InDivenire

SCD Studio celebrates International Women’s Rights Day with the opening of the CASSANDRE project, an exhibition series that explores, through contemporary art, the multifaceted aspects of the female condition. The first event, the exhibition InDivenire, opens on 8th March 2025 in the gallery of Via Bramante 22N in Perugia (5:00 PM) and will be open until 5th April 2025. Curated by Barbara Pavan, it includes the works of Isobel Blank, Susanna Cati, Monica Giovinazzi, and Andi Kacziba, artists who, through different media and languages, investigate the concept of transformation.
InDivenire is indeed inspired by the Sanskrit concept of samskara, a term that encompasses the meanings of “transformation,” “modification,” and “inner change”; not a mere alteration, but a process of evolution that manifests itself in experiences, rites of passage, and the traces left over time. The journey through the works of the four invited artists unfolds in a dialogue between the individual and the collective, between the intimate and the social, inviting the viewer to engage with the different keys to interpreting transformation in relation to the human condition and, in particular, the female condition.
Isobel Blank explores transformation through performance, conceived as a ritual of reconnection between the individual and nature. The artist’s body becomes a symbol of a primordial fusion, capable of transcending physical and mental boundaries through a radical metamorphosis. Every performative gesture preserves a collective memory, an ancestral code that awakens the bond between past and future, between identity and environment. Susanna Cati draws inspiration from the symbolism of the labyrinth, a universal metaphor for the inner journey and the quest for balance between order and chaos. The labyrinth evokes disorientation and bewilderment, yet it is also a place of transformation: in the myth of Theseus and Ariadne, the thread is not only an orientation tool but also a means of redemption and awareness. Cati’s works, with their intertwinings of broken threads and intricate paths, visually translate this journey, inviting the observer to confront their own capacity for evolution. Monica Giovinazzi entrusts poetry with the role of a vehicle for transformation. Her modular installation, created entirely through upcycling, is an ever-evolving work that reflects on the power of words to shape new realities. The artist explores the capacity of poetic language to open horizons, imagine alternatives, and redefine the individual narrative. The result is a work that breaks down the barriers between art and everyday life, transforming language into an instrument of resistance and renewal. Andi Kacziba investigates time as an imprint on matter and the body. Her series Bivium, created by interweaving cords on wooden frames, is a metaphor for the female struggle against societal pressure on beauty and image. Kacziba’s tapestries evoke skin surfaces marked by time, wrinkled and shaped by the years, testifying to the tension between identity and transformation. In a world that imposes youth as the ultimate value, the artist affirms the right of women to exist in their authenticity, reclaiming the memory of the body as an integral part of the female narrative.
CASSANDRE
CASSANDRE is a cultural container conceived and promoted by SCD Studio that aims to explore and enhance the plurality of female experiences in contemporary society through a multidisciplinary program of reflection and participation, running from 8 March to 25 November 2025 and articulated in events, interventions, exhibitions, and site-specific installations. At the heart of the project is the desire to investigate, through an artistic language liberated from mere symbolic dates, the role of women and the many issues that remain unresolved, drawing inspiration from the mythological figure of Cassandra, priestess and prophetess of unheeded truth, whose symbolism becomes a powerful metaphor for the marginalization of voices—often female and deprived of legitimacy and authority—whenever they oppose or withdraw from the control of power in all its forms, whether social, familial, political, religious, or cultural. In this context, the figure of Cassandra represents the starting point to reflect on the possibilities of reversing perspectives, of redemption, and of emancipation from predetermined constraints in favor of becoming something else, bringing to light the need for deep listening and concrete recognition of the issues, insights, stories, and alternative perspectives of women. To this end, the project recalls the cultural and social heritage of figures such as Luisa Spagnoli, born in Perugia, a pioneer who, with her innovative vision, transformed a modest artisanal enterprise into an international powerhouse in the confectionery and fashion sectors, introducing models of social responsibility and inclusion through the implementation of welfare policies and measures for the well-being of workers, thereby forging a lasting bond between business and community. By recalling both this territorial heritage and the figure of Cassandra, the project aspires to give voice to reflections, insights, and alternative narratives that are too often ignored or undervalued, celebrating art—with particular attention to the textile medium—as a universal language and promoting an inclusive, transformative dialogue that helps overcome stereotypes and cultural barriers.
