U of A's Rome Center to Host Annual International Women in Arts Conference Oct. 18-20

The U of A Rome Center will host its third annual International Women in Arts Conference Oct. 18-20. The conference will be held at the center's historic home in the Palazzo Taverna in Rome. The conference can also be attended virtually through the center's YouTube channel.

This year's theme is "From the Amazons to the Guerrilla Girls: Warring Women in Art, Architecture and Literature," which highlights how women portrayed the horrors of war in artistic media. Speakers from across the globe will present at the conference — both online and virtually — on topics including warrior women in classical Athens, representations of female warriors in early modern art and literature, and depictions of Amazonian women in Peter Paul Rubens' painting "Battle of Amazons." The full program is available on the AIWAC's website.

"When Adelina Modesti and I started thinking about this year's theme, we were in the midst of the Ukrainian War," said Consuelo Lollobrigida, art history faculty at the Rome Center and co-convener of the conference. "Looking at Ukrainian women, we wondered how women in who experienced something similar in the past were reacting, living,and considering these scenarios of war.

"The mythological figures of the Amazons provided meaningful sensemaking references for the topic," she continued. "Women warred, but women also participated actively during wars to provide help and counseling by depicting the setting and their feelings."

The Afghan artist, photographer and activist Fatimah Hossaini will be the guest of honor. An exhibition of her work will also be on display during the three-day conference. Furthermore, U of A students studying this fall at the Rome Center are participating in the conference by assisting with graphic design, exhibition setting and social media communication. 

The conference will end with the premiere of "Storia Scordata," a theatrical play written by the psychiatrist and psychotherapist Dr. Luana Testa, who participated as a speaker in the first and second edition of the conference. The work was translated to stage by the director and actress Angela Antonini, who is speaking at this year's conference.

"The work reflects the need for gender studies and the importance of research and dissemination of women's contribution to history," Lollobrigida said.

This marks the third year the Rome Center has held the conference, and a compilation of the presented conference papers will be published as a book in collaboration with Brepols Publishers.

"This year's Annual Women in Arts Conference brings diverse voices and scholarship from around the world together to deeply analyze depictions of warrior women in art across media, eras and cultures," said Lindsey Aloia, associate dean in the Graduate School and International Education. "We hope our campus community, and anyone else interested in art and art history, will tune in to watch these provocative presentations."