The Florence Biennale announces the first confirmed Guests of Honor for its 16th edition, scheduled at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence from October 23 to 31,2027,the thirtieth anniversary of the event. The 2027 edition will reflect on the memory of its history while keeping its gaze fixed on the future. The theme of the next edition, Beyond the Sense of Time – Memory, Caducity and Eternity in Contemporary Art and Design, invites artists and designers to reflect on the transformation of the temporal experience through the dimensions of memory, caducity, and eternity. Time will not only be a curatorial theme, but a living material for relationships, returns, new collaborations, and shared projects. Among the first confirmed participants is Stormie Mills, an Australian artist and one of the most recognizable voices on the international urban scene, already associated with the Florence Biennale through a major public art project in Florence. In 2018,thanks to the collaboration between the Florence Biennale and the City of Florence, Mills created the mural "The Lost Giant" in the city, part of his vision of "lost giants. " After the work was damaged, the artist returned to Florence to work on the same site again, transforming the episode into a sign of continuity and creative resistance. For the 16th Florence Biennale, Mills is developing a special exhibition project conceived in dialogue with the theme of the new edition. The 16th Florence Biennale will also see the return of Iranian artists Partin Bastan and Marjan Najafi, who were featured in the special project "I Am Mahsa. Women, Life, Freedom" at the 2023 Florence Biennale. On that occasion, the two artists created a live clay model of Mahsa Amini's face, which later became the starting point of a broader artistic and civic journey that led to the bronze casting of the work, inaugurated at the headquarters of the Tuscany Region, Palazzo Guadagni Strozzi Sacrati, on the occasion of International Human Rights Day. For 2027,Bastan and Najafi are developing a new project, continuing their dialogue between art, memory, freedom, and civic responsibility. Among the first confirmed Guests of Honor is director Teresa Mular, previously a Guest of Honor at the 13th Florence Biennale in 2021 and returning for the 15th edition with the film Tango en Penumbras. Born in Buenos Aires and initially trained in medicine before turning to film, Mular has developed an artistic journey over the years focused on memory, fragility, female figures, minorities, and inner transformation. For the 16th Florence Biennale, she will present a new version of the trilogy On the Wings of Time, re-edited specifically for the occasion, in direct dialogue with the theme of the new edition. In parallel with preparations for the 16th edition, the Florence Biennale is proposing a program of projects in the city in 2026,conceived as a path towards 2027 and as an opportunity to broaden the dialogue between contemporary art, urban spaces, hospitality, and new cultural communities. From September 18 to October 4,2026,the collaboration between the Florence Biennale and The Social Hub Firenze Lavagnini will continue with a solo exhibition by the young artist Stefano Alvino, a key figure in the last two editions of the Florentine event. The partnership with The Social Hub, launched in 2026 with the exhibition On Time by Chiara Zhu—a Venetian artist and designer, winner of third prize in the Design category at the 15th Florence Biennale 2025 and creator of the graphic design for the 16th edition's theme—confirms itself as a new space for dialogue between the Biennale, the city, and new creative generations. The Social Hub is a European hotel group that combines accommodations with a dynamic, shared experience for guests, coworkers, and local residents. Founded in 2012 by entrepreneur Charlie MacGregor, it redefines the role of hotels in cities, offering spaces where anyone can learn, stay, work, play, and above all connect. His unique hybrid hospitality model combines hotel rooms for short and long stays, coworking spaces, meeting and event rooms, restaurants and bars, 24-hour gyms, and publicly accessible areas such as panoramic terraces, parks, and cultural venues. Alvino's exhibition will present the canvas Il Demone Alichino, previously previewed at the 15th Florence Biennale 2025,along with Bergaraffa, a work created during a live painting session at the 14th edition in 2023.The exhibition will also be enriched by new works conceived specifically for the occasion—including silkscreen prints on plexiglass—and a selection of products inspired by his visual imagery, in a project that extends the artist's language beyond the single work, towards forms of fusion between art, design, and contemporary culture. Also in September, A will debut