Michelangelo Pistoletto Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize 2025

Michelangelo Pistoletto, the 91-year-old Italian artist from Biella, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2025. The nomination was proposed by the Gorbachev Foundation and accepted by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo, recognizing Pistoletto's lifelong commitment to peace, social justice, and collective responsibility through art. It will be officially announced on February 21 during an event at Galleria Alberoni in Piacenza, titled "Dal buio alla luce. Arte e musica per la vita," marking the fifth anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pistoletto's candidacy stems from his decades-long practice of using art as a tool for social transformation, exemplified by his concept of the Third Paradise—a symbol representing the harmonious synthesis of opposing elements. He views the nomination not merely as an artistic honor but as a recognition of his activism, stating, "This candidacy is an assumption of responsibility given to me... The ideal without practice is useless." His work through Fondazione Cittadellarte promotes preventive peace, a theme explored in his 2023 solo exhibition at the Sala delle Cariatidi of Palazzo Reale in Milan. The Nobel Peace Prize is traditionally awarded on December 10 in Oslo, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death.