Cantica21: Italian ministries launch call for young artists
The Italian Ministries of Culture (MiBACT) and Foreign Affairs (MAECI) have jointly launched Cantica21. Italian Contemporary Art Everywhere, a project that positions art as a key tool for interpreting contemporaneity and offering a new narrative of Italy abroad. The initiative, presented by Minister Roberto Vellano and Margherita Guccione of the DGCC, aims to support Italian artists through commissions and international exhibitions. A call for proposals is open to Italian artists or collectives residing in Italy, with a maximum of 45 projects selected across three sections: under 35 (20 proposals), over 35 (20 proposals), and a special section dedicated to Dante Alighieri for the seventh centenary of his death (5 proposals). Budgets range from €10,000 for under-35s to €40,000 for Dante-themed projects. Selected works will be exhibited in a diffuse show across Italian Cultural Institutes, Embassies, and Consulates worldwide, and will later enter public contemporary art collections, including the Farnesina Collection. The deadline for applications is October 19, 2020, with selected artists announced in November and works delivered by the second half of 2021. The visual identity of the project was created by Milanese studio Leftloft.
Key facts
- Cantica21 is a joint initiative by MiBACT and MAECI.
- The project aims to promote Italian contemporary art abroad.
- A maximum of 45 proposals will be selected in three sections.
- Under-35 artists receive €10,000 total; over-35 receive €20,000; Dante section receives €40,000.
- Selected works will be exhibited in Italian Cultural Institutes, Embassies, and Consulates worldwide.
- Works will enter public contemporary art collections, including the Farnesina Collection.
- Application deadline: October 19, 2020, at 12:00.
- The visual identity was designed by Leftloft studio in Milan.
Entities
Artists
- Camilla Alberti
- Camilla (Oli) Bonzanigo
- Letizia Calori
- Emanuele Camerini
- Irene Coppola
- Giuseppina Giordano
- Nicola Guastamacchia
- Agostino Iacurci
- Andrea Martinucci
- Diego Miguel Mirabella
- Rebecca Moccia
- Leonardo Petrucci
- Paolo Puddu
- Giovanna Repetto
- Eleonora Roaro
- Giulio Saverio Rossi
- Giacomo Segantin
- Davide Sgambaro
- Jacopo Valentini
- Martina Zanin
- Nico Angiuli
- Salvatore Arancio
- Simone Berti
- Francesco Bertocco
- Luca Libero Frediano Bertolo
- Pamela Breda
- Chiara Camoni
- Cristian Chironi
- Iginio De Luca
- Sara Enrico
- Invernomuto
- Domenico Antonio Mancini
- Elena Mazzi
- Jacopo Miliani
- Antonino Milotta
- Valerio Rocco Orlando
- Massimo Ricciardo
- Giovanna Silva
- Luca Trevisani
- ZimmerFrei
- Silvia Camporesi
- Leone Contini Bonacossi
- Valentina Furian
- Marta Roberti
- Marinella Senatore
- Francesco Stocchi
- Anna Mattirolo
- Ilaria Bonacossa
- Lucrezia Calabrò Visconti
- Roberto Rea
- Marina Sereni
- Giuseppe Pastorelli
- Leone Contini
- Dante Alighieri
Institutions
- MiBACT
- Direzione Generale Creatività Contemporanea
- MAECI
- Leftloft
- Collezione Farnesina
- Artribune
- Farnesina
- Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
- Scuderie del Quirinale
- Artissima
- University of Rome Tor Vergata
- Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale
- Direzione Generale per la Promozione del Sistema Paese
- Ministero della Cultura
- Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Shanghai
- Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Londra
- Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Abu Dhabi
- Istituto Italiano di Cultura di New York
- Ambasciata d'Italia a Beirut
- Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Belgrado
- Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Toronto
- Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Budapest
- Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Santiago
- Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Montreal
- Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Tunisi
- Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Bruxelles
- Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Los Angeles
- Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Tirana
Locations
- Italy
- Milan
- Rotterdam
- Netherlands
- Rome
- Turin
- Shanghai
- China
- London
- United Kingdom
- Abu Dhabi
- United Arab Emirates
- New York
- United States
- Beirut
- Lebanon
- Belgrade
- Serbia
- Toronto
- Canada
- Budapest
- Hungary
- Santiago
- Chile
- Montreal
- Tunis
- Tunisia
- Brussels
- Belgium
- Los Angeles
- Tirana
- Albania