Exhibitions and Festival
The Ballad of the Blue Kind
Date
22 October 2026 - 23 December 2026
Time
Multiple
Where
Florence - Italy
Fruition
In-person event
A project combining exhibition and performance that explores different forms of loneliness through drawing, installation, music and the body.
From 22 October to 23 December 2026, IED Firenze and Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi present The Ballad of the Blue Kind by artist Benni Bosetto, a new project specifically conceived for two venues: the exhibition spaces of IED Firenze’s ex Teatro dell’Oriuolo and the Strozzina at Palazzo Strozzi. The exhibition will be on view at IED Firenze throughout the project, while on 22 and 23 October the Strozzina will host two days of performances.
The Ballad of the Blue Kind explores the possible forms of loneliness through two complementary moments, built around the alternation between presence and absence, sound and silence. At the Strozzina, five characters give voice to different forms of loneliness through a performance inspired by the musical; at the ex Teatro dell’Oriuolo, drawing takes on a sculptural dimension, evoking the memory of bodies and their stories within a large-scale installation.
The project approaches loneliness as an emotional state in constant motion, one that crosses the different stages of life and encompasses drama and lightness, separation and awareness. The five characters, born from the interweaving of literary and artistic references and different stereotypes associated with loneliness, become the starting point for a series of songs, drawings, music and sets developed by the artist.
The project stems from a dialogue between Benni Bosetto, Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi and the students of the Master’s Program in Curatorial Practice at IED Firenze, who were involved in its development and curatorial research. The work thus creates a single narrative architecture that moves seamlessly across drawing, installation, music and performance.
Benni Bosetto’s practice spans drawing, sculpture, installation and performance, focusing on the transformation of the body as a space of possibility. Through a pre-logical visual language, the artist fragments and recomposes subjects and images into layered narratives, placing the body in dialogue with its surroundings and transforming exhibition spaces into fluid, intimate and welcoming environments.
Benni Bosetto (Merate, 1987) lives and works in Milan. After graduating from the Brera Academy of Fine Arts, she completed a master’s degree at the Sandberg Instituut in Amsterdam. Her solo exhibitions include projects at Pirelli HangarBicocca in Milan, Museo della Marineria in Pesaro, MAMbo in Bologna, Almanac in Turin and Kunstraum in London. Her work has also been presented at numerous Italian institutions, including Castello di Rivoli, Madre, MAXXI L’Aquila, GAMeC and Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna in Rome.
The exhibition is curated by Daria Filardo, Art Coordinator at IED Firenze, and Martino Margheri, Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, with the support of the students of the Master’s Program in Curatorial Practice 2025–2026 at IED Firenze: Lehar Anand Agarwal, Chiara Bichi, Gloria Borchi, Katrina Buchberger-Brzezinski, Pietro Frisoni, Thalyta Gama Da Silva, Hannah Gibson, Mireia Massanés Farràs, Sophio Naneishvili, Carlotta Paolucci, Lidiia Tarabukina, Chiara Uccelli Arias and Yun Xia. The exhibition is accompanied by a publication.
The project is promoted and organised by IED Firenze and Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, as part of the ongoing collaboration between the two institutions, established in 2021.
Cover: Un’estate strana (dettaglio), 2026, tecnica mista su carta, 50x70cm
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The ballad of the blue kind
22 October - 23 December
From 18:30 PM to 18:30 PM UTC+1
Ex Teatro dell'Oriuolo - Via dell'Oriuolo 31, Firenze
Florence
Performance
22 October - 23 October
From 17:30 PM to 19:30 PM UTC+1
Palazzo Strozzi, Piazza Strozzi Firenze
Florence