CAVALESE.- Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Cavalese presents There is so much we can learn from the sun, a solo exhibition by Marinella Senatore, the most internationally recognized contemporary Italian artist today, capable of engaging and moving the energy of thousands of people without ever losing that poetic dimension in which it is possible to find oneself as a narrator.

The exhibition project, curated by Elsa Barbieri, blurs the boundary between art and life. "This also happened in Cavalese, where Marinella Senatore met a group of residents, children, adults, and seniors in October, cultivating, all together, participation, which is both the process and the result of change. The two workshops, spent comparing and sharing thoughts, ideas, suggestions, mottos, and inspirations on the sense of community, emphasized the extraordinary power of art to emancipate individuals and communities. The connections between these two meetings converge in a new work by Marinella Senatore, a collage in nine elements, which will be placed at the heart of ‘There is so much we can learn from the sun’ to reach everyone," says Elsa Barbieri.

Starting with the unpublished collage that gives the exhibition its title, There is so much we can learn from the sun, created in the spirit of community, empowerment, and emancipation— “As an artist, my role is to activate a mechanism within the work itself, with the intention of generating a transformative force that arises from the encounter between its constituent elements, ultimately reaching the viewer,” explains Senatore. The works on display transform the exhibition into an extraordinary visual, imaginative, and socializing experience in which the bodies are the absolute protagonists. Marinella Senatore's, for example, in her Self-Portraits, one on canvas and one sculptural, and ours, like those of the eight million people Senatore has involved in the practice to date. In front of the canvases from the Make it shine series, the luminous glass sculptures (I Contain Multitudes), the neon lights - Breathe, U Are Enough; Remember the First Time You Saw Your Name; We Rise by Lifting Others; Dance First Think Later - the collages from the series The School of Narrative Dance - Storyline and, last but not least, the Alliance des corps light installation that will open in the background of Cavalese, creating a special space where everyone can celebrate meeting and exchange. Each of us, every viewer, is no longer just a shell, but rather an attitude, a development of our being.

The power of the exhibition, which aims to engage and stir people's energy, will enliven the museum and beyond: There is so much we can learn from the sun also moves outside the Palazzo, transforming Piazzetta Rizzoli 1 into a magical space with five large fabric works (I Contain Multitudes) that refer to the tradition of banners, as well as the large textile posters of the labor movements and trade unions. They will fly for the entire duration of the exhibition on tall poles, made by local artisans from local wood, at the behest of the artist and the museum to forge an even deeper relationship with the reality that surrounds us.

"The work we are carrying out aims to make the Museum of Contemporary Art an increasingly open, lively place capable of communicating with the community. Not just an exhibition space, but a cultural center that is part of everyday life in Cavalese and helps to strengthen the artistic sensibility of the area. The workshops led by Marinella Senatore fit perfectly into this process of bringing the museum closer to the community: an opportunity for people of different ages and backgrounds to participate in the creation of the work that will be at the center of the exhibition, becoming an active part of the artistic process. It is a concrete example of how the museum can become a place of encounter, collaboration, and collective growth. For this reason, too, the new exhibition represents a particularly significant step forward. It comes at a time when Cavalese is preparing for the 2026 Olympics, in which our community will play a leading cultural role within the Val di Fiemme. The exhibition therefore contributes to consolidating the museum's identity as a living entity capable of communicating with a wide and international audience. For my part, I would like to express my special thanks to the museum staff and the municipal administration, whose commitment has made one of the most important events in the history of our museum possible," said Fulvio Vanzo, Councilor for Culture of the Municipality of Cavalese.

“Marinella Senatore's exhibition perfectly embodies the spirit of the Milan Cortina 2026 Cultural Olympics, a project that focuses on communities, promotes local areas, and recognizes culture as a fundamental form of participation. The collective work created in Cavalese demonstrates that art can become a shared experience, capable of uniting different generations and strengthening a sense of belonging. It is a valuable contribution to the journey that will lead Val di Fiemme to become one of he cultural hearts of the 2026 Games," says Domenico De Maio, Education & Culture Director of Milano Cortina 2026.

