Cremona’s history is closely tied to the tradition of making bowed string instruments. Antonio Stradivari worked here, as did members of two other celebrated families, the Amatis and the Guarneris. For many years, the city’s Museo del Violino has told the story of this craft through instruments from the city collection, foundations and private collections. Now there is another reason to visit: contemporary art at Sala Effe, which opened in September in the Amati Pavilion.

Sala Effe has an independent exhibition programme organised around two main strands. The first will bring together curated exhibitions featuring new works, while the second will focus on private collections that are rarely seen by the wider public.

A clue in the name

Its proximity to the Museo del Violino gives the name Sala Effe an additional meaning. The clue can be found in the museum itself. Look closely at a violin and you will see two shaped openings on either side of the strings, each resembling a lower-case ‘f’. Known as f-holes, these sound holes play an important part in the instrument’s resonance, with their shape and dimensions affecting its sound.

The team behind Sala Effe has carried this idea into contemporary art, conceiving the space as a kind of resonating chamber. It will provide a setting for experimenting with different exhibition formats, inviting artists and curators, and introducing new names both to those who come specifically to see an exhibition and to visitors who stop by after discovering Stradivari’s violins.

After the opening

At Sala Effe, work on an exhibition does not end when the doors open. Displays will gradually change over time, while events bringing together different artistic disciplines and encounters with the local community will extend the programme beyond the exhibition itself. This freedom to evolve is what makes the new space a laboratory for contemporary art.

Each project will be developed by a different team made up of members of the Sala Effe committee and invited specialists. This structure allows for a range of perspectives and for the curatorial approach to change from one exhibition to the next. The works on display and the way each exhibition is conceived will be decided afresh for every project.

A view of space and time

The inaugural exhibition already offers a sense of how this approach works. Curated by Paolo Zani, «La terra piatta è una dimensione lirica del luogo come se regredire fosse inventare» («The Flat Earth Is a Lyrical Dimension of Place, as if Going Back Meant Inventing») runs until 14 March 2027, with some of the works changing every two months. Visitors who return will therefore encounter the same galleries in a different form.

The inaugural exhibition takes the concept of space-time as its starting point. Zani uses it as a metaphor for a reality that we continually reinterpret as we try to understand what can be considered true. The idea also shapes the exhibition itself: as different works enter the space, the connections viewers perceive between them will shift.

The exhibition brings together artists from different generations. It includes works by Giorgio de Chirico, Alighiero Boetti, Rineke Dijkstra, On Kawara, Paola Pivi, Pietro Roccasalva, Jason Dodge, John Gerrard, Hans Schabus and the duo Peter Fischli and David Weiss, as well as Maria Andreeva, Caleb Considine, Rachel Crowther, Tarik Kiswanson, Paul Kos, Diego Perrone and Damon Zucconi.

The changing relationships between the works offer visitors a simple experiment: return a few months later and compare the experience. A familiar work may look different when another appears alongside it.

A reason to return

Sala Effe adds a new stop to a Lombardy itinerary for anyone interested in contemporary art. There is now another reason to travel to Cremona: after discovering the violins made by the city’s great masters, visitors can see Sala Effe’s inaugural exhibition. And on a future visit, they can return to find out what has changed.

Photos courtesy of Sala Effe