A journey through the female evolution of the architectural profession, from the pioneers of the early 20th century to today’s archistars, from multidisciplinary collectives to large international studios led by female designers. This is the essence of the exhibition “Buone Nuove – Women Changing Architecture”, inaugurating on Tuesday, 5 December at 11.30 am at the Faculty of Architecture (Modelarium) of the University of Pristina – open to the public until 5 January 2024, every day from Monday to Friday (h 10-18, free entrance).
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) realized the exhibition in collaboration with the MAXXI Foundation in Rome, with the curatorship of Pippo Ciorra, Elena Motisi, and Elena Tinacci. Its design is by Matilde Cassani, while the graphic design is by Cinzia D’Emidio. “Buone Nuove” is presented in Pristina by the Italian Embassy in Kosovo and the Italian Cultural Institute in Tirana in collaboration with the Faculty of Architecture at the University “Hasan Prishtina,” the Municipality of Prishtina and the Association of Architects of Kosovo.
“The exhibition – which we are particularly proud to bring to Kosovo as part of a world tour that has already touched Sweden, Qatar, Bosnia, and Albania – intends to offer to a not necessarily expert public a new and more inclusive point of view on architecture. It aims to document and, in some way, compensate for the contribution made by female designers, couples, female teams, and collectives to the achievements and quality of modern and contemporary architecture in Italy, trying to find keys to connect with the local scene as well”, the Italian Ambassador to Kosovo Antonello De Riu and the Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Tirana Alessandro Ruggera explain.
At the opening event of the exhibition, in addition to Ambassador De Riu and Director Ruggera, speakers will include the Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Violeta Nushi, the Mayor of Prishtina, Përparim Rama, and the President of the Association of Kosovar Architects, Masar Dushi. One of the exhibition’s curators, Pippo Ciorra, will close the event.
The exhibition “Buone Nuove – Women Changing Architecture” articulates its narrative in chapters. The first – Histories of Italian Women Architects – is dedicated to the stories and projects of around twenty of the most interesting female representatives of Italian architecture from the post-war period to the present day. They range from Lina Bo Bardi to Gae Aulenti, from Cini Boeri to the most relevant representatives of the current scene, such as Maria Giuseppina Grasso Cannizzo, and on to the young and very young. The second chapter – Practices in Italy – focuses on a series of essential works realized in Italy by international women designers, often in collaboration with local companies and professionals, covering the first two decades of the present century. The last two chapters – Narratives and Visions – include interviews with experts and scholars on the topic of gender equality in architectural professions, as well as a series of video works dedicated to the more and more conscious relationship between gender and space.
On the exhibition’s presentation in Albania and Kosovo, a team of local architects and architectural historians complemented its contents by presenting the work of two Albanian architects, Shpresa Leka and Valentina Pistoli, and two Kosovar architects, Suade Doko Mekuli and Shqipe Nixha.
