The "Tonino Gottarelli Study Center Foundation", which was founded in 2002,
is a rare example of a foundation set up by a living painter.
The purposes of this non-profit foundation are to preserve the legacy of Tonino Gottarelli;
to spread knowledge of his work through shows and exhibitions;
to take care of photos and documents in the collection as well as
general sources concerning the painter’s life and his artistic career;
to establish study grants or awards so as to stimulate the study of
20th century art in addition to Gottarelli himself and to develop partnerships
with local and central bodies and cultural institutions.
On November 11th 2006 the Foundation moved to its current location
(at number 13, Via Caterina Sforza) in lmola, with the purpose of
creating a meeting place for artists, where they can reflect and
discuss art; a starting point from where to take a wider view of
the art world and society as a whole, based on the experience of Tonino Gottarelli.
Consequently, the aim of the Foundation is not only to promote the
work of the lmola maestro, but also to collaborate with the Town Council of
Imola and other groups, starting with the Open University, in order to organize
shows, events and meetings that promote art and culture in general.
These objectives complement one another and are closely connected; so their
achievement depends on the harmonious, contextual and integrated development
of all these activities as a whole.
We believe that art has recognized and foreseen what is a positive aspect
of the present age, within which value comes not only from a single identity
but also from the synthesis of the whole. In this process art does not lose
any of its symbolic meaning, on the contrary it is amplified.
So the Foundation offers to maintain the modernity of thought, with care
and sensitivity, while in the company of art and culture too.
In brief, these are the aims of the Tonino Gottarelli Study Center Foundation,
as set out in the statute, which gives precedence to public benefit
in the name of art and culture.
The President
Guido Soglia
In the true spirit of the human and artistic side of its founder, with his generosity
and concern for the future, the Gottarelli Foundation intends to pursue the
path traced by the Imola artist in strengthening the love of culture, fostering
dialogue between the arts, preserving the values on which belonging and identity
are based, working concretely to spread awareness of Gottarelli’s work and thus
opening new horizons, showing the sheer dimension of the thirst for knowledge that
is still urgent and deserves to be quenched. In an age like ours, with its problems
and constant changes, culture can offer the community intellectual and human
resources that provide reassurance, by accepting or challenging the present time,
proposing a new kind of "humanism", which may become the distinctive character and
function of the Foundation in contemporary life.
Art and its meaning today appear to have a direct relationship with what we call the
legacy and testimony of the past and define the best perspective from which to view
the future. Intercultural and intergenerational dialogue represent an equally important
perspective for the Foundation, whose sensitivity finds a new, dynamic and harmonious
reference point here, since they constitute the best guarantee of sensitive, caring and
effective growth.
Imola Town Council and the local Open University together represent the natural
cultural and institutional references and supporters of the Gottarelli Foundation,
and guarantee the quality and authority of the initiatives that are the
lifeblood of proposals and cultural events it intends to offer to the public
and to scholars, always in harmony with the statutory guidelines that rule
the Foundation, in full correspondence with the will of its founder.
The Foundation is convinced that its existence and activities must be able to
listen and dialogue with other institutions, with the same principles and objectives,
so it is open to the possibility of establishing a fruitful collaboration with them.
