The Michetti Prize awarded to the artists Eva and Franco Mattes

The jury – chaired by Cristiana Perrella, critic, curator and director of the Macro museum, and composed of Andrea Viliani, curator and coordinator of the Digital Heritage Gateway Platform (Dhgp) for the Ministry of Culture and the General Directorate of Museums, Carla Subrizi, professor at La Sapienza University of Rome and president of the Baruchello Foundation; Franco Pomilio, president of Pomilio Blumm and Pier Luigi Sacco, president of the Michetti Foundation – motivated the choice as follows: “For the anticipatory research that intertwines media art, performance, installation and network practices; for the critical rigor with which they investigate the transformations of identity, image, surveillance and dynamics of power in the digital cosmovision; and for the ability to combine irony, conceptual depth, formal innovation and emotional dimension in addressing some of the central issues of contemporaneity, expanding the boundaries of artistic practices”. The jury also gave a special mention to Danilo Correale for “Equivalent Units” (2017), recognizing his creative sensitivity and interdisciplinary rigor in the analysis of the transformations of work, contemporary economies and social structures. Through videos, installations and participatory practices, Correale develops research capable of translating experiences deeply rooted in reality into a critical reflection on the present.

The awards ceremony inaugurated “Cosmovisions”, the exhibition of the 77th edition of the Michetti Prize, open to the public until 13 September 2026 at the Michetti Museum in Francavilla al Mare (Chieti). Curated by Nicolas Bourriaud and Massimiliano Scuderi, the exhibition brings together twenty Italian and international artists with forty-eight works including installations, videos and multimedia works that reflect on the profound transformations introduced by artificial intelligence, robotics and digital technologies, questioning the relationship between innovation, the human ecosystem and the natural environment.

Founded in 1947, the Michetti Prize is one of the most authoritative awards dedicated to contemporary art in Italy and the second longest-running after the Venice Biennale. For almost eighty years it has accompanied the evolution of national and international artistic research, confirming itself as a place of comparison between languages, visions and generations. With this edition, the Michetti Prize confirms its vocation as a privileged observatory on contemporary research, bringing artistic practices into dialogue with the great changes of the present. An approach that renews the pioneering spirit of Francesco Paolo Michetti, among the first Italian artists to understand the potential of the dialogue between art and technological innovation, represented then by photography and today by digital technologies and artificial intelligence.

For this edition “Cosmovisions” proposes a journey divided into two sections entrusted to the curators Nicolas Bourriaud and Massimiliano Scuderi. The artists selected by Nicolas Bourriaud are: Jacopo Belloni, Benni Bosetto, Danilo Correale, Binta Diaw, Irene Fenara, Diego Gualandris, Viola Leddi, Romana Londi, Lorenza Longhi and Agnes Questionmark. The artists selected by Massimiliano Scuderi are: S()fia Braga, Carola Bonfili, Alex Chalmers, Silvia Dal Dosso, Federica Di Pietrantonio, Eva Gold, Massimo Grimaldi, Lorem, Eva & Franco Mattes and Matteo Nasini. Through languages ​​ranging from installation to video, from sculpture to digital media, “Cosmovisions” proposes a reflection on new forms of coexistence between human beings, technologies and the environment, restoring a plurality of perspectives on the present and possible future scenarios.

Nicolas Bourriaud, curator of the exhibition, explains: “My section of Cosmovisions brings together male and female artists who focus on a living universe, contrasting their (too) human fragility and a relational way of thinking with the pure rationality of the digital world.” Adds Massimiliano Scuderi, curator of the exhibition: “A generation of artists raised in the digital world finds its new interlocutor in artificial intelligence, creating hybrid worlds in which identity and the fragility of contemporary living are the center of their research”.

Luisa Russo, mayor of Francavilla al Mare, declares: “The Michetti Prize is one of the most prestigious symbols of our city and a source of great pride for the entire community. Being the second longest-running art prize in Italy, after the Venice Biennale, testifies to the value of a history that continues to look to the future. Investing in culture means investing in the development of the territory: it means attracting visitors, enhancing our excellence and generating economic opportunities. The Michetti Museum and the Prize represent a heritage which we will continue to support with conviction.” Adds Cristina Rapino, councilor for culture of Francavilla al Mare: “The 77th edition of the Michetti Prize renews a tradition that makes Francavilla al Mare a point of reference for contemporary art. The Michetti Museum is the ideal place to host an event that for decades has brought history, research and creativity into dialogue. It is an event that enhances our cultural identity and confirms the city’s role in the national artistic panorama”. Finally Stefania Antonucci, General Secretary of the Michetti Foundation: “The Michetti Foundation is proud to inaugurate this 77th edition, aware of the historical value of an Award which, for almost eighty years, has represented a point of reference in the Italian artistic panorama. Renewing this tradition means preserving its memory, but above all making it alive, capable of speaking to all generations and questioning the present through the language of art”.