With only a few weeks left in Rome, the Fine Arts students have begun work for the installation of our final show in the CIAC (Centro Internazionale per l’Arte Contemporanea) museum. The museum is situated in a beautiful palazzo, the Castello Colonna, in the hilltop town of Genazzano, about an hour outside of Rome.
We first visited the space a few weeks ago to document the exhibition area we have been generously provided, and begin to plan our final projects. Inspire by the beautiful space we are working in, many of us have begun to produce site-specific installations that allow us to interact with the rich interior architecture of the museum. We are working in tandem with a group of Italian art students with whom we have been meeting during our studio hours at Cornell.
Recently we have met with the director of the museum, Claudio Libero Pisano, who was incredibly accommodating to our needs and requests as we gave him our final proposals for our work. In many ways the idea of displaying in a functioning contemporary museum has been intimidating; however, it is a unique sort of pressure that really refines the way we approach our projects and elevates our expectations for our own work. I have found that interacting with not only an existing arts organization, but also a historical site generates an element of respect and consideration in my work as I become more sensitive to its context.
We were also recently encouraged to attend a lecture by curator Ilaria Gianni of the Nomas Foundation, an art research organization based in Rome. She spoke to us at length about the contemporary art scene in Rome, and also about her experience as a curator, –how she approaches this work and what it means for her. This was an inspiring lecture to attend in the midst of planning our own show and the students seemed excited to speak with Ilaria about our upcoming show following her presentation.
The show will be installed on the 9th of December; separate works will also be shown at the final show at Cornell’s palazzo.
Relevant dates will be announced for anyone interested in attending a brunch and opening of the work at CIAC, as well as the opening at the palazzo.
More information on aforementioned organizations in Rome: