Florence Events for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

Florence is offering several events in solidarity with International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25.  The aim is to bring attention to the fact that women around the world are victims of rape, domestic and other forms of violence and harassment, including that which happens in the workplace. The street artist who signs him or herself as “Footloose” has already made a contribution by pasting depictions of red shoes on walls of Florence’s historic buildings. Flash mobs are occasionally organized throughout Tuscany to raise awareness with a display of red shoes, which are meant to symbolize women who have been mistreated or murdered; see article here.

Violence against women is a phenomenon that is becoming increasingly widespread, regardless of geographic boundaries, age or race, which affects all types of family relationships and social backgrounds. In Europe, between 12% and 15% of women experience domestic violence every day, according to the FRA (European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights). It is one of the most common human rights violations in the world that must be eradicated.

NYU Florence is hosting the show “Break the Silence: Art Exhibition on Gender Based Violence” showcasing the works of Marisa Garreffa, Isanna Generali, Silvia Cleri and Benedetta Montini (opening on Nov. 25 at 7 pm in Villa Sassetti, via Bolognese 129; rvsp with your name required at tlu209@nyu.edu for admission).

Another Florence event for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is “We Stand TogetHER” organized by the Novecento Museum of 20th Century Art.  One project will take place in the museum itself, and the other in Palazzo Vecchio. The program intends to broaden and deepen the reflection around this day, underlining the importance of a social, political and cultural commitment against all types of violence and sexual discrimination.

Two works by Silvia Giambrone will be exhibited in the rooms of the permanent collection on the second floor of the Museo Novecento through January 9. Their purpose is to address the issues, violence and the taboos surrounding these themes. The artist uses different expressive mediums such as video, drawing, collage, sculpture, photography and performance art. Giambrone casts a critical gaze on the traditional domestic environment and excavates the inherent and often hidden power dynamics between men and women. The installations often represent ferocious forays into the private, which makes it even more evident of how often violence is an expression of—as philosopher and political activist Hannah Arendt noted—“the banality of evil”: superficial wickedness.  On November 25, the museum cinema hall will also project a selection of work by Valie Export and Silvia Giambrone from 11 am until 7 pm.

The installation “The most dangerous place” by artists Silvia Levenson and Natalia Saurin will be displayed in Palazzo Vecchio’s Michelozzo Courtyard on Nov. 25 from 11 am – 7 pm. They composed 94 ceramic plates decorated with phrases taken from the media, which used to minimize episodes of chronicle related to violence. The number 94 represents the women killed in Italy in 2019 as a result of violence. Phrases or words speak of desire, control, power relationship, pronounced from men unable to handle the refusal or failure of a romantic relationship. They designed to testify that femicide is not the consequence of a sudden and momentary violent impulse but the outcome of a long process rooted in a culture of violence.  (mary filatova)