With There is so much we can learn from the sun, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Cavalese, under the direction of Elsa Barbieri, once again confirms its role as an institution dedicated to bringing people together, recounting collective and individual memories, and experimenting with a participatory dimension that encourages us to recognize ourselves as a single body. The aim is to make Cavalese—already the heart of the Val di Fiemme and now designated the cultural center of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games—a hub of contemporary art of international importance. The exhibition is organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Cavalese and promoted by the Municipality of Cavalese with the support of APT Fiemme Cembra, Cassa Rurale Val Di Fiemme, and Eventi Cavalesani. We would like to thank Galleria Mazzoleni London - Turin - Milan and Magnifica Comunità di Fiemme for their collaboration.

The initiative is part of the cultural project Combinazioni_caratteri sportivi (Combinations_sporting characters), conceived and promoted by the Department of Culture of the Autonomous Province of Trento, and is part of the Milan Cortina 2026 Cultural Olympics, the multidisciplinary, pluralistic, and widespread program that will enliven Italy to promote Olympic values through culture, heritage, and sport, in view of the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games that Italy will host from February 6 to 22 and March 6 to 15, 2026, respectively.

Marinella Senatore (Cava de’ Tirreni, 1977) is a multidisciplinary artist trained in music, fine arts, and cinema. Her practice is characterized by a strong collective and participatory dimension, both in terms of methodology and content; her work combines aesthetic research with the transformative power of social engagement. Through the use of traditional and vernacular forms of language—including pop culture, dance, music, mass events—and activism, Senatore reflects on the political nature of collective formations and rituals and their potential for social change, creating moments of encounter and sharing. In 2012, Marinella Senatore created the School of Narrative Dance (SOND), a nomadic, free, and non-hierarchical school that offers an alternative educational system based on emancipation, empowerment, and self-education: in ten years, SOND events have taken place in over 23 countries, involving around 8 million people.

Marinella Senatore's works have been commissioned and exhibited by Italian and international institutions, including: Museo Madre, Naples; Palazzo Grassi, Venice; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen; CCA, Tel Aviv; Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Madrid; Serpentine Gallery, London; Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin; Petach Tikva Museum of Art; Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago; Bozar, Brussels; Kunsthalle Sankt Gallen; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; BAK Utrecht; Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt; High Line, NY; Centre Pompidou Paris; Kunsthaus Zürich; ICA, Richmond; Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal; Pearl Art Museum, Shanghai; Berlinische Galerie, Berlin; MAXXI, Rome; Museo del Novecento, Milan; Kästner Gesellschaft, Hanover; Museum der Moderne Salzburg; Museum VILLA STUCK, Munich. Over the years, Senatore has received commissions from institutions such as: Centre Pompidou, Paris; Kunsthalle, Mannheim; Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Turin; MAXXI, Rome; Venice Biennale, 2015; Faena Art Forum, Miami; Queens Museum, New York; Kunsthaus, Zurich; Villa Medici, Rome; Manifesta12; Kunsthalle, Bregenz; Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice; Magazzino Italian Art, Cold Spring, NY; Serlachius Museums; Museo Pecci, Prato; Colomboscope, Sri Lanka; Festival of Regions and Steirischer Herbst, Austria; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Blitz, Malta; Museum der Moderne, Salzburg; Museum Villa Stuck, Munich. The artist has participated in the following Contemporary Art Biennials: Venice Biennale; São Paulo Biennial; Lyon Biennale; Thessaloniki Biennale; Liverpool Biennial; Athens Biennale; Havana Biennial; Gothenburg Biennial; Cuenca Biennial; Pune Biennial; South Tyrol Biennial; Bangkok Biennial; Manifesta12, Palermo.