On Saturday 12 October 2024, the Giornata del Contemporaneo returned — the major event that has been bringing contemporary art to a wide public since 2005. Promoted by AMACI – the Association of Italian Contemporary Art Museums, the Giornata del Contemporaneo was carried out with the support of the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture and the collaboration of the Directorate-General for Public and Cultural Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Now in its twentieth edition, the Giornata del Contemporaneo, as always, involved museums, foundations, public and private institutions, galleries, studios and artists’ spaces across the whole of Italy, showcasing the vitality of contemporary art in the country. This year too, to encourage and enhance the widest possible participation, the event kept a hybrid format, both physical and digital, with online and in-person offerings.
The guiding image of this Twentieth Giornata del Contemporaneo is the work Donna in Gabbia (Woman in a Cage, 1975–2024) by Tomaso Binga (pseudonym of Bianca Pucciarelli Menna, Salerno, 1931), the Italian artist chosen by the AMACI museum directors following Michelangelo Pistoletto (2006), Maurizio Cattelan (2007), Paola Pivi (2008), Luigi Ontani (2009), Stefano Arienti (2010), Giulio Paolini (2011), Francesco Vezzoli (2012), Marzia Migliora (2013), Adrian Paci (2014), Alfredo Pirri (2015), Emilio Isgrò (2016), Liliana Moro (2017), Marcello Maloberti (2018), Eva Marisaldi (2019), Armin Linke (2021), Giorgio Andreotta Calò (2022) and Binta Diaw (2023).
The image proposed by Tomaso Binga for the Twentieth Giornata del Contemporaneo is drawn from one of her 1974 performances, in which the artist — a feminist and women’s rights activist — appeared with her head enclosed in a canary cage, being fed by male hands: a reflection on women’s condition of constrictive subordination but, more broadly, on inequalities rooted in privilege and in forms of control often presented as care and protection. The canary cage thus becomes a barrier that is not only physical but also metaphorical, pointing to the inaccessibility of freedom as an inalienable right, and to all the tools and possibilities that can lead each of us towards greater awareness and emancipation. Accessibility, in its broadest sense, was indeed the theme of this Giornata del Contemporaneo, in line with ICOM’s new museum definition (Prague, 24 August 2022), which states: “A museum is a not-for-profit, permanent institution in the service of society that researches, collects, conserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage. Open to the public, accessible and inclusive, museums foster diversity and sustainability. They operate and communicate ethically and professionally and with the participation of communities, offering varied experiences for education, enjoyment, reflection and knowledge sharing.”
Thanks to the support of the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture and the collaboration of the Directorate-General for Public and Cultural Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Giornata del Contemporaneo renewed its involvement of the MAECI diplomatic-consular network, made up of Embassies, Consulates and Italian Cultural Institutes, and extended abroad from Sunday 6 to Saturday 12 October 2024, involving 48 institutions with 72 initiatives.
As always, the event kept several strands of activity, all with free admission: an ad hoc programme from the AMACI member museums, initiatives developed in collaboration with MAECI’s overseas network, the involvement of the Luoghi del Contemporaneo network promoted by the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture, and proposals from participating organisations. A calendar of more than 1,100 events that brought out the widespread network of bodies promoting the various forms of contemporary artistic language across Italy and internationally.
In testimony to the event’s well-established significance and its role within the national system, the Head of State, Sergio Mattarella, once again in 2024 awarded the Giornata del Contemporaneo the Medal of the President of the Republic.
The event was supported by the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture, with the collaboration of the Directorate-General for Public and Cultural Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and was held under the patronage of the Representation in Italy of the European Commission, the Chamber of Deputies, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces, UPI – Union of Italian Provinces, ANCI – National Association of Italian Municipalities, and ICOM Italia.
This year, the Giornata del Contemporaneo also benefited from a partnership with Alfasigma, a media partnership with Il Giornale dell’Arte and Rai Cultura, and technical sponsorship from Artshell.
