The Olympics in Bolzano 

The upcoming Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina will involve the Province of Bolzano Bozen with the biathlon competitions in Antholz, but the city itself will also host several events to honor this important global event.

On January 27th, the center of Bolzano will be graced by the passage of the Olympic torch on its way to the Puster Valley and the Biathlon Stadium in Antholz, which has been renamed the Olympic Arena Südtirol. From February 8th to 22nd, 11 Olympic biathlon events will take place, and from March 6th to 15th, the Paralympic competitions will be held. But in Bolzano, the Olympics also find other fascinating forms of expression.

The city's modern art museum, Museion, embraces the Olympic spirit by presenting the exhibition What We Carry until March 29th, a project that combines contemporary art and sport while exploring historical memory and social values. This exhibition is part of the Milano Cortina Cultural Olympiad 2026, an initiative that brings Olympic values beyond sport, fostering dialogue between art, culture, and athletic activities.

The exhibition features a large, site-specific installation by Sonia Leimer and Christian Kosmas Mayer, with curatorial support from Bart van der Heide. Among the key pieces is a collection of Olympic torches (1948–2024), accompanied by audio guides, in collaboration with Olympic Aid and the Sport Promotion Project. The installation transforms the second floor of the museum into a reflective space between the past, present, and future, art, and community.

The Museion is also hosting a retrospective of the celebrated French artist Nicola L. (Morocco, 1932 – USA, 2018) until March 1st, known for her multidisciplinary art that carries a subversive spirit, expressed in a surprising variety of media: from sculpture to performance, painting to drawing, and collage to film. Nicola L. – I Am The Last Woman Object is the artist's first museum exhibition in Italy and the largest ever presented to date.

Her practice – often associated with Pop Art, Nouveau Réalisme, feminism, and design – weaves together political activism, cosmology, spirituality, sexuality, and environmentalism, manifesting in anthropomorphic sculptures such as lamps shaped like eyes and lips, “chaise longues” in soft, flexible forms representing giant human figures, iconic works that are her playful response to traditional interpretations of domestic space, particularly regarding the role of women within it.

Image: Sonia Leimer, 8, 2025. Wood, digital print on carpet (needle felt), stainless steel, plexiglass. 42 Olympic torches (Courtesy Olympic Aid and Sport Promotion Project Association)m Courtesy of the artist and Galerie nächst St. Stephan Rosemarie Schwarzwälder. Installation view, What We Carry, Museion, 13.11.2025–29.03.2026. Photo: Lineematiche - Luca Guadagnini