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The third edition of the Florence Biennale assumed a role of great importance in the international artistic scene: it was the first and largest exhibition in which artists from all over the world expressed their reaction to the tragic events of September 11th 2001 in New York.

It was on this occasion that the Biennale endorsed the UN’s project “Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations”, a step that was also inspired by the words of the UN’s General Secretary Kofi Annan, “I believe that dialogue offers the opportunity for people from different cultures and traditions to get to know one another, whether they live at opposite ends of the globe or on the same street”.

The event also became a great showcase for contemporary art by exhibiting, for the first time, a collection of watercolours by HRH Prince Charles of England. These were granted to the Biennale as a sign of gratitude for the hospitality and friendship of the Italian Government and the Italian people.

During this edition of the event, the “Lorenzo il Magnifico” Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to the artist Chen Cheng-Hsiung, the first Chinese abstract expressionist painter. He has devoted over 60 years to the creation of modern painting and related theory.

The event received public recognition from several sources, including Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassies of various countries, the Mayor of Philadelphia (one of Florence’s twin cities) John F. Street, and the Mayor of Portland Vera Katz.

On the occasion of that year’s edition, after their installation 60 Minute Man at the 2020 Venice Biennale, the Finnish duo Casagrande and Rintala built their new project in the historic centre of Florence. Installation 1:2001 is an imposing circular wall, 3,185 meters high and 6,37 meters in diameter, whose “bricks” are actually 15.000 books on religion, politics, and philosophy from all over the world. As suggested by the name, the diameter of this structure corresponds to that of the Earth on a scale of 1 to 2001. The installation takes place in a significant way in the Republic Square in Florence, a symbolic site of the “restoration” of the city. 

Many collateral events also marked the third edition of the Biennale. The exhibition I Macchiaioli del Caffè Michelangelo occupied a prominent place: a collection of thirty paintings by Fattori, Lega, Signorini, and other artists, all on loaned from Follonica’s Amedeo Modigliani Art Gallery.

One of the most successful projects was Art as a form of relief for disabled subjects, which exhibited art by individuals with psychomotor disorders who were able to alleviate their pain and sense of solitude by making art. This edition also hosted a drawing and painting competition open to students from schools in Tuscany.

Finally, the II Florence Biennale honoured the 2000 Great Jubilee by presenting Renata Minuto’s thirty paintings The Crests of the Popes of the Jubilees: from the first, announced by Boniface VIII in 1300 to the last one of Pope John Paul II in 2000.

Artistic Director: John T. Spike

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Veronika Birke - Deputy Director of the Graphische Sammulung Albertina, Vienna (AUSTRIA)
Stefano Francolini – Director of the Davanzati Museum of Florence (ITALY)
Teresa Ortega Coca – Art Historian and Professor of Art History (SPAIN)
Matty Roca – Art Critic (MEXICO)
Barbara Rose – Art Historian and Art Critic (USA)
David Rubin - Curator of Visual Arts at the Contemporary Arts Centre of New Orleans (USA)
John T. Spike – Director of the Florence Biennale (USA)