The exhibition INFERNO - DANTE'S JOURNEY BY THE HANDS OF ANTÓNIO CARNEIRO has arrived at the Lionesa Business Hub and will be on display in the central corridor until March 30, 2024.
INFERNO - DANTE'S JOURNEY BY THE HANDS OF ANTÓNIO CARNEIRO is the result of a partnership between Lionesa Business Hub, Lionesa Group, Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis (MNSR), and ASCIPDA - Associazione Socio-Culturale Italiana del Portogallo Dante Alighieri.
The exhibition is based on 42 drawings by the painter António Carneiro, taking viewers on a journey that begins with the entrance to Inferno and culminates with the exit to Paradise, highlighting our journey towards the ultimate destination. The installation consists of 9 circles, each representing different stories and concepts in an eternal cycle of experiences and rebirth. It serves as a metaphor for human life, with a beginning, complexity, and a point of arrival that is also a new beginning.
But what is the reason for bringing an art exhibition to the heart of a business hub?
The influence of artistic expression and cultural richness in the workplace is a narrative that deserves more attention in corporate communal areas, including offices, meeting rooms, and common areas. Studies show that the presence of artworks can have a significant positive impact on employees' mental health, well-being, creativity, and productivity. According to a study by Business for the Arts (2016), 78% of employees believe that the presence of art in the workplace contributes to stress reduction. Additionally, the Harvard Business Review pointed out that employees working in environments enriched with artistic elements or biophilic design elements were 17% more productive (Knight & Haslam, 2010). For this reason, Lionesa Business Hub has embraced the challenge of turning its campus into an open-air gallery, promoting various cultural initiatives to enrich the lives of its community, driven by its belief in the transformative power of art. This belief is so ingrained in our DNA that we have dedicated one of the five processes of the Lionesa Happiness Pyramid exclusively to Art and Culture.
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This exhibition, more than exploring a journey to the world of the dead where men confront their true nature and pay for their sins, primarily represents a milestone of transition. Dante opened the door to humanism by focusing on man as the centre of the universe, thus valuing his thoughts, emotions, attitudes, and the use of reason to seek explanations about the world. And if at the entrance to this Inferno there is a warning: "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here," the warning at Lionesa BH is different—it is an invitation to enter without fear, to visit this exhibition and embark on this journey, to be inspired by António Carneiro's evocative drawings of Dante's psychological landscapes, and to reflect on their personal and professional journeys, to be moved and to find answers, because access to art and culture has that effect, improving our well-being, creativity, and unleashing our imagination. These cultural experiences in the workplace do more than entertain; they invite a deeper self-exploration often overlooked in the hustle and bustle of professional life; they break down hierarchical barriers, democratizing the space and allowing for a shared experience. Art becomes a neutral ground that transcends the usual divisions of function, position, or responsibility.
This exhibition can be visited freely and at no cost every day of the week.