Intro

The Italian Copenhagen-based art historian, curator and critic Diana Baldon has been named Director of Fondazione Modena Arti Visive, one of Italy’s newest visual arts institutions based in Modena. The new foundation brings together three of the city’s key cultural institutions: the Galleria Civica di Modena—one of Italy’s oldest and most respected Italian contemporary art centres—together with the more recent Fondazione Fotografia Modena and the Museo della Figurina.

Already at the helm of the Fondazione Fotografia Modena since June 1 2017, between 2011 and 2016 Diana Baldon was Director of Malmö Konsthall and Index – The Swedish Contemporary Art Foundation where she staged solo exhibitions by Nina Beier, Cornelius Cardew, Joan Jonas, Goshka Macuga, Ad Reinhardt, Lili Reynaud-Dewar and Heimo Zobernig among others. Prior to her appointments in Sweden, she worked at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna as Curator-in-Residence and as a member of the scientific and artistic teaching staff (2007–2011). After receiving a Master’s degree in Creative Curating from Goldsmiths College, University of London, in 2002, she has curated exhibitions internationally for many institutions and Biennials, such as MIT List Visual Art Center in Cambridge, MA, and Mudam Luxembourg – Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean (both 2017), the Generali Foundation in Vienna (2012) and the Second Athens Biennale (2009). Her critical writing has been featured in numerous artists’ catalogues and international magazines such as Artforum, Texte zur Kunst, and Afterall.

Fondazione Modena Arti Visive 

Coinciding with Baldon’s nomination, Fondazione Modena Arti Visive has been founded by the City of Modena and the private philanthropic foundation Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Modena to present contemporary art and visual culture within the framework of the heritage and the driving forces of three cultural institutions, namely the Galleria Civica di Modena, the Fondazione Fotografia Modena, and the Museo della Figurina. While reflecting the individual paths of these public and private cultural institutions with a view to strengthening their individual identities, the aims of the new foundation include the showcasing of the most innovative international artistic practices of the twenty-first century, the promotion of forms of activation and contamination between various disciplines and contexts, and the valorisation of the collections with which it is entrusted. Furthermore, through theoretical and critical research, it will investigate the radical transformation that art and imagery have undergone over recent decades in the wake of the impact of new technologies as well as the new contexts and platforms available for the sharing of information and services.