Nell’Ambiente: Italian Women Artists in Urban Environment

Martina Tanga (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

Mirella Bentivoglio, Ovo di Gubbio, 1976. Reinstalled in the original location on the occasion of the centenary of the artist’s birth in 2022 (Photo: Martina Tanga). — Mirella Bentivoglio, *Ovo* di Gubbio, 1976. Reinstalled in the original location on the occasion of the centenary of the artist’s birth in 2022 (Photo: Martina Tanga).

Mirella Bentivoglio, *Ovo* di Gubbio, 1976. Reinstalled in the original location on the occasion of the centenary of the artist’s birth in 2022 (Photo: Martina Tanga).

During the 1970s – a decade of increased social and political activism centered on women’s rights – female artists sought to make art interventions in urban spaces to define and respond to the evolving feminist debate in the country. This research investigates women artists whose work was consciously situated in the city’s streets and piazzas – defined as Arte Ambientale – and the intersection of feminist discourse in art and activism during this socially, politically, and culturally contentious decade. This study is grounded in the curatorial endeavors of Enrico Crispolti, whose practice espoused feminist values and strategies: non-hierarchical structures and collaborative approaches. It will grow from examining the work of artists associated with Crispolti, such as Mirella Bentivoglio (1922–2017), Grazia Varisco (1937–), and Valentina Berardinone (1929–), and incorporate groups and collectives active in the urban sphere through temporary installations, performances, and collaborative actions that address women’s issues. This project will be the first to bring together these two interdisciplinary investigations to examine the art made by women in urban spaces in 1970s Italy.