THE ARTISTS
Isobel Blank, a multidisciplinary artist born in Pietrasanta, is a graduate with honors in Aesthetic Philosophy. Her research, which integrates techniques of embroidery and needle felting of wool, sculpture, theater, dance, drawing, music, and photography, is also expressed in a fusion of performance and video art. Her works have been exhibited in numerous international galleries and museums, participating in festivals in Italy and abroad—from the United States to Cambodia, from India to Mexico—with significant exhibitions such as Fiberart International 2013 at the Pittsburgh Triennale, the World Textile Art Miami Biennial’s 25th Anniversary at Salone Italia, at the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology in Milan, at Palazzo Widmann in Venice, and at the Mumbai Art Room in India. She has received important awards, including the First Prize for video art at the Romaeuropa Webfactory in Rome in 2009, and her extensive exploration in fiber art, combined with her experimental use of AI editing and stop-motion animation, allows her to push the boundaries of innovation by integrating applied art, fashion, textile jewelry, and artistic toy design.
Susanna Cati, born in Rieti and a graduate of the Accademia di Costume e Moda in Rome, has developed a solid experience by collaborating with the renowned set designer Giovanni Licheri at Teatro Argentina in Rome and by working as a styling assistant for prestigious Italian and French fashion brands. After mastering various textile techniques, she oriented her research towards Fiber Art. Her works, exhibited in both group and solo shows in Italy and abroad—in Switzerland, Austria, Ukraine, Russia, and the United Kingdom—have been featured in institutional spaces and private galleries and are included in public collections such as “Trame d’Autore” of the City of Chieri and in the installation “Spears” in the contemporary art project of the Municipality of Rivodutri. Recently, she participated in the KIUB project, winner of the Creative Living Lab call by the Ministry of Culture, and collaborated with Lucia Di Pietro on a performative textile work for the Umbria Danza Festival and the Teatro Stabile dell’Umbria. She has an extensive record of participation in international exhibitions and biennials.
Monica Giovinazzi is a versatile artist whose practice spans performance, installations, and visual arts. She regularly exhibits in Vienna and in various Italian cities, favoring upcycling as a distinctive element of her work. She has collaborated with the Italian Cultural Institute, the Italian Embassy in Austria, and several universities, and for her commitment to cultural mediation between Austria and Italy she has been awarded the title of Cavaliere della Stella d’Italia. Founder of the Culturale Association Raabe UNLA – Unione Nazionale per la Lotta contro l’Analfabetismo (an MIUR-accredited institution), active in educational projects in collaboration with schools, universities, and institutions since 2000, she promotes workshops, Relational Art projects, and performances. Among her recent initiatives are the project room at BLU Spazio delle Arti in Rome, the participatory art project “Immagina, crea, vola” for The Europe Challenge promoted by the European Cultural Foundation in Barberino di Mugello, the 2nd International Biennial of Contemporary Fiber Art at MuRTAC in Valtopina, and a performance-installation dedicated to Sidonie Adlersburg and Ida Maly at Area1070 in Vienna, in addition to numerous participations in group exhibitions and interventions in public spaces and private galleries both in Italy and abroad.
Andi Kacziba, born in Hungary and having relocated to Milan, completed her studies at the Istituto Europeo di Design in Milan and Venice, choosing to transform her professional experience as a model and her observations on the female condition into an artistic research expressed through performance, photography, and sculpture. Her conception of the artist as an agent of positive social change leads her to focus her research on social, political, and economic narratives while maintaining an intimate and personal perspective. She has exhibited in numerous solo and group shows, with recent presentations at the Ludwig Museum in Budapest, the Accademia d’Ungheria in Rome, Studio Museo Francesco Messina in Milan, the Foundation Suisse in Paris, and at the Italian Cultural Institute in Budapest and Mexico City, as well as at Fabbrica del Vapore in Milan. Among her recent participations are the Crushing Destiny performances—in their various iterations in Budapest and Milan—and the exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of Anna Magnani at Palazzo Montecitorio in Rome.

TECHNICAL SHEET
Title: InDivenire
Artists: Isobel Blank, Susanna Cati, Monica Giovinazzi, Andi Kacziba
Curated by: Barbara Pavan
Dates: 8 March – 5 April 2025
Opening reception: 8 March 2025, 5:00 PM
Venue: SCD Studio, Via Bramante 22N, 06122 Perugia
Info: mob. +39 347 177 6001 | scdtextileandartstudio@gmail.com
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