Biennale of Female Photography

The BFF offers numerous other collateral events, including an open call for an Off Circuit, portfolio readings, workshops and lectures.

Overview

In its third edition, the Biennale della Fotografia Femminile of Mantua (BFFmantova) will open its doors on 8 March 2024, reaffirming its status as a unique event. For over a month, the Lombard town will transform into an international showcase for established artists whose fame is sometimes little known in our country.

Organized by La Papessa Association, the BFFmantova has entrusted the artistic direction, as in previous editions, to Alessia Locatelli, who this year has chosen the title Private, which encompasses various fascinating and contemporary meanings. The chosen subject is open to all photography genres and is explored through different interpretations. The theme can be intended as a connection to private life, to the issue of privacy in its definition of public and private in the real world and on social networks. It also addresses the concept of censorship, the Internet and the world of virtual sharing. It contemplates the reality of post-photography and surveillance of public spaces through cameras, alongside the definition of individual and collective, virtual and real space. The Biennale della Fotografia Femminile has always tackled topics concerning social and geopolitical issues: education, classism, the effects of migration found in the deprivation of land, wealth, civil liberties and neo-colonialism.

The 2024 edition follows the same structure as previous editions, with main exhibitions of Italian and international female photographers like Daria Addabbo, Luisa Dörr, Kiana Hayeri, Esther Hovers, Tamara Merino, Thandiwe Muriu, Photos2 Solitary, Claudia Ruiz Gustafson, Newsha Tavakolian, Cammie Toloui and Lisetta Carmi. 

The designated locations are Palazzo Te Tinelli, Casa di Rigoletto, Casa del Mantegna, Galleria Disegno, Spazio Arrivabene2, and Casa del Pittore. Selected photographs from the Open Call will be exhibited for free in public locations around the city, involving local businesses: this will be the occasion to make citizens or tourists part of the event and catch their attention.