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Shamsia Hassani is the first and only female street and digital artist working in the difficult context of the city of Kabul. The artist, who fights for the recognition of the importance of women's role in civil society and institutions, but also for the values of peace, solidarity and free expression of creativity in the world, is also the youngest female professor at Kabul University where she teaches drawing and painting.

On the occasion of the European Day of Justice, organised by the Florence Court of Appeal, the Florence Biennale promotes the ‘Kabul Art Project in Florence’.

Here are the words of the director of the Florence Biennale, Jacopo Celona, about the project:

For me it was a great pleasure to have seen a project that I have been following and coordinating for several months finally materialise. It was very complicated, but as Florence Biennale we managed to bring Shamsia Hassani, the first female street artist from Afghanistan, to Florence. Shamsia was able to create a drawing on the perimeter wall of the I.T.I Leonardo da Vinci in Via del Terzolle and tell her life story to the Florentine students in the context of the European Civil Justice Day. Her women with closed eyes and no mouth testify to the difficulty of glimpsing a future and the impossibility of expressing themselves as they would like. But Shamsia is strong and always smiling because she knows that there are many who are ready to listen to her voice; we did so simply by appreciating her work.

Thanks to this project we are finally bringing contemporary art to the outskirts of the city, making it a tool for redevelopment and development. I could feel the affection of the residents of Q5 and the students towards Shamsia, her story and what she was doing in our city. It was her first time in Italy, her first time in Florence, but she immediately felt at home. So the citizens of the neighbourhood felt involved, like Ugo who runs the bar in front of the high school and who gave us a hand with great civic sense. This should give us pause for thought because where there is a willingness to open a dialogue, there are no grey walls to separate us but only coloured ones.

I want to thank the Municipality of Florence that granted the use of this space with Councillor Vannucci and his entire team, Stefania Pancini and Matteo Nanni in particular, and Councillor Cosimo Guccione. Q5 President Cristiano Balli, the Florence Court of Appeal in the person of President Margherita Cassano and Deputy President Maurizio Barbarisi. Thanks are also due to the Italian officials abroad who do a great job not only in representing our country but also in supporting us in initiatives such as this one, and in particular the officials of the Italian Embassy in Kabul and the Italian Consulate in Los Angeles who helped us and made it possible for Shamsia Hassani to come to Florence.

In addition to the presentation of the mural, the project envisages the setting up of a permanent photo exhibition in courtroom 32 of the Florence Palace of Justice, with works from the ‘Dreaming Graffiti’ and ‘Bird of no nation’ series, bearing witness to the Florence Biennale's commitment to promoting values of justice and equality.