The Florence Biennale announces its eagerly awaited 15th Edition, which will take place at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence from 18 to 26 October 2025.This prestigious international exhibition of contemporary art and design in the Medici city is a cultural exhibition that differs from other biennials in its format. In fact, the protagonists as exhibitors are the artists and designers themselves, selected after careful evaluation by the Curatorial Committee. The aim of this innovative formula is to provide a valuable and effective opportunity for all artists to present their work directly to cultural operators and the general public, in an independent and multilingual context that spontaneously creates the opportunity and conditions for direct dialogue and possible future developments. Through a rich programme of side events such as lectures, exhibitions, performances, screenings and educational initiatives, the biennial offers various opportunities for artists and visitors to meet and discuss various aspects of art and culture, with a focus on the central theme of the current edition. The one chosen for the 2025 edition is 'The Sublime Essence of Light and Darkness. Concepts of Dualism and Unity in Contemporary Art and Design', dedicated to the primordial and eternal union between light and darkness, which has always been at the centre of artistic, scientific, philosophical and literary research. The 15th Florence Biennale includes the following artistic categories in competition: Ceramic Art, Digital Art, Jewellery Art and Design, Textile and Fiber Art, Drawing, Graphic Art and Calligraphy, Photography, Art Installation, Mixed Media, Performance Art, Painting, Sculpture, Video Art with the participation of hundreds of artists from over 80 countries and 5 continents. On the other hand, the categories for design are: Architektur und Städtebau, Industrie- und Produktdesign, Mode- und Schmuckdesign, Innenarchitektur, Kommunikations- und Grafikdesign, Technologie und Game Design. PRESENTATION OF THE FORMAT

The Florence Biennale, founded in 1997 by Pasquale and Piero Celona together with a committee of artists, curators and art critics, is directed by Jacopo Celona, assisted by event manager and curator Giovanni Cordoni. Each edition takes place on 11,000 square metres and is attended by some 600 artists from over 80 countries with more than 1.500 works, carefully selected to ensure an extraordinary variety of styles. Among them, several special guests are invited to participate due to their relevance in the international art scene. In addition to offering an extensive calendar of thematic exhibitions, special projects, special guests of honour and prestigious national premieres, the Florence Biennale confers 2 Awards for lifetime achievement in the categories of art and design. The artists who stand out for their works in competition in the relevant artistic categories receive the “Lorenzo il Magnifico” International Prize, awarded by an International Jury made up of prominent personalities from the world of art and culture. This award is so named in order to commemorate and pay homage to Lorenzo de' Medici, known as ‘the Magnificent’, to underline the Florentine nature of the event and to ideally connect it to its important artistic history in the emblematic figure of the great patron and promoter of the Arts of the Renaissance. This prize is flanked by the “Lorenzo il Magnifico” Award for Lifetime Achievement - which is honoured to performers and institutions that have shown particular artistic merit or contributions to the world of culture - and the “Lorenzo il Magnifico” President's Award, which is awarded to artists who are recognised for particular merit in the development and dissemination of contemporary art, at the discretion and judgement of the President of the Florence Biennale, Pasquale Celona. Past Lifetime Achievement in Art Award recipients include Marina Abramović (2009), Gustavo Aceves (2019), Refik Anadol (2019), Sauro Cavallini (in memoriam, 2017), David Hockney (2003), Christo & Jeanne-Claude (2005), Ferrari & Pininfarina (2003), Gilbert & George (2007), Arata Isozaki (2017), Anish Kapoor (2013), Michelangelo Pistoletto (2021), Oliviero Toscani (2021), Franco Zeffirelli (2019) and David LaChapelle (2023). For the 4th consecutive time, a section is dedicated to the design sector. This recent introduction has taken on a particularly significant value from the year of the celebration of the anniversary of the death of Leonardi da Vinci whose genius has always been associated with technical-scientific, as well as artistic, design and after whom this award is named. The best exhibiting designers in the 6 categories are awarded the “Leonardo da Vinci” International Prize for Design, by an International Jury composed of eminent personalities in the field. The “Leonardo da Vinci” International Prize for Lifetime Achievement is awarded to people and/or organisations that have distinguished themselves through their work by making an important contribution to creativity and innovation. Finally, Designers who are recognised for particular merit in the development and dissemination of Design are awarded the “Leonardo da Vinci” President's Prize, at the discretion and judgement of the President of the Florence Biennale, Pasquale Celona. In past editions, some of the Lifetime Achievement award winners for the Design section were Salvatore e Wanda Ferragamo (2019), Elsa Peretti di Tiffany & Co. (2019), Paula Scher (2019), Vivienne Westwood (2021) and Santiago Calatrava (2023). On the occasion of its 15th edition, the Florence Biennale assigns the “Lorenzo il Magnifico” International Prize for Lifetime Achievement to the American film director and artist Tim Burton, who will be present on Tuesday 21 October 2025 at the Florence Biennale's theatre area, at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence. The celebrated American filmmaker and artist welcomed the news of the award as follows: "I am very honoured to be the new recipient of the “Lorenzo il Magnifico” Lifetime Achievement Award, joining the list of extraordinary artists who have been honoured in the past. This award also gives me the opportunity to create an exhibition in Florence for the Biennale and I look forward to exploring this year's theme of dualism and unity through my art and reflecting on those opposites that do not exist one without the other: light and darkness, good and evil, order and chaos. "