Resisting oblivion. Passione e attivismo negli archivi femministi e queer di Bologna

Gaya Upright and Italic in use by Silvia Minali for Resisting Oblivion. Passion and Activism in the Feminist and Queer Archives of Bologna. The exhibition was shown from May 29 to September 28, 2025, at the MAMbo – Museum of Modern Art of Bologna.

Sara De Giovanni, who has coordinated the project, presents it as follow:

The project, which lasted three months and concluded on September 28, was curated by historian Chelsea Szendi Schieder in collaboration with a group of queer and feminist archives based in the city of Bologna. All these archives are part of non-profit associations that joined forces to highlight through the exhibition the work carried out by archives and human rights associations in combating the processes that attempt to erase the memory of LGBTQIA+ individuals and subjectivities in a society increasingly marked by dangerous currents of homo-lesbo-bi-transphobic hatred.

On the occasion, the museum did not directly produce the exhibition—neither in terms of choices about installation nor about graphic design—but instead offered the associations and archives a space to realize the initiative, endorsing it politically within the broader context of Bologna, a city known for its strong commitment to fighting discrimination and prejudice. The promoting associations did not gain any profit from this project other than the increased visibility of the causes they represent.