As part of the “Artist at GNAMC” programme, the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea has selected Marinella Senatore as its Artist of the Year 2026. Conceived and organised by Director Renata Cristina Mazzantini, the programme draws inspiration from the practices of leading international institutions and each year dedicates a gallery and a programme of activities to a major figure in contemporary Italian art, bringing together exhibition-making, education and critical exchange. Rather than a temporary exhibition, it unfolds over an entire year of talks, workshops and events—from 28 April to 31 December 2026—open to the public, scholars and students. The choice of Marinella Senatore, one of the most influential figures on the Italian art scene and one of the foremost voices in participatory art internationally, reflects the museum’s commitment to being a dynamic space for production and exchange. “Marinella Senatore’s energy is exhilarating and illuminates GNAMC, revealing a multifaceted creative universe that is joyful throughout and resolutely feminine,” Director Mazzantini stated. “The works on display and those donated to the museum bear witness to the ethical commitment of an undisputed leading figure in participatory art.”
The works on display
The gallery dedicated to Marinella Senatore brings together more than 40 works, including drawings, collages and tapestries, marking a turning point in the artist’s practice: for the first time, landscape and weaving emerge as central elements of her artistic language. The series of 32 drawings It’s Time to Go Back to the Street constructs a dynamic topography through mindful movement, parkour and collective choreography. The section also includes five drawings from the series devoted to the Divina Commedia (The Divine Comedy), executed in graphite and charcoal on acid-free paper, and two previously unseen collages from The Creation of a Context (gold leaf and mixed media on panel), in which texts generated during workshops with different communities emerge as distillations of experience across layered surfaces. At the heart of the presentation are four previously unseen monumental tapestries from The Theatre of Commons, each measuring 300 × 200 cm, produced in collaboration with the Chanakya School of Craft in Mumbai. Here, weaving becomes a means of constructing autonomy and collective identity. The display is completed by the light sculpture Remember The First Time You Saw Your Name (2021, LED bulbs on a wooden structure, 282 × 1198 cm), a distinctive expression of the artist’s poetics.
