SAMRO: The First Sticker Art Museum in Italy Opens at MAAM
The Sticker Art Museum Rome (SAMRO), established by Mirko Vignozzi and Pino Volpino, commenced operations in July 2022 within an abandoned telephone booth close to MACRO, Rome. Following an incident of vandalism, the museum moved to MAAM, which officially opened on March 25, 2023, with Pino Boresta serving as honorary president. SAMRO stands as Italy's inaugural sticker art museum and the second of its kind in Europe, showcasing works from over 200 artists across four continents. The museum highlights distinctive sticker art methods, asserting that stickers transform into art upon application. The article also explores the history of sticker art in Italy, connecting it to 1970s mail art and 1990s street initiatives, while reflecting on Boresta's views on freedom of expression.
Key facts
- SAMRO (Sticker Art Museum Rome) was founded in July 2022 by Mirko Vignozzi (Stelleconfuse) and Pino Volpino.
- The first SAMRO was located in a disused telephone booth near MACRO in Rome.
- The booth was vandalized after two months, ending the pilot project.
- SAMRO reopened at MAAM (Museo dell'Altro e dell'Altrove) on March 25, 2023.
- Pino Boresta was appointed honorary president of SAMRO.
- SAMRO features over 200 artists from four continents (300 including collaborative stickers).
- It is the first sticker art museum in Italy and the second in Europe after Hatch Sticker Museum in Berlin.
- Sticker art in Italy began in the 1970s with mail artists G.A.C. (Guglielmo Achille Cavellini) and Piermario Ciani (Stickerman).
- In the 1990s, Pino Boresta's project C.U.S. (Cerca e Usa la Smorfia) used photocopied stickers with smirking faces.
- In the US, sticker art emerged from skateboard culture (Santa Cruz, Jim Phillips' 'Screaming Hand', 1985) and graffiti writing using US Postal Label 228.
- Shepard Fairey started his 'Obey' sticker campaign in 1989, featuring wrestler André the Giant.
- From the 2000s, social media (Myspace, Flickr) enabled global sticker exchanges and combo works.
- Omino71's 'Stick My World' project (2006) organized early sticker events in Rome.
- Pino Boresta created 'Stick On Haring!' in 2010 to honor Keith Haring, later renamed 'Melting Pot Melting Pop'.
- SAMRO's founders consider stickers as unique art only when applied, not when collected.
Entities
Artists
- Mirko Vignozzi
- Stelleconfuse
- Pino Volpino
- Pino Boresta
- G.A.C.
- Guglielmo Achille Cavellini
- Piermario Ciani
- Stickerman
- Omino71
- Shepard Fairey
- André the Giant
- Jim Phillips
- Keith Haring
Institutions
- SAMRO
- Sticker Art Museum Rome
- MACRO
- MAAM
- Museo dell'Altro e dell'Altrove
- Hatch Sticker Museum
- Santa Cruz
- US Postal
- Circolo degli Artisti
- Artribune
Locations
- Rome
- Italy
- Brescia
- Venezia
- Palazzo Ducale
- Venice
- Berlin
- Germany
- United States
- Firenze
- Florence
- Segni