The Italian Council project – the first international call to support contemporary Italian creativity promoted by Directorate General for Contemporary Art and Architecture and Urban Peripheries (DGAAP) – has its ten winners which were announced by the Minister for Cultural Heritage and Activities Alberto Bonisoli.
To receive the funding, which amounts to a total of over 1 million euros, are the projects of the artists: Elena Bellantoni; Francesco Bertelè; Ra Di Martino; Sarah Henry; Sonia Leimer; Maurizio Nannucci; Cesare Pietroiusti; Marinella Senator; Mario Rizzi; Luke Vitone.
The winning projects were presented by: Wunderbar Cultural Association (Rome); Rivoli Castle (Turin); Pilotta monumental complex (Parma); Foundation for Contemporary Arts in Tuscany – Pecci Center (Prato); Made in Cloister Foundation (Naples); Volume Foundation! (Rome); ISCP – International Studio & Curatorial Program (New York); Bologna Museums Institution (MAMbo); MART – Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto. The fulcrum of the projects presented is the activity of artists from all over the country and which involve the creation of works which, conceived in relation to the host places or inspired by reflections on the social and cultural changes of the time, range from photography to sculpture to installations and video art.
“With this programme, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities has guaranteed concrete support to Italian talents and, in view of the success achieved, we intend to go ahead, returning in 2019 with a new edition of the competition” said Bonisoli.
“We are very satisfied with the results obtained with the Italian Council. In the various editions, the project has seen the involvement of prestigious institutions from all over the world and has supported the creation of works of art of the highest quality,” said Federica Galloni, director of DGAAP.
The funds made available by the DGAAP in the two-year period 2017-2018 amount to a total of 3 million euros. There are a total of 34 projects eligible for funding, selected from approximately 180 applications received from all over the world, with a total involvement of more than 50 countries.
