BAW – Bracciano Art Week

An open-air museum in the village of Bracciano

BAW – Bracciano Art Week is a widespread contemporary art festival that every spring transforms the historic center of Bracciano, overlooking the lake of the same name in the province of Rome, into a vast open-air exhibition space. In the heart of the Lazio region, between the Town Hall, the Santa Maria Novella Complex, historic churches, and Renaissance walls, artists' works enter into a dialogue with the architecture and memory of the village, creating a path that unites art, landscape, and community.

Contemporary Bloom: art, love, and freedom

The festival revolves around the theme "Contemporary Bloom," a contemporary blossoming that reflects on the relationship between love and freedom, summarized in the quote "Freedom contains love, love does not contain freedom." Installations integrated into the urban fabric, sculptural and visual works, and multimedia, literary, and sound projects form a choral narrative entrusted to over forty Italian and international artists, with diverse backgrounds and languages.

Artistic direction and cultural project

The artistic direction is led by Maria Ludmila Pustka for visual arts and Massimiliano Ionta for digital and sound art, supported by a scientific committee that oversees the project's growth. Promoted by the Target Lab ETS association with the support of the Municipality of Bracciano, BAW was born with the ambition of becoming a reference point for contemporary art in Lazio, capable of speaking to diverse audiences and enhancing the local heritage.

A route through the village's landmarks

Visitors traverse the village following an itinerary that touches some of Bracciano's most evocative sites:

• the Town Hall and Piazza Mazzini, the heart of the event;
• the Santa Maria Novella Complex;
• the Renaissance walls and the historic churches of the center;
• the Torrione di San Clemente and independent spaces scattered among the alleys.

Alongside the installations, the program includes special reviews dedicated to words, cinema, music, and imagery, which expand on the festival's theme and involve the public in meetings, screenings, and performances.

Bracciano and its lake

Hosting a contemporary art festival in a medieval village like Bracciano means connecting cutting-edge research with the layered history of the place, dominated by the Orsini-Odescalchi Castle and the waters of the lake. BAW enhances this unique setting in Lazio, offering residents and visitors an opportunity to rediscover the historic center through the lens of art, with free admission to all initiatives.