Inaugurated in 2022, the Maria Manetti Shrem Educational Center is the heart of all educational activities run by Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi. Its three rooms are located on the Piano Nobile of the palazzo, next to the entrance to the major exhibitions organised by the Fondazione, and they offer an inclusive, accessible space where encounters with art become an opportunity to reflect on ourselves, on what connects us to other people and to the world.
The Maria Manetti Shrem Educational Centre’s rooms have been developed in partnership with Archea Associati in relation to their structure and specific furnishings and are a social venue and a place for encounter for all our audiences, with a special focus on inclusion projects. The spaces have been purpose-designed to allow the greatest possible number of people to experience Palazzo Strozzi’s exhibitions through a wide range of activities that aim to turn encounters with art into occasions in which each participant’s expressive potential is enhanced and in which everyone can feel personally involved. The Maria Manetti Shrem Educational Centre is a space for forging new relationships between individuals and their families, as well as creating an interdisciplinary field of work and dialogue bringing together artists, museum educators, health and social workers and experts from different disciplines.
The art of living is the art of giving. I am truly pleased to support the arts and culture and, in particular, to make access to them possible for people in vulnerable circumstances. Art can help people, connecting them through a holistic vision.
Maria Manetti Shrem
Tours, workshops, special visit tools: Palazzo Strozzi organises activities for schools, families, young people and adults in its Maria Manetti Shrem Educational Centre, paying particular attention to accessibility with specific workshops dedicated to people with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, autism, intellectual impairment, or living with a condition of fragility with such schemes as With Many Voices, Free Flowing, Connections, and Nuances. The starting point for each programme is the interaction with the artworks and the artists’ poetics, prompting stimuli for a conversation or a group activity. Each project is devised to promote the individual and collective well-being with the goal to let each visitor find his or her own way of interacting with art at Palazzo Strozzi.
Cultural ambassador between the United States and Europe and a major international philanthropist, Maria Manetti Shrem was born in Florence and relocated to San Francisco, California, in 1972, where she played a pivotal role in the international expansion of iconic Italian fashion brands.
Co-founded with her late husband Jan Shrem, the Manetti Shrem Foundation supports more than 55 charitable programmes across the United States, Italy, France, Mexico, Africa, and the United Kingdom, contributing to the work of over 35 organisations in the fields of education, opera and symphonic music, the visual arts, healthcare, and medical research, making a lasting social impact worldwide.
Among her many honours, in 2019 the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, awarded her the title of Grand Officer of the Order of the Star of Italy. In 2022, the Mayor of Florence presented her with the Keys to the City in recognition of her exemplary patronage, in the spirit of the Medici legacy. The City and County of San Francisco also proclaimed 22 June as Manetti Shrem Day for Philanthropy.
In spring 2024, Maria made history by donating to the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis the largest gift ever made to ensure the long-term support and advancement of the arts and humanities. The gift established eight special funds and contributed to the creation of a Renaissance-inspired cultural vision through the development of a dedicated Arts District, inaugurated in January 2025. Part of this district is the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, a major contemporary art museum whose architectural design has been recognised as one of the most distinguished new museum buildings of recent decades.
