4 November | 5.00 pm
On Wednesday 4 November 2026, from 5.00 pm to 8.00 pm, the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation will host the artistic and experiential workshop *Trame di Libertà* (Weaves of Freedom), led by the artist Bahar Heidarzade and dedicated to women’s memories and acts of resistance. Drawing on personal stories that have remained untold due to modesty, fear, prohibition or a lack of a space where they could be heard, participants will work with images and words to explore the value of culture as a tool for emancipation, healing and freedom.
Each participant is invited to bring one or two photographs with deep personal significance: an image from childhood, of a mother, of a departure, of a place left behind, or of a moment when she felt free or when freedom was denied to her. The starting point is the value that the photograph holds for the person who chooses it. Participants will be guided in working with their own images, weaving them together with words to give form to what has remained unspoken.
The aim is to initiate a process of expression and sharing, in which individual stories can become part of a collective narrative. The photographs and the words developed will come together in the installation ‘Donne Exempla’, a tapestry of memories in which each personal story will contribute to telling a broader story – that of women. The artist has conceived the work as replicable and itinerant, capable of taking these testimonies to other places and contexts.
PREMIO DI SOLIDARIETÀ DELLA CULTURA
DONNE EXEMPLA® 2026
Bahar Heidarzade è l’artista iraniana la vincitrice del Premio di Solidarietà della Cultura Donne Exempla® 2026, giunto alla terza edizione. La cerimonia si terrà il 25 novembre, Giornata internazionale per l’eliminazione della violenza contro le donne, presso la Fondazione Educatorio della Provvidenza, in corso Trento 13 a Torino, alle ore 18.00.
Il premio, ideato da Maria Luisa Reviglio della Veneria e promosso dalla Fondazione Educatorio della Provvidenza nell’ambito del percorso Donne Exempla®, riconosce il valore delle donne che si battono per il diritto all’istruzione e alla cultura, contro la disinformazione e a sostegno della libertà di pensiero, di azione e di espressione. L’edizione 2026, realizzata in collaborazione con la Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, comprende un workshop artistico dedicato alla memoria e alle resistenze delle donne e prosegue con una sua intervista per approfondire il legame dell’artista tra cultura, emancipazione e diritti.
Il riconoscimento dà continuità alle precedenti edizioni, che hanno premiato Loveth Kingsley nel 2024 e l’Istituto Alfieri Carrù di Torino nel 2025. Il premio consiste in un contributo in denaro di 2.000 euro e in un’incisione raffigurante la Sacra di San Michele, monumento simbolo del Piemonte.
Bahar Heidarzade | biography
Born in Tehran in 1981 and having moved to Turin in 2013, Bahar Heidarzade continued her studies at the Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti, specialising in painting and sculpture. Her artistic practice also encompasses performance art and installations, through which she expresses her commitment to women’s freedom and rights. In her biography, the artist recounts the restrictions on her creative freedom she faced in Iran, including a series of arrests for challenging the conventions imposed on women.
Her personal and artistic journey links the experience of repression with the possibility of creating, through study and artistic creation, a space for autonomy and expression. It is this connection between access to culture, freedom and the status of women that makes her testimony consistent with the values of Donne Exempla®.
Other events associated with the Exempla® Women’s Award
12 and 13 November: an interview with the artist
On Thursday 12 November 2026, from 3.00 pm to 3.30 pm, Bahar Heidarzade will be interviewed live on Facebook by Ivana Posti, as part of the programme “Ivana Posti. ‘Dreaming is possible and it’s no sin’’. The interview will be broadcast on Friday 13 November, from 10.30 am to 10.50 am, on Radio Stella Piemonte.
The conversation will explore the artist’s background and the role of her artistic experience in her journey towards asserting freedom of expression. Details on how to follow the live stream and listen to the broadcast will be announced at a later date.
The events at the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo are funded as part of the ‘Insieme per…’ project, co-funded by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies | Call for Proposals 2 2025 | Fund for the financing of initiatives and projects of national importance pursuant to Article 72 of Legislative Decree No. 117/2017.
