WOMENfortress

At the centre of this second edition of the WOMENfortress is the theme of identity: our own, but also that of others, of historically significant personalities, of women in
particularly difficult life situations and those we encounter in everyday life, the identity of the fortress, which is undoubtedly characterized by an inscribed masculinity, and finally the identity of the visitors, who leave traces of themselves behind through their presence. But what is the fundamental meaning of the term identity?

The immediate environment in which we live, external life circumstances that we cannot always influence ourselves and social attributions characterise us and our identity. Identity is therefore not something static, but something that is constantly changing. More than any other group, women experience contradictory attributions in relation to their gender role.
This may also be the reason why, especially in recent art history, women artists have repeatedly explored this theme.

The artists at WOMENfortress have also exploredthe  central question of “What defines our identity?“ They have chosen very different approaches. The result are 15 artistic positions from the various fields of visual, performing and applied arts, music and literature. All media and all forms of expression are used: painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, film, dance, song and sound, performance. All the works interact in a special way with the spaces in which they were created. The spirit of the fortress is omnipresent.

Curated by: Esther Erlacher
Photos: Marta Tonelli & Luca Guadagnini