Acta International, a nonprofit cultural association founded and directed by Giovanna Pennacchi, inaugurated its activities in the gallery at Via Panisperna No. 83, Rome, in June 1993 with the solo exhibition “Roma” by Mario Clementi, curated by photography historian Diego Mormorio, co-founder and artistic co-director from 1993 to 2006.
A point of reference for international photographers, Acta International organized more than 140 photographic exhibitions between 1993 and 2023, promoting photographic culture through workshops and exhibition projects in New York at the Fashion Institute of Technology, the Italian Cultural Institute, the Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò and other institutional venues, including the Italian Cultural Institute in Chicago and the Italian Cultural Institute in Munich.
With the same enthusiasm, a significant platform of visibility was offered both to the best-known names in photographic art and to new generations of Italian and foreign artists: from Pakistan to Oman, from South Korea to Australia, from the United States to Croatia, from France to the Czech Republic.
The gallery ceased its exhibition activity in 2023, the year in which its 30th anniversary was celebrated with the organization of the group show “Present Perfect | Passato prossimo. From the archives of Acta International”.
Currently Manuela De Leonardis, head of the Acta International archive, is working on the reorganization of the archive itself, its preservation and enhancement through publications, exhibitions and cultural events in Italy and abroad that allow the knowledge of the history of the Acta International Association in its significant role as a nonprofit space dedicated to the languages of contemporary photography, among the first in the Roman art scene.