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OPEN: A new civic space for art and science

7 May – 12 October 2026

Celebrating 50 years, the European University Institute launches OPEN at Palazzo Buontalenti.

The exhibition offers free public access.

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The exhibition

Curated by art historian and critic Sergio Risaliti and the coordinator of Museo del ‘900 Stefania Rispoli, OPEN resides at the very intersection of contemporary artistic practice and academic inquiry. Developed in dialogue with the research of historian Johanna Gautier-Morin, the exhibition explores the often-invisible foundations of economic life through the works of Agnieszka Polska, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Eglė Budvytytė, Elena Mazzi, Leone Contini, and Riccardo Previdi. Unfolding across the historic interior and exterior spaces, the journey invites visitors to reflect on four key concepts: gleaning, exhaustion, irreversibility, and mutation.

During the opening evenings, this experience is enhanced in the central courtyard by monumental video projections by visual artist Vincenzo Capalbo and an immersive 'sound garden' by composer Andrea Portera, projecting a narrative where crisis awareness transmutes into civic energy.

The exhibition remains open until 12 October 2026, with free public access.

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Palazzo Buontalenti: Past, present, and future 

Realised in partnership with the Agenzia del Demanio (State Property Agency), the restoration of Palazzo Buontalenti returns a site of extraordinary historical significance to the community. The complex encompasses the historic San Marco garden—where a young Michelangelo once studied—and the Renaissance rooms of Francesco I de’ Medici's former alchemical laboratory. Today, these spaces are being transformed into a dynamic international campus and a vibrant new hub for knowledge exchange, creativity, and civic engagement.

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OPEN: A new civic space for art and science

Join us in celebrating the EUI’s journey and shaping the next chapter together.

Palazzo Buontalenti

Via Camillo Cavour, 65
50129 Florence, Italy
Tel. +39 055 4686 319

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