Florence’s Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi is famous for presenting some of the most ambitious and intellectually rigorous contemporary and Renaissance exhibitions in Italy, exhibiting culture-defining artists like Anish Kapoor, Marina Ambramović and Jeff Koons. From now through to August 31, 2025, the 15th century palace will be inhabited by an homage to contemporary female artistry with “Time for Women! Empowering Visions in 20 Years of the Max Mara Art Prize.The landmark retrospective will celebrate the influential collaboration between the Italian fashion house Max Mara, Whitechapel Gallery and Collezione Maramotti, marking 20 years of the Max Mara Art Prize and a legacy of support and recognition for women-identified artists.
A celebration of creativity, craftsmanship and female identity, the exhibition will house projects from nine of its former prize winners, including Helen Cammock, Dominique White, Laure Prouvost, Emma Talbot, Hannah Rickards, Corin Sworn, Andrea Büttner, Emma Hart and Margaret Salmon, and will bring together for the first time under one roof a collective of the works created during each of the artists’ six-month residencies in Italy.
Presented across a diverse range of mediums including sculpture, ceramics, installations and wall art, each work is a visual representation of contemporary womanhood. From explorations of the body and feminine identity, to visual expressions of motherhood, commedia dell’arte, mythology, and contemporary ideations of the Grand Tour, the theme of each project has been shaped by Italy’s landscape, traditions, and pastoral history.
Founded in 2005, by the iconic Italian fashion house, the prestigious Max Mara Art Prize was the first visual arts award in the United Kingdom to spotlight emerging female artists, and has propelled the careers of leading international visual artists (including White,Prouvost and Turner Prize winner Cammock). Each recipient of the prize is selected by an all-female panel and awarded a six-month, fully-funded residency in Italy, tailored to their individual skills and interests, shaping the scope of their creative practice with time as the ultimate luxury.
Now in its second decade, the prize continues to create visibility for women-identifying artists, and provide a platform for contemporary visual art and storytelling.
The Max Mara Art Prize is exhibiting now until August 31, 2025. palazzostrozzi.org.
