Contextually to the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Narges Mohammadi, the Municipality of Brescia and the Fondazione Brescia Musei, in partnership with Associazione Genesi and the Festival of Peace, announce a new exhibition dedicated to the condition of women in the world, with a special focus on Iran. Finché non saremo libere declines the title of the book Finché non saremo liberi. IRAN la mia lotta per i diritti umani by Shirin Ebadi, Iranian lawyer and peace activist, and the first Muslim woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize (2003). Her efforts for the recognition of human rights, particularly of women, children and refugees are reflected in the exhibition through the artworks of women artists from different parts of the world and Iranian artists: Sonia Balassanian, Farideh Lashai, Shirin Neshat, Soudeh Davoud and Zoya Shokoohi.
The broad spectrum of testimonies proposed by the exhibition is fully in harmony with the Museo di Santa Giulia in Brescia which, thanks to a consolidated exhibition programme and its artistic and curatorial choices, has established itself nationally and internationally. Finché non saremo libere contributes to the line of research and the depth study promoted by Fondazione Brescia Musei, which investigates geo-political contexts of pressing topical interest through the points of view and work of contemporary artists. From 11 November 2023 to 28 January 2024, the collective exhibition will be a space for reflection and awareness-raising on an increasingly urgent topic: the human rights. The previous chapters of this path have been the exhibition projects dedicated to the relationship between art and rights, which have featured the Turkish artist and activist Zehra Doğan (We will also have better days. Works from Turkish prisons, 2019) and the Chinese Badiucao (China (not) is near, 2021) and the Russian activist and artist Victoria Lomasko (The Last Soviet Artist, 2022).
"For the foundation, proposing an exhibition dedicated to the gaze of women, contemporary artists and Iranian artists on the great themes of contemporaneity means confirming the social role as a museum institution that actively promote art as a powerful expression of the inexhaustible need to make the voice of rights heard, with more urgency in these troubled times. The exhibition Finché non saremo libere confirms our museum institution's support for the social struggles of women, not only Iranian women, and renews with this great event the interest for the great discussion on human rights issues" (Francesca Bazoli, President of the Brescia Musei Foundation)
The video installation Becoming (2015) by Morteza Ahmadvand will open Finché non saremo libere, this work is realized by the only man artist in the exhibition. The installation reflects on the possible peaceful coexistence between cultures and the need to abolish distinctions and hierarchies between peoples and individuals. The first section will exhibit a nucleus of works by female artists from various geographical areas. These works are part of the contemporary art collection of Associazione Genesi and explore complex and often dramatic cultural, environmental, social and political issues of our times. While the second and third part of the itinerary will start with artworks by Iranian artists Shirin Neshat and Soudeh Davoud: a tribute to two historical Iranian artists Farideh Lashai (1944 - 2013) and Sonia Balassanian (1942) who have never had a solo exhibition in Italy.
A site-specific intervention by the young Iranian artist Zoya Shokoohi will end the exhibition, an artwork conceived during a residency organized by Fondazione Brescia Musei as an integral part of the exhibition and an opening towards future generations. Finché non saremo libere is not only intended to explore the dramatic condition of women in Iran, but at the same time to underline the importance of the research of some exponents of contemporary Iranian art. The artists are selected on the basis of their qualities, which have enabled them to emerge in the international art system despite the dramatic situation in their country. The exhibit promotes a message of universal hope and empowerment for all women artists, not only Iranian. The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue available in all the museum centers and published by Skira, edited by Ilaria Bernardi with texts by Omar Kholeif, Delshad Marsous (Maanà - Iranian Diaspora Association) and the Iranian artist, performer and researcher Zoya Shokoohi.
Finché non saremo libere, curated by Ilaria Bernardi From 11 November 2023 to 28 January 2024 Museo di Santa Giulia Via dei Musei, 81 - Brescia
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