Milan, 26 January 2011 - Ariane de Rothschild, President of the foundation by the same name, announced today in Milan the 2011 Ariane de Rothschild Prize. This initiative, which is being organized for the fifth time, showcases budding young Italian artists and rewards their talent.
Announcing the launch of the Prize, sponsored by the Ariane de Rothschild Foundation in collaboration with the Cultural Affairs Office of the City of Milan, Ariane de Rothschild recalled that for over 250 years her family has been committed to philanthropy and social action, and devoted to promoting cultural education for young people in particular.
As a city traditionally associated with modernity, Milan has in recent years shown a strong interest in contemporary artistic expression, promoting a number of initiatives and facilitating the development of public and private forums dedicated to such expression. As an international capital of the arts, fashion, design and economic life, Milan is well chosen for the exhibition organized in connection with the Prize, scheduled to open on 5 April 2011 in Palazzo Reale.
Massimo Finnazzer Flory, Commissioner for Cultural Affairs of the City of Milan, stated that Milan positions itself on the international scene by hosting the Ariane de Rothschild Prize. He added that its international side is a fundamental part of the city’s identity, which, like contemporary art, perceives and represents a new, different world, with more ideas and less ideology. Young people, he said, will save our dreams, and the future museum of contemporary art will be their home.
Under the guiding hands of curators Laura Barreca and Marcello Smarrelli, the Italian edition of the Ariane de Rothschild Prize will present 18 young Italian artists who have been selected based on the quality of their artistic expression and their innovative approach.
The nominations committee is composed of six critics: Cecilia Canziani, Anna Daneri, Vincenzo de Bellis, Milovan Farronato, Francesco Manacorda and Paola Nicita. The committee will be asked to identify artists for whom participation in this event represents an important opportunity for learning, development and self-realization in the contemporary art world. The artists, between the ages of 22 and 35, will be selected based on criteria taking into account their creative potential, originality and degree of artistic maturity.
The works chosen by the curators of the Prize will be shown during the exhibition to be held in the historical apartments of the Palazzo Reale.
Baroness Ariane de Rothschild is President of the international jury, which is composed of Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, President of the foundation by the same name and Vice-President of the jury; Richard Armstrong, Director of the Salomon Guggenheim Museum, New York; Adam Budak, Curator of the Universalmuseum Joanneum, in Graz, Austria; Henri-Claude Cousseau, Director of L’Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris; Mark Lewis, Canadian artist; and Italian artist Francesco Vezzoli.
The jury will select the prizewinning artist, who will receive a scholarship to study as artist in residence at London’s Central Saint Martins School.
The presidents of six Italian foundations that are well known for their strong commitment to the promotion of contemporary art have accepted to be “ambassadors” of the Prize. They will assist the Foundation and curators to convey the Prize’s values and objectives by giving their personal support to the cultural and professional development of the young Italian artists. These foundation presidents are: Angela Vettese, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa (Venice); Annie Ratti, Fondazione Antonio Ratti (Como); Gianluca Spinola, Fondazione Spinola Banna (Turin); Flavio Misciattelli, Fondazione Pastificio Cerere (Rome); Maurizio Morra Greco, Fondazione Morra Greco (Naples); and Marco Giammona, Fondazione Sambuca (Palermo).
“With the Prize for contemporary art,” said Ariane de Rothschild, “I would like to offer young Italian artists an opportunity to assert themselves and give visibility to the most innovative expressions in Italian contemporary art, while continuing to highlight artistic education as the Foundation’s priority commitment internationally.”
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