about

manifesto

a multidisciplinary and inclusive programme: exhibitions, events, panels, music, performances, installations.

gres art 671 is the new space for art in Bergamo: a space where art and culture blend with dialogue, by embracing community needs and research. A process that, through art, transforms unused spaces into welcoming and sustainable contexts.

In fact, gres art 671 was created with the aim of giving a new life to a former industrial area, by redeveloping it to welcome and inspire the public. gres art 671 is more than an exhibition space, is an art centre livened up by regenerative energy. A place arising from a redevelopment and now transcending its role as a mere exhibition space, by giving meaning to an area hitherto unused. A dynamic centre that meets diverse needs and offers enriching cultural experiences. gres art 671 stimulates innovation, fosters intercultural dialogue, and promotes social and artistic development.

The social impact is therefore combined with beauty, promoting culture and collective and individual well-being through a multidisciplinary and inclusive programme: exhibitions, events, panels, cultural and educational activities, music, entertainment, performances, and workshops. Here, art becomes a means for activating the community, by engaging it in the change and harnessing the resources available to improve the city, its neighbourhoods, as well as the very lives of the people who reside there or visit them.

Promoting art and culture in Bergamo: gres art 671 is an enterprise for cultural production. An entrepreneurial approach that aims to promote culture and art through professional and responsible management, focusing on economic and environmental sustainability. gres art 671 is committed to creating a positive economic, environmental and social impact.

Generating connections: gres art 671 is a gathering magnet. It attracts and unites people, communities and cultures through a diverse and quality cultural programme. A place to find and generate moments where people can connect and share experiences, thereby spawning a stimulating and enriching dialogue. Sparking connections and interactions, gres art 671 contributes to the creation of a cohesive community where art, culture, and dialogue are the common threads.

gres art 671 is promoted by Fondazione Pesenti Ets and developed by Italmobiliare, and was inaugurated in the year of the Bergamo Brescia Italian Capital of Culture 2023. Part of Gres Hub, gres art 671 covers an area of60,000 square metres and was conceived as a place of work, research and hospitality, for a new vision of the relationship between city centre and outskirts, in a neighbourhood that is springing to life.

the space, the ambience

A new hub for art and culture from the regeneration of an unused building

3000 m2 in total

4 areas

a 600 m2 garden

galleria 671

galleria 671 e piazza

piazza, gres art 671

gres art 671, giardino

gres art 671, spazi interni

gres cafè

accesso terrazza

terrazza

biglietteria

bookshop

gres art 671, gli spazi esterni

gres art 671 stands in a post-industrial area, where the building that was later renamed 'ex-Gres' once stood. Dating back to the mid-twentieth century, the architectural features of the building are typical of the industrial plants of the time. Today, however, it showcases a unique quality: it has withstood the destruction of Bergamo's historical industrial heritage following its urban development. A process that, in building for the future, has often swept away its past.

To enhance its historical imprint and industrial value, the architectural potential of the building was investigated before initiating the transformation process that eventually gave a new life and destination to the space. Through measures, such as modifying the façade and creating a garden, gres art 671 has embraced a contemporary dimension, yet honouring its original character.

The entrance was given a new lease of life by demolishing a building previously functional to production activities - now unnecessary for this new cultural space-open to the community and intended for exhibitions and events of various kinds. The result is a large square - an open, vibrant and inclusive space - that guides you through two pavilions, located in an area divided in turn into two large bays: one aimed at hospitality and free time, and the second for exhibition projects. These are flanked by a large garden with free access.

If the starting point of gres art 671 was a former industrial building, its end point is instead a public place of social and cultural relations, whose identity is gradually shaped by those who experiment it and by the cultural activities that come to life here.

download the dossier venue

gres art 671 is open
Wednesday to Sunday
9 a.m. - 9 p.m.

areas

galleria 671

A new place livened up by creative energy, a multifunctional space. This is where the exhibitions and events are brought to life. A stimulating, interactive and quality cultural programme, designed to engage a curious public.

terrazza

This area focuses on education: workshops, panels, debates and moments to share and create a vibrant and aware community.

giardino

The 600 m2 public garden is an open square, where vegetation and architecture meet and dialogue. A totally new space but perfectly integrated with the surrounding building, as if it had always been part of it.

gres cafè

Unique atmosphere, comfortable ambience: here taste and creativity meet. gres cafè is the place to sit back, relax and get inspired by the hospitality of gres art 671.

sustainability

“gres art 671 has chosen to be a Benefit Corporation and to operate through art and culture in recognition of their social value – explains Roberto Pesenti, President of gres art 671 –. This form of enterprise empowers us to act responsibly and transparently towards people, communities, local areas, the environment, goods, through cultural and social activities aimed at improving the quality of organizations and associations, and other local stakeholders, through a business model that reconciles the economic framework and a positive impact on the society in which it operates in the long term. An impact that, even just a few months after the inauguration, we have already wanted to measure.”

To evaluate the impact generated by gres art 671, it was decided to use the B Impact Assessment tool -a software developed by B Lab, an independent US body, which fulfils the legal requirements for the development of the ‘external assessment standard’ required for the impact assessment of Benefit Corporations.