Peggy Guggenheim's life becomes a podcast series 'Volevo essere libera'

A new podcast series, 'Volevo essere libera' (I Wanted to Be Free), consists of four episodes that explore the life of art collector Peggy Guggenheim. Actress Sara Drago provides the narration, while museum director Karole P.B. Vail shares her insights. Each episode is approximately 20 minutes long. The series chronicles Guggenheim's transition from a discontented childhood in New York to her relocation to Europe in the 1920s, where she engaged with the bohemian scene in Paris, forming connections with notable figures such as Djuna Barnes, Samuel Beckett, and Marcel Duchamp. Her art journey began with the acquisition of Jean Arp's sculpture 'Testa e Conchiglia' in 1938. In 1939, she collaborated with historian Herbert Read to plan a modern art museum in London and later established the Guggenheim Jeune gallery, featuring artists like Jean Cocteau and Vasily Kandinsky. After being compelled to leave Europe during WWII, she returned to New York and launched Art of This Century in October 1942, promoting emerging talents like Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko. Following her exhibition at the Venice Biennale's Greek pavilion in 1948, she settled in Venice, where her collection remains at Palazzo Venier dei Leoni on the Grand Canal until her passing in 1979. The podcast is produced by Artribune.