On Friday, April 17 from 5 pm to midnight, the Luigi Pecci Centre for Contemporary Art opens its doors for another edition of Centro Pecci Night, where visitors can spend an immersive evening moving between exhibitions, performances, and film screenings, experiencing the museum in a vibrant new light after hours.
‘Polaroid 1979-83’, the photography exhibition that is running until the May 10, offers visitors a rare insight into the practice of Luigi Ghirri, one of Italy’s most influential post-war photographers. Curated by Chiara Agradi and Stefano Collicelli Cagol, in collaboration with the Luigi Ghirri Foundation, the show brings together Ghirri’s polaroid works that capture landscapes and objects, produced between 1979 and 1983. The use of instant photography, something less common nowadays, introduces an element of unpredictability to his work, allowing for a more intimate and intuitive approach to photography. The compositions feel less curated and more spontaneous than 21st century, photographs, which are often heavily edited and filtered.
Curated by Michele Bertolino, ‘Vivono. Art and Affects, HIV-AIDS in Italy’, reconstructs a crucial chapter in Italian cultural history. Open until May 10, this exhibition includes a combination of artworks, archival newspaper articles, and medical posters, poetry, and short films that document the emotional responses to the HIV-AIDS epidemic during the 1980s and 90s in Italy. Foregrounding the crisis as a near-historical event where loss, love, activism, were intertwined, the show provides a deeply human perspective to something so often reported in medical terms. At the core, the show invites visitors to engage with the emotional memories of the crisis, prompting reflection on alliances, hope and loss in a time of hardships.
‘Eccentrica’, Pecci’s permanent collection, offers a journey through key works from the 20th century to the present, by artists as Andy Warhol, Lucio Fontana, Anish Kapoor and Monica Bonvicini. Structured as an immersive and multi-sensory experience, this exhibition guides visitors through pivotal moments in cultural and political history – from feminism to major global events, transforming them into an artistic language.
In addition to the exhibitions, this night offers a variety of workshops and talks in Italian, which require prior booking. From Attila Faravelli’s Aural Tools workshop, where participants engage with sound through experimental objects, to Diego’s screening of La Gola (the Throat), the night shifts between mediums of art, film, sound, and movement.
The museum is offering dedicated night shuttle services between Florence and the venue in Prato, in partnership with Autolinee Toscane, making the event easily accessible for visitors, Register at the link; the bus leaves at 7 pm from the Vitttorio Veneto terminal, returning from the Luigi Pecci Centre at 11.30 pm.
