bologna and the archive of Noi Donne, national UDI’s official magazine. A substantial portion of the photos are on loan from the Collezione Donata Pizzi, solely dedicated to female photographers.

IThe Exhibition will remained open from the 3rd to the 23rd of December at the Italian Cultural Institute. Check linked website for more info.

Curated by Maria Chiara Di Trapani. Organisers Ilaria Favretto, Nico Pizzolato, with the collaboration of Eloisa Betti