BENU

“BENU” is a site-specific project by Eugenio Tibaldi developed at the “Germana Stefanini” Rebibbia Women’s Prison in Rome, promoted by Fondazione Severino and Fondazione Pastificio Cerere and curated by Marcello Smarrelli.

The volume documents the different stages of the project, from meetings and workshops with the inmates, who were invited to translate their personal experiences into drawings and texts inspired by the figure of the phoenix, chosen by the artist as a symbol of hope and transformation. Drawing on this material, Tibaldi developed two collective images, which were subsequently transformed into two luminous sculptures: two large light boxes installed along the perimeter of the prison and visible from both inside and outside. The works are powered by energy generated by the inmates using exercise bikes connected to generators.

Published on the occasion of the exhibition at Fondazione Pastificio Cerere in Rome (from September 22, 2026), the volume retraces the conception and production of the work through critical essays, institutional contributions, personal accounts, and documentary material, conveying the complexity of a project in which art becomes a means of fostering relationships, responsibility, and shared imagination.