Italian Council 2018: 10 winning projects announced

The fourth edition of Italian Council, an international call supporting contemporary Italian art, has selected 10 winning projects. Promoted by the Direzione Generale Arte e Architettura contemporanee e Periferie Urbane (DGAAP), the initiative provides over €1 million in funding. The winning artists are Elena Bellantoni, Francesco Bertelè, Rä Di Martino, Sara Enrico, Sonia Leimer, Maurizio Nannucci, Cesare Pietroiusti, Marinella Senatore, Mario Rizzi, and Luca Vitone. Projects range from video and sculpture to installations and performance, often engaging with social and cultural themes. The DGAAP allocated €3 million for the 2017-2018 biennium, supporting 34 projects out of about 180 applications from over 50 countries. Minister Alberto Bonisoli confirmed the program will continue in 2019. Notable projects include Bellantoni's exploration of bread as metaphor across Mediterranean cultures, Bertelé's immersive mapping of Lampedusa's cliffs, and Pietroiusti's retrospective exhibition at MAMbo. The works will enter public collections such as the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica in Rome and the Madre museum in Naples.