Must-attend autumn exhibitions

Just like every year after the August break, a new season of fresh ventures is dawning on Bologna's cultural scene. New exhibitions and shows are about to open and attract visitors and art lovers.

• Echos des visages

Where: Museo d'Arte Lercaro, Via Riva di Reno 57, Bologna

When: September 16, 2025 – February 15, 2026

This exhibition stages a dialogue between photographers Clément Mitéran and Laurent Lafolie, both of whom challenge and redefine the idea of portraiture. Lafolie transforms the gallery space with interactive installations, delicate images on transparent supports, and light effects that directly engage the viewer. Mitéran, on the other hand, creates photographic mosaics-compositions made of small fragments that invite an active and reflective process of reassembling the image.

Together, their works explore the materiality and perception of the portrait, building a bridge between analogue and contemporary practices and offering a unique perspective on photography as both a sensory and mental experience. The exhibition is organized in collaboration with the French association MuPa and curated by Giovanni Gardini and Michel Poivert.

• The discreet charm of drawing

Where: Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, Via delle Belle Arti 56
When: September 20, 2025 – January 11, 2026

The Pinacoteca Nazionale presents the remarkable donation of Alessandro Zacchi, collector and scholar of Italian works on paper: 179 drawings and 21 prints. Curated by Marzia Faietti, Elena Rossoni, and Mirella Cavalli, the exhibition provides a sweeping overview of Italian graphic art from the Renaissance to the twentieth century.

Among the highlights are drawings attributed to Raphael’s workshop and works by major masters including Ludovico Carracci, Guercino, Tommaso Minardi, and Alessandro Guardassoni. The display unfolds across four thematic sections - Composition, Figures, Views and Landscapes, Portraits and Caricatures - and also includes a special focus on engraver Francesco Rosaspina, with sheets that illustrate his teaching at the Accademia Clementina.

This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to explore the history, technique, and expressive power of Italian drawing and printmaking.

• Vampires exhibition

Where: Palazzo Pallavicini

When: September 20 -  January 18

From September 20, 2025, to January 18, 2026, Palazzo Pallavicini will host "Vampires" a multisensory exhibition exploring the folkloric, historical, and literary figures that created the vampire myth. Across seven themed rooms featuring installations and set designs, you can immerse yourself in an interactive journey and come face-to-face with the undead.

Find out more on the official website.

• Exhibition Visioni e Volti

Where: Palazzo Pallavicini, Via San Felice 24, Bologna
When: October 9, 2025 – February 1, 2026

For the first time in Bologna, fifty masterpieces from the Pinacoteca Malaspina in Pavia will be on display, ranging from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century. Curated by Laura Aldovini with Chiara Giulia Morandi and Francesca Porreca, the exhibition traces the evolution of portraiture and the human figure between the Renaissance and Neoclassicism—through official portraits, compositional studies, and little-known treasures.

Drawn largely from the Civic Museums of Pavia, the works reveal diverse styles and the richness of a figurative culture that shaped centuries of Italian art.

Find out more on the official website.

• Beverly Pepper. Space Outside

Where: CUBO Porta Europa. Spazio Arte - CUBO Torre Unipol
When: October 16, 2025 – January 24, 2026

This exhibition celebrates internationally renowned sculptor Beverly Pepper, spanning over fifty years of her artistic journey. Across two venues, CUBO presents monumental sculptures alongside drawings, watercolors, sketchbooks, and archival materials, offering insight into the genesis of a poetics where form, space, and viewer are in constant dialogue.

The exhibition highlights Pepper’s vision of “Connective Art” and “Amphisculpture”, where sculpture becomes a site of social interaction and participation, blending monumentality with intimacy, matter with light. Key works such as Virgo Rectangle Twist and Prisms I show how sculpture can merge with its surroundings, reshaping the perception of both public and private space.

More information here

• The Times Are A Changin’. The Second Vatican Council

Where: Palazzo Pepoli - Museo della storia di Bologna, Bologna

When: October 17, 2025 - January 6, 2026

The exhibition "The Times They Are A-Changin'. The Second Vatican Council. Art and Videohistory Exhibition" is a visual and documentary exhibition promoted by the Foundation for Religious Sciences (FSCIRE) to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, one of the most profound and transformative events in the contemporary history of the Church.

Conceived as part of the initiatives for the **2025 Jubilee**, the exhibition, curated by Prof. Alberto Melloni (secretary of FSCIRE), aims to convey the essence of a council that managed to combine tradition and openness, shaping a new language for faith, dialogue with other religions, and the relationship with modernity. The itinerary intertwines history with voices, images, and artistic expressions of an era of radical change. Works by important protagonists of the second half of the twentieth century are displayed, including Lucio Fontana, Giacomo Manzù, Carla Accardi, Bruno Munari, Alberto Burri, Piero Manzoni, Mario Schifano, Jannis Kounellis, Carol Rama, Tano Festa, Emilio Isgrò, Arnaldo Pomodoro, and others.

Find out more on the Palazzo Pepoli website

• Michelangelo and Bologna

Where: Palazzo Fava, Via Manzoni 2, Bologna
When: November 14, 2025 - February 15, 2026

Marking the 550th anniversary of Michelangelo’s birth, this exhibition offers a fresh look at the artist’s ties with Bologna. Starting with his youthful stays in the city and his earliest commissions, the display brings together works such as the statues of Saint Proculus, Saint Petronius, and the Candle-bearing Angel, along with drawings and original documents that bring to life Bologna under the Bentivoglio between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Alongside Michelangelo, visitors will encounter works by Ercole de’ Roberti, Francesco Francia, Lorenzo Costa, and Amico Aspertini, providing a rich artistic and cultural context. Educational activities and special concerts further enhance the experience, presenting a more “poetic” Michelangelo engaged in a living dialogue with the city.

• Graphic Japan: The Japanese Graphic Art Exhibition

Where: Museo Civico Archeologico, Bologna

When: November 20, 2025 – April 6, 2026

Graphic Japan is the highly anticipated first major Italian exhibition exploring the evolution of Japanese graphic art, from Edo period ukiyo-e prints to contemporary manga and posters. Curated by Rossella Menegazzo and Eleonora Lanza, the exhibition features over 200 works, including woodblock prints, books, and posters, showcasing how Japanese art has maintained its visual identity while constantly innovating.

The exhibition is structured into four thematic sections (Nature, Figures, Sign, Contemporary Japonism), tracing a chronological and thematic journey that reveals Japanese graphic art's ability to combine innovation with tradition. The pieces are on loan from prestigious Italian and Japanese institutions, such as the Museo d’Arte Orientale “Edoardo Chiossone” in Genoa and the Dai Nippon Foundation.

The exhibition will be complemented by a rich program of cultural events, promoted by the Municipality of Bologna and partners like the University of Bologna and the Cineteca di Bologna, to explore the diverse facets of Japanese culture.

An Early Bird special with discounted tickets for open-date entry is currently available. Find out more on our event page.

• Arte Proibita: The Exhibition on Censorship (Postponed dates TBD)

Where: Palazzo Albergati, Bologna

When: ?

This exhibition features over 50 works by international artists from the Museu de l’Art Prohibit in Barcelona, each with a powerful story related to censorship. The show is a provocative exploration of the political, religious, social, and moral reasons behind the banning or altering of artworks, from Ancient Egypt to the present day.

"Arte Proibita" prompts visitors to reflect on freedom of expression and the role of art as a tool for protest and truth. It's an experience that won't leave anyone indifferent, raising fundamental questions about art's importance in society.

More information here