Ando Gilardi’s Postwar Italy at GAM Torino

Curated by Daniela Giordi, the exhibition at GAM in Turin focuses on Ando Gilardi (1921–2012), a photojournalist who documented Italy’s postwar poverty and resilience. It presents a selection of his shots from 1950 to 1962, drawn from the Ando Gilardi Reporter archive, which was digitized in 2017 by ABF – Atelier per i Beni Fotografici. The show reveals the behind-the-scenes process of recovery and digitalization, emphasizing the technical and editorial work behind the final images. Gilardi, also a critic and historian, saw photography as a tool for social denunciation, though he later expressed disillusionment. The 55 photographs cover childhood, labor, women’s emancipation, and Italian identity, blending post-neorealist style with journalistic visual culture. Many were originally published in the magazine Lavoro and later rediscovered in 1993 for the exhibition Memorie di un fotografo pentito. Original documents highlight Gilardi’s focus on photomechanics and print dissemination. The exhibition invites viewers to reflect on Italy’s enduring poverty, contrasting past and present.