FOROF is an artistic and cultural laboratory founded by Giovanna Caruso Fendi in 2022, in the heart of Rome, at Palazzo del Gallo di Roccagiovine, overlooking Trajan’s Forum. The project aims to bring archaeology and contemporary art into dialogue, creating a dynamic interplay between past, present and future, and offering new perspectives on historical heritage through the languages of art.
At this crossroads of time, an exceptional archaeological heritage is preserved: a section of the polychrome marble flooring corresponding to the eastern apse of the Basilica Ulpia, part of the monumental complex of Trajan’s Forum and dating back to the 2nd century AD. The archaeological site evokes the memory of manumissio, the ritual through which enslaved people in ancient Rome could obtain their freedom.
Building upon these historical layers, FOROF develops a programme of artistic research and experimentation, inviting contemporary artists to engage with the site, its memory and its transformations. Through site-specific installations and interventions conceived in relation to the archaeological context, heritage becomes a living medium, capable of generating new interpretations and connections with the present.
On the occasion of Giornata del Contemporaneo (Contemporary Art Day), visitors will be guided through the archaeological site and introduced to FOROF’s cultural project. The visit will explore the dialogue between archaeology and contemporary art through a presentation of the site-specific installations featured in previous exhibition seasons, retracing the artistic research and works that have reinterpreted the site and offered new ways of understanding it.
An opportunity to discover the history of the site and explore how contemporary art can become a tool for reinterpreting heritage, fostering an ongoing dialogue between historical memory and artistic research.
