WOMEN AND INNOVATION – THE PROTAGONISTS OF TALENT PRIZE 2021
Contemporary Art Prize exhibition at the Museo delle Mura open until November 28th
visitabile gratuitamente fino al 28 novembre

The 14th edition of the Talent Prize exhibition – the international visual arts contest dedicated to young artists, founded by Guido Talarico and created by Inside Art, thanks to the support of the Fondazione Cultura e Arte (an instrumental institution of the Fondazione Terzo Pilastro – Internazionale) – was inaugurated on November 13th, 2021 in Rome. Distinctive features of the 2021 edition, which was promoted by Roma Culture, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage of the City of Rome, include the innovative research behind several works on display and a strong female representation among the selected artists.

At 26 years of age, Lucia Cantò from Abruzzo won first prize, becoming the youngest female artist to have ever won the Talent Prize. Her work, Atti certi per corpi fragile (Certain Acts for Fragile Bodies), is an installation made up of three sculptural groups, each of which is the result of the fusion of two vases, obtained thanks to the collaboration of people dear to the artist herself. Each part, with its colors and shapes, is a portrait in itself and the result of a collective endeavor, where clay becomes the glue that not only holds together the objects presented but also the people involved. Lucia Cantò won the 5,000 Euros-prize, as well as the opportunity to showcase her piece on the cover of Inside Art magazine, presented at the exhibition.

“We are happy to award the prize to a talented young artist and woman,” Guido Talarico, editor of Inside Art and founder of the talent prize, stated. “With the hope that this message is a good omen for also overcoming the gender gap in the world of culture. The talent prize has been confirmed as a quality certifier this year as well, and also a valid tool for interpreting the present, with both its phenomena and its disturbances. Artists are a resource to be protected, and must be protected, especially younger ones. We are proud of the talent prize for continuing with this mission.”
Second place went to Irene Coppola who, with her Schegge (Slivers) installation, also won the Emmanuele F.M. Emanuele Special Prize. The work is a silicone rubber cast created by the artist directly on the lesions of the mutilated palms (with trunks that do not regenerate naturally) of Villa Giulia and the botanical garden of Palermo. Third place went to one of the two international artists in the competition, Azzedine Saleck, with the sculpture entitiled Long Distance.

This year, like every year, Special Prizes were also awarded by the main sponsors and partners of the contest, Prof. Emmanuele F.M. Emanuele and the Fondazione Cultura e Arte. Three artists were selected and awarded the following: 

• “Fondazione Cultura e Arte - Emerging Section”: awarded to Max Mondini; 
• “Fondazione Cultura e Arte - International Section”: awarded to Shenghao Mi;
• “Emmanuele F.M. Emanuele”: awarded to Irene Coppola;

“UTOPIA” (named after the leading consulting company in Italy known for the integrated activity of public, media and legal affairs, corporate communications and digital strategies): awarded to Silvia Bigi;

“Inside Art”: awarded to Gianni Politi;

“Fondamenta Gallery”: awarded to Edoardo Manzoni.

Prof. Emmanuele F. M. Emanuele, President of the Fondazione Terzo Pilastro - Internazionale commented: “I am very pleased to be involved with the Ttalent prize again this year, after the previous edition, which was necessarily not publically presented due to the pandemic. The important annual contest organized by Inside Art is at its fourteenth edition in a new, very charming location. It was created with the intent of nurturing, promoting, and supporting young artists, under 40 years of age, involved in the diversified world of visual arts, which includes painting, photography, sculpture, installation, and video. Through the Fondazione Terzo Pilastro -  Internazionale and, more recently, also through the Fondazione Cultura e Arte, I have always supported this praiseworthy event within which, in each edition, I have wanted to award artists –  different from the winner selected by the usual jury – who have distinguished themselves for their talent and originality – with the ‘Fondazione Terzo Pilastro -  Internazionale Special Prize’. Since 2019 – thanks to Guido Talarico, creator of the event – it was entitled with my name and, therefore, called the ‘Emanuele Prize’. Starting last year, in order to offer further support and demonstrate a strong appreciation to young artists – so severely penalized by the health emergency and consequent harsh restrictions – in agreement with the organizers, I wanted to establish two additional special awards: the ‘Emerging Award’, dedicated to a newcomer who, albeit lacking a gallery of reference and having not yet had the opportunity to exhibit in significant venues, has proven to possess a unique sensitivity and talent, and also the ‘International Award’, designed to give space to foreign artists who are not yet very well known in our country, according to that principle of happy contamination between cultures that are very dear to me. I really hope the talent prize – that, with its fourteen editions, has been an essential event for all those who want to come into contact with the most interesting trends in contemporary aArt – can continue to allow young artists to express themselves and have their creative genius acknowledged by the general public in the future.”

THE EXHIBITION

Venue Museo delle Mura

Address                                  Via di Porta San Sebastiano, 18 - 00179 Rome

Dates                                      November 14th to 28th, 2021

Opening hours   Tuesday to Sunday - 9 am to - 2 pm (the ticket counter closes a half hour before)

Closing day                  Monday

Tickets                             Free admission

Promoted by                           Roma Culture, Superintendence of Cultural Heritage of the City of Rome

Museal service Zètema Progetto Cultura

Info                                         060608 (tutti i giorni ore 9.00 – 19.00); www.museiincomuneroma.it;
www.museodellemura.it

In compliance with the provisions of Law Decree n.105 dated July 23rd 2021, entry to the Museum will be allowed only to holders of a Green Pass.
Masks required. Gatherings prohibited.

_{Photo credits Eleonora Cerri Pecorella}