Zehra Doğan's Public Artwork Against COVID-19 in Brescia
Kurdish artist Zehra Doğan donated a 130-square-meter public artwork to Brescia, one of the cities hardest hit by the pandemic. Installed on a monumental facade overlooking Piazza del Foro, the site-specific piece depicts the artist as a nurse with a slingshot/stethoscope, defeating a pile of coronavirus particles. The work references the biblical David and Goliath story and includes the first verses of the Italian resistance song 'Bella ciao.' It was presented by the Municipality of Brescia and Fondazione Brescia Musei, chaired by Francesca Bazoli and directed by Stefano Karadjov. Due to lockdown, Doğan was unable to paint it on site from Geneva and instead used a digitally printed giant image. The artwork will remain installed at least until September 2020. Doğan's connection to Brescia stems from her 2019 exhibition 'Avremo anche giorni migliori' at the Museo di Santa Giulia, where she recounted her nearly three-year imprisonment in Turkish jails for her artistic and journalistic activism for Kurdish liberation.
Key facts
- Zehra Doğan donated a 130 m² public artwork to Brescia.
- The artwork is installed on a monumental facade on Piazza del Foro.
- It depicts the artist as a nurse with a slingshot/stethoscope defeating coronavirus.
- The work includes verses from 'Bella ciao.'
- Presented by Comune di Brescia and Fondazione Brescia Musei.
- Francesca Bazoli is president of Fondazione Brescia Musei.
- Stefano Karadjov is director of Fondazione Brescia Musei.
- Doğan was blocked in Geneva due to lockdown and used a digital print.
- The artwork will stay until at least September 2020.
- Doğan had a 2019 exhibition at Museo di Santa Giulia in Brescia.
- She was imprisoned in Turkey for nearly three years.
Entities
Artists
- Zehra Doğan
Institutions
- Comune di Brescia
- Fondazione Brescia Musei
- Museo di Santa Giulia
Locations
- Brescia
- Italy
- Piazza del Foro
- Geneva
- Switzerland