Encounters, Trajectories, and Imaginaries

(Event open to the NYU Florence Community-only)

Since the Renaissance, Florence has stood at the crossroads of artistic, diplomatic, and intellectual exchange. The city’s collections, archives, and cultural networks reveal a rich history of contact between Europe and Asia through art, trade and travel. From early diplomatic missions to contemporary migration and tourism, Florence has continuously shaped and been shaped by its encounters with Asia.

The Florence and Global Asia Project explores these intertwined narratives across time and space. Anchored at Villa La Pietra, the research explores the contacts between Asia and the city of Florence spanning from the Renaissance to the 21st century. It examines the city as both a symbol and a site of mutual imagination, a place where Asia has been imagined, represented, collected and studied.

The meeting’s aim is to introduce preliminary findings of the ongoing project, highlighting case studies that connect Harold Acton’s legacy to broader cultural dialogues between Florence and Asia. NYU Florence student Nora He will present her work related to the NYU Acton Photograph Archive, while Ileana Amadei and Francesca Baldry will outline the project’s methodological framework and main ideas.

Photos from left: Harold Acton with Anna May Wong and a dog sitting in the Carved Moon-gate. [I.C.4.7-91], Mei Lan-fang as Kuei-Ying, ca. 1936, [VII.E.4-130], Exhibition of Chinese paintings in the interior of Rongbaozhai (or Jung Pao Chai) art shop in Liulichang, Beijing, ca. 1935, [VII.D.2-118]. ©New York University, The Acton Photograph Archive, Villa La Pietra, Florence.