National Archaeological Museum of Florence, piazza Ss. Annunziata 9b
From September 23 settembre to November 26, 2017
Opening hours:
Tuesday – Friday: 8.30 a.m. – 7.00 p.m. (final entry 6.15 p.m.)
Saturday-Monday: 8.30 a.m.– 2.00 p.m. (final entry 1.15 p.m.)
info IIPP: 055 2340765 – iipp@iipp.it
The exhibition “The Fragility of the Sign. Rock Art of Africa in the Italian Institute of Prehistory and Protohistory Archive”, under the patronage of UNESCO, is organized by the Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria, in collaboration with Polo Museale della Toscana/Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Firenze, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, Virgilio Sieni / Centro di produzione sui linguaggi del corpo e della danza, Ufficio UNESCO del Comune di Firenze, Università di Firenze – Funzione per lo Sviluppo di Prodotti Multimediali, with MIUR contribution.
Realized by Anna Revedin, Luca Bachechi, Andrea De Pascale, Silvia Florindi, the exhibition highlights some of the most ancient and extraordinary artistic testimony of humanity, situated in places that are currently inaccessible as a result of domestic and international conflicts. It also aims to draw attention to the need to preserve this inestimable but fragile Heritage of Humanity by presenting images that document its state of conservation prior to the criticalities of recent decades.
The exhibition proposes images and films produced between the 1930s and 1960s during Graziosi’s missions to study African rock art and, in particular, reproductions of the large prehistoric carvings of Libya which, being situated in war zones, are at present inaccessible.
The immersive exhibition itinerary, designed by Vincenzo Capalbo, evolves through four sections. The first is an introduction to Graziosi’s research and to his archive. The second is devoted to images and films on rock art and ethnographic research in Libya. The third section focuses on Graziosi’s research in what is now Ethiopia, currently being continued by Luca Bachechi. The fourth and last section addresses the topic of the “Heritage in danger”. This theme will also be reflected in the choreographic performance conceived by Virgilio Sieni for the inauguration of the exhibition.
