Gallery Directors 02 – Meetings

Defending art? No, forcing it to attack.

Members of the art world meet.

"Defending art? No, forcing it to attack": a witty and appropriate aphorism coined by Stanislaw J. Lec was chosen by the Terna Prize 02 as a title for the series of meetings that will take place in October in Rome, Verona, Naples, Milan and Turin.

The series of meetings was created from the need that emerged from the research commissioned by the TP02 to the ISPO and S3.Studium (Renato Mannheimer and Domenico De Masi) to analyze the dynamics, the career paths and economic-cultural development strategy that generates within developed contexts throughout the world. But this is not all. Research demonstrated the significant gap existing within the entire Italian cultural system and for this reason the TP02 has involved high profile figures to attempt drawing useful conclusions from the analysis, but more importantly, to propose incisive solutions based on real and accredited expertise and experiences.

The aphorism underlines an appropriate paradox: in “defending at”, in fact, one tends to create limitations, something that represents the most contradictory type of action in this field. The paradox lies in the fact that the only way for truly defending art is “exposing” it to all the possible “risks”, activating its innate device, capable of crossing borders, understanding our times, foresee the future, please and displease, flatter and offend, spark thoughts and distract. The considerations underlie the structure of the encounters that represent an opportunity for emerging artists to try and build their “career” by relying on the advice of experts. For operators in the sector, this is an opportunity for exchange on the value of art as a form of enrichment for the territory, on possible synergy between the public and private sectors.

The themes dealt with also included the role of the Galleries that by establishing a Committee of Galleries, have also been included in the traditional bodies of the Terna Prize.

The Committee was created with the collaboration of the National Association of Modern and Contemporary Art Galleries (ANGAMC) and is formed by five research galleries of high cultural and structural standing chosen according to quality and international aspects and divided by areas within the national territory. The responsibility for coordinating the Committee and the encounters has been assigned to Francesco Cascino, who curated the first edition of the Prize together with Gianluca Marziani.

Alongside the traditional bodies of the Prize (the Technical Jury and the Curator’s Committee formed by Gianluca Marziani and Cristiana Collu) the Committee of Galleries will select two winners among the participants in the Gigawatt and Megawatt categories (emerging artists under and over 35 ), for developing future initiatives aimed at a process that favors visibility and professional growth.

The Gallery Committee is formed by :

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  • Oredaria Arti Contemporanee, Marina Covi Celli (Rome)
  • Studio Trisorio, Laura Trisorio (Naples)
  • Galleria Alberto Peola, Alberto Peola (Turin)
  • Galleria Curti & Gambuzzi, Paolo Curti and AnnaMaria Gambuzzi (Milan)
  • Studio La Città di Hélèn de Franchis (Verona)

The Committee’s role is not only functional to the Prize, but also hopes to contribute to the debate on the status of contemporary art in Italy.