Il Meccanico: New Photography Space Opens in Former Verona Bicycle Shop

A former bicycle shop at via San Vitale 2b in Verona’s historic center has been transformed into Il Meccanico, a new space dedicated to contemporary photography. Retaining original hooks, industrial neon, and traces of the old workshop, the venue will serve as both an exhibition space and interdisciplinary laboratory under the supervision of Grenze – Arsenali Fotografici. Artistic directors Simone Azzoni and Francesca Marra, with Azzoni also a professor of contemporary art history at IUSVE and an art critic, will curate the program. The space opens on May 12, 2023, with Alessandra Calò’s project Herbarium. I fiori sono rimasti rosa, the first in a series exploring fragility as a creative resource. Calò, a winner of the fourth edition of MIA Photo Fair’s New Post Photography Prize, collaborated with six individuals with disabilities—Paolo, Valentina, Flavia, Cinzia, Caterina, and Valentina—on the work, which originated from a partnership with Reggio Emilia Città Senza Barriere and Musei Civici di Reggio Emilia. The project draws on a herbarium notebook from 1883 by fourteen-year-old Antonio Casoli Cremona, using rayography to examine care and the right to beauty. Il Meccanico shares its mission with Grenze’s festival, whose sixth edition runs September 7–30, 2023, themed Staunen (wonder). The exhibition is open until June 4, 2023, on weekends and by appointment Monday–Friday (4–7 PM).