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I AM MAHSA

WOMEN, LIFE, FREEDOM

Unveiling of the bronze sculpture dedicated to the memory of Mahsa Amini

On the occasion of INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
Tuesday 10 December, 10.30 a.m.

Palazzo Guadagni Strozzi Sacrati
Piazza Duomo 10, Florence

Speakers will include:
The President of the Region of Tuscany
Eugenio Giani

The Director of Florence Biennale and President of the Ass. Artimino Contemporanea
Jacopo Celona

The Iranian artist (in connection from Norway where he is a political refugee)
Partin Bastan

Sarah and Giacomo Del Giudice from the Fonderia del Giudice,
Claudia Chianucci, Elena Quirini and Rocco Spina, teachers at the Liceo Statale Artistico di Porta Romana e Sesto Fiorentino, 
Sabri Najafi, activist of the Iranian women's movement.

During the ceremony, the documentary video on the work's realization and a video by the non-profit organisation Voices of Women for Change will be screened.

More than a year after the 14th edition of the Florence Biennale, we are pleased to announce the realisation and unveiling of the artwork dedicated to the figure of Mahsa Amini and created by Iranian artist Partin Bastan.

The project started in October 2023 on the occasion of the XIV Florence Biennale, centred on the theme "I Am You. Individual and Collective Identities in Contemporary Art and Design", with the realisation of the “I Am Mahsa” project: an exhibition space and a talk involving Iranian artists, in memory of the events that led to the death of Mahsa Amini and the birth of the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement. In this context, Iranian artists Partin Bastan and his wife Marjan Najafi created a clay model depicting the face of Mahsa Amini, a woman-symbol of the Iranian population's social and cultural protest against the regime that caused her death for not wearing the hijab ‘correctly’. The model, modelled live by the two artists, was therefore created to pay homage to a woman who became the symbol of transformation and the struggle for freedom, not only in Iran.

In January 2024, the clay model was transferred to the Liceo Artistico di Porta Romana in Florence, where the sculpture class teachers Prof. Claudia Chianucci, Prof. Elena Quirini and Prof. Rocco Spina made it possible to create a 1:1 model in plaster and a latex cast that could be used for a subsequent bronze casting of the sculpture. 

In September 2024, the plaster model and latex cast were transferred to the Fonderia Del Giudice, a historic Tuscan company in Strada in Chianti that is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, which was willing to carry out the bronze casting. Through various stages and thanks to the previously made latex cast, the bronze casting was carried out and the artwork completed.

In agreement with the Presidency of the Tuscany Region, the sculpture will find its definitive location at Palazzo Guadagni Strozzi Sacrati. On 10 December 2024 on International Human Rights Day, the work will be presented to the press and public with a ceremony during which we will recount in detail the birth and evolution of the project, also showing a documentary video made for the occasion. In addition, artists Partin Bastan and his wife Marjan Najafi will be joining us from Norway, where they are currently political refugees.

The unveiling ceremony will take place in the presence of the President of the Tuscany Region, Eugenio Giani, the Director of the Florence Biennale, Jacopo Celona, and representatives of the various organisations involved in the project.

With the Patronage and Contribution of:
Tuscany Region
Florence Biennale

With the precious collaboration of:
Arte Studio 
Porta Romana High School of Art
Artimino Contemporanea Association
Leonardo Del Giudice Foundry
Robert F. Kennedy Foundation Human Rights Italy
Frosini Pietre