A Spring of Exhibitions in Bologna

With the arrival of spring, art in Bologna also flourishes: photographic exhibitions stand alongside successful painting exhibitions in museums, palaces and atmospheric venues.

New openings complete spring season of 2025. 

Here are the current and upcoming exhibitions for spring 2025:

• Jack Vettriano

At Palazzo Pallavicini you will find the new exhibition dedicated to Jack Vettriano, a celebrated Scottish artist of Italian origin. Inspired by the noir genre, he is known for sensual and scenic atmospheres, with romantic themes and seductive female figures. Until 20 July.

-> Open Thu-Sun 10am-8pm

• CHE GUEVARA tú y todos

At the Archaeological Museum a revolutionary exhibition on the life of a 20th century icon: Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, better known as El Che. Hundreds of thoughts, diaries, letters, photographs, videos and audios intimately reveal one of the personalities who most profoundly marked an era. Opening on 27 March.

• Georges Simenon

On the trail of Georges Simenon: an exhibition that will be a long journey in search of the roots of the genius, through his own travels, his papers, and films based on his works. The Cineteca di Bologna welcomes you from 10 April to the Galleria Modernissimo.

• Facile ironia.  Irony in Italian art between the 20th and 21st centuries

From 6 February to 7 September 2025, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Bologna, MAMbo presents a large group exhibition curated by Lorenzo Balbi and Caterina Molteni. Set up in the Sala delle Ciminiere, the exhibition brings together over 100 works and archive documents by more than 70 artists, offering a journey through seventy years of Italian art, analysed through the leitmotif of irony. The works, divided into thematic macro-areas, explore different facets of the phenomenon: from paradox to play, from irony as a tool for social and feminist criticism to nonsense and dark humour. 
Supported by the main sponsor Gruppo Hera, the exhibition is part of the programme of ART CITY Bologna 2025, on the occasion of Arte Fiera.

-> Open Tue-Wed 2pm- 7pm; Thu 2pm-8pm; Fri-Sat-Sun 10am-7pm

•  Antonio Ligabue at Palazzo Albergati

Extended until 15 June, the Great Exhibition on Antonio Ligabue continues until the gates of summer at Palazzo Albergati. If you haven't visited it yet, this is the perfect opportunity to explore the visionary art of the Italian artist.

-> Open daily 10am-8pm

• Imola & Beyond: 75 years of Motorsport Legends

• Benedict XIV and Bologna. Arts and Sciences in the Age of Enlightenment

Three hundred and fifty years after the birth of Pope Benedict XIV, the Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna is hosting an exhibition at the Museo di Palazzo Poggi and the University Library. The exhibition aims to highlight the innovative and cultural reform work carried out by the Bolognese pope in the 18th century, closely tied to the city’s history.

The exhibition will be open from May 7 to July 27.

-> Check this link to see opening times

• Portrait of a Woman. Photographs by Maria Paola Landini

From May 14 to October 13 the Museo Civico Archeologico, part of the Bologna Civic Museums Sector, will host an exhibition that weaves together photography, archaeology, and anthropological reflection to reconstruct a visual genealogy of the feminine.

-> The exhibition follows the museum opening hours, check them on the museum website

• Communautés. Projets 2005-2025

From May 23 to September 28, Fondazione MAST will host the largest exhibition in Italy dedicated to Mohamed Bourouissa. The show features four series of works that trace the artist’s evolution over the past twenty years, including a previously unseen series.

->Open Tue-Sun 10am-7pm

• Resisting Oblivion

From May 29 to September 28, MAMbo – Museum of Modern Art of Bologna will host an exhibition resulting from the collaboration between American historian Chelsea Szendi Schieder and feminist and queer archives in Bologna. The show highlights the work of independent and transfeminist archives that preserve and promote historical and cultural materials often marginalized by official narratives.

->Check opening hours at this link

• Louise Nevelson

From May 30 to July 20, Palazzo Fava will host an exhibition dedicated to Louise Nevelson (Kyiv, 1899 – New York, 1988), one of the most innovative and original figures of the 20th century.

->open Tue-Sun, 10 am-7pm