Three units are involved in the project (Univeristy of Bologna, University of Parma, La Sapienza University of Rome), in fact, they intend to focus the issue from three different, but absolutely complementary and synergic points of observation, all within the privileged chronological time frame starting from the 19th century experiences and ending in the 1980s, In particular, it will explore the state of art and make field research:
- in the Italian archives, museums and collections that have kept and promoted female photography. The main references for the research activities are some of the most important national archives of 19th and 20th century female photography and by public institutions. Then it is then planned to study the photographic archives of the UDI-Unione Donne in Italia and to cooperate with some collections specialised in Italian women’s photography.
- in the exhibitions and events catalogues treasured in public and private spaces in Italy and in major photography collections; the field research will be carried out in the most important libraries and female photography archives and in other Italian archives and libraries
- in the Italian art and photography magazines and periodicals, as well as in female and feminist periodicals. The examination will cover the periodicals published from the late 19th century and continue with a full review up to the 1980s, when the presence of female photographers in the Italian feminist art and photographic culture was well consolidated, following the women's liberation movements of the 1970s. In addition to these periodicals, the unit will also examine major Italian photography magazines. The analysis of the sector magazines will go hand in hand with a review of some specific female and feminist periodicals that gave ample space to photography, but also in magazines that were not strictly photographic and, following the authorial thread, sets out to perform a targeted review of contemporary art magazines. The study will be carried out in the most important Italian feminist and women archives and libraries.