Associazione Arte Continua was founded in 1990 by a group of friends who share a passion for contemporary art. Florence is the perfect setting for this project: the Association’s mission is to seek continuity and direct dialogue between works generated by artists who are part of the international art community and artists who have “inhabited” the common life of cities for centuries, now called “art cities,” even though at the time they were cities where it was “normal” to have the most important artists of the time in the spaces of daily life, both in private homes and in public spaces.

Our action aims to continue that ‘normality’ in the present day. It can be said that we do not like the idea of cities existing without the presence of art. This is the fundamental reason that has led us to continuously propose events in Florence and public art initiatives such as exhibitions of contemporary art involving artists from the international art community. The initiatives are not only focused in major cities but are spread throughout the territory, seeking a different relationship between cities and countryside, between art, architecture, and landscape, as well as between art, technology, and science. Associazione Arte Continua is a non-profit organization that has been primarily supported by private donations since its inception, seeking greater collaboration with partners such as private and public companies, and not excluding sponsorships, although the main focus remains engagement with public administrations.

Our activity has brought artists from the international community to create site-specific works in many areas of Italy and Europe, some of which have become permanent thanks to the generosity of the artists and our association. In some cases, this has triggered processes of local development and laid the foundations for social and cultural connections. Since 2023, the project of art education pathways has also been launched, through the works of internationally renowned artists such as Antony Gormley, Kiki Smith, Mimmo Paladino, Ilya Kabakov, Sarkis, Anish Kapoor, Sol Lewitt, and many others scattered throughout the places of Arte all’Arte, a project undertaken by Associazione Arte Continua since 1996. Associazione Arte Continua is therefore committed to the realization of numerous projects and events of contemporary art, namely a driving force for the improvement of social and environmental conditions. The Association’s goal is to attempt to create, both in small villages and in more urban areas, a balance between city and countryside, working in collaboration with local communities and institutions, thus producing new connections between art and everyday life, restoring art to a central role in the construction of cities and territories while respecting their specificities.

– Mario Cristiani, president of Associazione Arte Continua