CONTROVERSY IN CARPI – THE “GRATIA PLENA” EXHIBITION CLOSES EARLY

In the end, perhaps, it is better to close everything first. The Carpi artist Andrea Saltini, in agreement with the Diocesan Museum of Carpi, has decided to interrupt the “Gratia Plena” exhibition early, at the Church of Sant’Ignazio, in Carpi. The controversial “exhibition of discord” – accused of blasphemy by ultra-Catholic groups – will close its doors tomorrow, well in advance of the closing scheduled for June 2nd. But the endless controversies have now gone too far. The Diocesan Museum itself, in a statement, expresses full understanding and agreement with Andrea Saltini’s decision, thanking him for having shared “a partly pioneering attempt to identify possible interactions between contemporary artistic experiences and religious paths of mystical research”. At the basis of Saltini’s decision, what he himself defined as “a precarious state of health, following the attack suffered at the end of March and the continuous demonstrations of dissent, culminating” – Saltini writes on social media – “in the well-known episodes of physical violence and verbal”. In the opening days, over two thousand people visited the exhibition. But, in the face of possible new protests – as Saltini explains – “it is no longer possible to bear the costs relating to security, previously not budgeted for, but now essential to guarantee access to visitors and the safety of collaborators and volunteers”.