Four Women Shortlisted to Direct Modena's New Polo per l'Immagine

A shortlist of four female candidates has been selected for the directorship of the newly established Polo per l'Immagine in Modena, an entity that will integrate the Galleria Civica, Museo della Figurina, and Fondazione Fotografia. The selection follows a public call that drew 55 applications, evaluated by a commission including Luigi Benedetti (director of Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Modena), Marco de Michelis (architecture professor at Iuav Venice), Giorgio de Mitri (creative director of Sartoria comunicazione), Mauro Felicori (director of Reggia di Caserta), and Julia Draganovic (director of Kunsthalle Osnabrück and president of IKT). Ten candidates were interviewed, leading to the all-female shortlist. The final decision rests with the board of Fondazione Modena, to be formed in the coming weeks. The candidates are Diana Baldon, Maria Chiara Bertola, Caterina Riva, and Ilaria Bonacossa, though Bonacossa has withdrawn after being appointed director of Artissima fair in December 2016. Baldon has directed Malmö Konsthall and Index in Stockholm, and taught at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. Bertola heads contemporary art at Fondazione Querini Stampalia in Venice and previously directed Hangar Bicocca in Milan. Riva, the youngest, co-founded FormContent in London and directed Artspace NZ in Auckland. The cultural and financial plans for the Polo remain undisclosed.