UN TEMPO ALTRO (A DIFFERENT TIME). AESTHETICS OF SLOWNESS

AT THE “STELVIO SBARDELLA” PUBLIC LIBRARY IN VALTOPINA, PINHOLE PHOTOGRAPHY AND EMBROIDERY ART EXPLORE THE VALUE OF SLOW TIME

VALTOPINA (Perugia, Italy) – In an age dominated by speed, the immediacy of images, and the constant stimulation of the gaze, the international project Un tempo altro. Estetica della lentezza (A Different Time. Aesthetics of Slowness), curated by Barbara Pavan, invites us to rediscover the value of time and waiting. The exhibition will be held at the “Stelvio Sbardella” Public Library in Valtopina from 4 to 6 September 2026, as part of the International Contemporary Fiber Art Biennial of Valtopina and within the programme of the 22nd Embroidery and Textile Exhibition.

The exhibition brings together two seemingly distant artistic practices that share a common temporal dimension: pinhole photography and Embroidery Art. Both are practices rooted in the slowness of the creative process, close attention to gesture, and the need for a direct relationship with material. The project brings together artists from different backgrounds and artistic trajectories, creating a collective exhibition in which each work emerges from the encounter between a pinhole photographer and an Embroidery Art artist. Two autonomous languages intertwine within a single work, allowing waiting, craftsmanship, and the creative process itself to become integral parts of the artwork.

Pinhole photography, produced through a technique free from lenses and automated systems, creates images characterised by long exposure times, imperfections, and unpredictability. It is an image born of waiting, bringing the gaze back to a slower, more contemplative dimension, far removed from the immediacy of contemporary image production. Embroidery Art, through the patient gesture of needle and thread, renews an ancient practice by transforming it into a contemporary artistic language capable of engaging critically with the present.

The encounter between these two worlds creates an exhibition in which time is not merely a necessary condition for producing the works, but becomes a creative element in its own right. Each work preserves the traces of the gestures that brought it into being: the time of the photographic exposure, the time of manual labour, and the time of observation and mutual exchange between the artists.

The following photographers have been invited to participate: Luca Baldassari, Martina Bertolini, Maria Francesca Bottari, Pasquale Capano, Luigi Corbetta, Vincenzo Cuccaro, Diego Cuneo, Inga Dinga, Pierclaudio Duranti, Riccardo Gazzarri, Luca Guerri, Gianfranco Lunardo, Stefano Marcovaldi, Vincenzo Marzocchini, Mauro Nori, Diana Pankova, Stefano Petrucci, Ivan Piano, Roberto Pileri, Stefano Rapino, Rosa Salvia, Olga Rivaud Segura, Emilio Rizzo, Francesco Rizzo, Marco Scataglini, Adriano Squaiella, Robert Strahinjic, Gloria Vatteroni, Federico Velozo.

The Embroidery Art artists are: Luciana Aironi, Brigitte Amarger, Mariantonietta Bagliato, Silvia Beccaria, Manuela Bieri, Isobel Blank, Susanna Cati, Meri Ciuchi, Cenzo Cocca, Lea Contestabile, Carla Crosio, Rosita D’Agrosa, Francesca Di Ciaula, Jolanda Drukker Murray, Ilaria Feoli, Magdalena Fermina, Nikola Filipovic, Grazia Gallo, Monica Giovinazzi, Grazia Inserillo, Margherita Levo Rosenberg, Clara Luiselli, Ilaria Margutti, Florencia Martinez, Laura Mega, Federica Patera & Andrea Sbra Perego, Sonia Izn Piscicelli, Giulia Santambrogio, Olga Teksheva, Melissa Zexter.

The choice of the “Stelvio Sbardella” Public Library as the exhibition venue carries particular significance. Reading, pinhole photography, and Embroidery Art all share the need for an extended experience of time, grounded in attention, concentration, and presence. In a space devoted to preserving memory through the written word, images and threads create new narratives, inviting visitors to slow down their gaze and rediscover the value of contemplation.

Un tempo altro. Estetica della lentezza does not propose a nostalgic return to the past, but rather a profoundly contemporary reflection on the way we inhabit time. In a society shaped by speed, the incessant production of images, and the rapid consumption of digital content, the exhibition restores a sense of centrality to making, craftsmanship, and sensory experience, reminding us that slowness can offer a different way of being present in the world.

The project is part of Biennale Off, the new distributed programme of the International Contemporary Fiber Art Biennial of Valtopina, which expands the Biennial’s network of exhibition venues by bringing the programme beyond the Museum of Embroidery and Textiles to include the “Stelvio Sbardella” Public Library and the Council Chamber of the Municipality of Valtopina. The initiative strengthens the dialogue between contemporary art, cultural heritage, and the local area, creating new opportunities for audiences to encounter the languages of fiber art.

The exhibition will open on Friday, 4 September 2026 at 11:30 a.m.