On the night of September 26 Siena’s streets, squares and academic buildings will come to life with thousands of University students, scholars and science enthusiasts from all over the world taking part in all kind of events on the theme of “Care”. The academic year has just started: it’s the time for Bright, the Night of the researchers. All departments from Siena’s two main Universities, as well as the ones located in Pisa and Florence, use this opportunity to showcase the innovations and research developed over the last year on a specific theme. The Siena Art Institute will take part in this year’s festivities by presenting the first The Peace Room artistic happening. Five young artists from all over the world, studying in Siena for the Fall 2025 semester, will interact with the public, building a conversation on the theme of “Care” through a modular installation.
The Peace Room: Five young artists and a conversation on the theme of Care
The Peace Room is an interdisciplinary project and a pilot academic program developed by the Siena Art Institute to investigate the relationship between intercultural dynamics and local experiences, personal connections and international relations. Five young artists who are studying and residing in Siena for the Fall 2025 semester are working on the development of a modular community-engagement installation aimed at involving the public in the creation of a dialogical space:
Marta Abrams (USA)
Elizabeth Clark (UK)
Nat Saoud (Lebanon)
Tara Tarawneh (Jordan)
Lily Wharton (UK)
Their own different art practices, cultural backgrounds and research approaches will guide their codesign processes and shape the collective artistic output. Among the various concepts the artists chose to focus on there are inter-generational acts of caring, personal memories, the role of hands in expressing care and the creation of a collective hands-on interpretation of care, honest care and everyday acts of care, the obsession of care through preservation and documentation, voyerism and the fear and anxiety over loss or forgetting of beauty. The project is curated by artist and architect Antonis Douroudis.
On September 26, from 5 P.M. to 7 P.M. in the courtyard of Palazzo delle Papesse in the city centre of Siena, the Siena Art Institute will showcase the first happening of The Peace Room project, displaying the artists’ work-in-progress and interactive performances, workshops and installations.
The Papesse Palace – Palazzo delle Papesse
The name “Palazzo delle Papesse” brings a lot to mind for those who’ve ever been interested in the Italian contemporary art and culture scene. This Renaissance-era palace, famous among other things for having hosted Galileo Galilei during his studies of the moon phases in 1633, was an innovative centre for contemporary art research between 1998 and 2008 and has only been reopened in 2024 after a long hyatus.
For the 2025 Bright Night, the Papesse Palace will kindly host the Siena Art Institute for the first Peace Room installation. The event will take place in the Palace’s courtyard and will be free to attend. Everybody will be welcome to enter the space and interact with the artists and their artworks.
Stay connected
We invite our community to follow the developments of The Peace Room project and to learn more about the Siena Art Institute’s study abroad programs and residencies via our Blog and social media.
See the Siena Art Institute’s past and present art and community projects here.
THE PEACE ROOM project has been created with the contribution of the Region of Tuscany and GiovaniSì within the Toscanaincontemporanea2025 program:
