Chiara Vellini Wins Premio Arte Contemporary Art Venice 2026

Chiara Vellini, a 27-year-old Italian artist, has won the Premio Arte Contemporary Art Venice 2026, awarded during the first edition of the event at the Scuola Grande di San Teodoro by master Ercole Pignatelli. Her practice spans painting, installation, sculpture, video, and sound, centered on the series 'Le Stanze dell'abitare' (The Rooms of Dwelling), which transforms autobiographical experiences into universal narratives about memory, identity, and rebirth. Vellini began drawing at age three and studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, where she is completing her final exams after a maternity break. Her video work is held in the archives of the Museo Fellini. For the Venice prize, she presented a small painting (40x30 cm) from the 'Stanze dell'abitare' cycle, inspired by the labyrinthine corridors of the basement where she once lived and worked. Vellini describes art as a salvific practice, stating 'L'arte mi salva' (Art saves me), and emphasizes the cathartic necessity of painting daily. The award recognizes her coherent research that treats art as a tool for knowledge and salvation.