On the occasion of the exhibition Tomás Saraceno. Aria at Palazzo Strozzi, the collaboration between Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi and Manifattura Tabacchi continues with the presentation, alongside Aerocene Foundation, of ARIA Days. Over three days, Friday 11 to Sunday 13 September, giant aerosolar sculptures from Tomás Saraceno will take to the skies, a symbol of a new age for mankind and new ideas about how we can travel without the need for fossil fuels.

You will be able to see these sculptures soar like magnificent birds of prey, freeing themselves from the ground using the heat from the sun, rising above Piazza dell’Orologio at Manifattura Tabacchi between 13:00-16:00 on the Friday, and 11:00-16:00 on the Saturday and Sunday.

Thanks to the collaboration of a volunteer group especially set up by the artist’s studio, the participants will be able to pilot the sculptures themselves! Participation is free but we recommend reserving your place at aria-days.eventbrite.it. There is also the opportunity to learn more about the world of the Aerocene, an interdisciplinary artistic community founded by Tomás Saraceno, which develops ecologically aware projects aimed at creating a new ethical collaboration with the atmosphere and the environment.

ARIA Days forms part of the exhibition Aria. Tomás Saraceno at Palazzo Strozzi, as well as part of the interdisciplinary programme of Manifattura Tabacchi NAM – Not A Museum, dedicated to artistic production in the research and study of new forms of interaction between mankind and nature, through the construction of a temporary and continually evolving community.

As part of the collaboration between Manifattura Tabacchi and Palazzo Strozzi, the publications, video documentaries, and flight starter kit for the Aerocene Sculptures will be open to the public at the ex-factory up until 1 November 2020, forming part of the exhibition Tomás Saraceno. Aria at Palazzo Strozzi.

Tomás Saraceno’s practice moves toward the entanglement of diverse threads of thought, including art, life science and the social sciences. Enmeshed at the junction of these worlds, his floating sculptures, community projects and interactive installations propose and explore new, sustainable ways of inhabiting and sensing the environment.

In 2007 Saraceno activated projects aimed towards an ethical collaboration with the atmosphere, including Museo Aero Solar. These projects grew into the international, interdisciplinary artistic community Aerocene, which seeks to create an environment free from borders, free from fossil fuels.

His profound interest in spiders and their webs led to the formation of the Arachnophilia team at Studio Tomás Saraceno, engendering the creation of Arachnophilia.net and the Arachnomancy App. Through these platforms Saraceno invites people from around the globe to weave the web of interspecies understanding and take part in the challenge of Mapping Against Extinction.

Saraceno lectures in institutions worldwide, and directed the Institute of Architecture-related Art (IAK) at Braunschweig University of Technology, Germany (2014–2016). He has held residencies at Centre National d’Études Spatiales (2014–2015), MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (2012–ongoing) and Atelier Calder (2010), among others.

FONDAZIONE PALAZZO STROZZI
A dynamic cultural centre of international importance offering a high quality exhibition and public programme within a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture, Palazzo Strozzi is a focal point of Italy’s cultural scene. Built around the original Renaissance courtyard, a public square that plays host to concerts, performances, installations and interventions and sees more than two million people pass through it every year, Palazzo Strozzi’s is a key cultural hub in the city and an important link between Florence and world.

The first example of an independent public-private cultural foundation in Italy, the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi has been responsible for the Palazzo’s programme since its inception in 2006, organising more than 50 exhibitions and attracting in excess of three million visitors to date. Creating a lively dialogue between the old and the new, Palazzo Strozzi’s exhibitions range from critically acclaimed historical surveys of old masters such as Pontormo & Rosso Fiorentino or Verrocchio, master of Leonardo, to exhibitions with leading contemporary artists including Ai Weiwei, Carsten Höller and Marina Abramović.

NAM –  Not A Museum is Manifattura Tabacchi’s contemporary art platform. NAM is based on the principle of the interdisciplinary nature of the arts, community involvement, and an investigation of the relationship between art, nature, and science.