Steve McCurry – Children is the first thematic exhibition dedicated to the childhood of the most beloved photographer of all time.

The theme of children has always been dear to McCurry and is central to his humanist photography, just think of the famous little Afghan girl portrayed in a refugee camp in 1984, which became an emblem of the conditions suffered in war territories even before the United Nations drew up the Charter of Children's Rights, entered into force in 1990.

The children immortalized by McCurry's lens are different in ethnicity, clothes and traditions but express the same feelings with their inexhaustible energy, joy and ability to play even in the most anomalous and difficult contexts, often determined by social, environmental or conflict conditions .

According to reports from international organizations, such as Save The Children, approximately 1 in 6 children is still forced to live in war zones, witnessing traumatic and scarring events. In this scenario of global relevance, McCurry firmly believes that education can be the main tool for children for building a better future of freedom and self-determination.

From Afghanistan to India, from Mexico to Lebanon to Italy: the exhibition presents one hundred photographs and describes the condition of childhood, made up of different expressiveness and lifestyles, but also of universal situations. Refugee or worker children; children oblivious to the danger who play climbing on a cannon or have fun in the mud, who chase a ball during a monsoon downpour, or play a guitar made from waste materials. Children growing up in big cities as well as in rural villages.

Stories of joy and togetherness, of loneliness, of resilience and solidarity, of family and friendship, told with respect and empathy.

Steve McCurry, who during his long career has often turned his gaze to young people from all over the world, has recently become a father and the irruption of little Lucia into his life offers him new ideas for investigation and affectionate observation, dedicated to this changing and fascinating universe.

McCurry – Children aims to be a journey into childhood to meet little human beings who face very different conditions, but who speak a language in which everyone can recognize themselves. A journey also in the memory of one's childhood, and food for thought about the responsibility we have towards the new generations, in the awareness that the dream of a fairer future depends on the actions of our present.