At ARTVERONA many working in the sector, artists, gallery directors and visitors participated in the second meeting with the Galleries organized by the Terna Prize 02. Guests of Hèléne de Franchis, of Studio la Città di Verona, they discussed on "Values, rules and secrets of a unique market".
Erminia Perbellini, Councillor for Culture of the City of Verona, Massimo Di Carlo, President of the National Association of Contemporary Modern Art Galleries, Mauro Corinaldi, collector, Andrea Chiesi, artist winner of the Terna Prize 01 for the Megawatt category, Giovanni Buttitta, Director of Communication at Terna and Hélène de Franchis, following one and a half hours of lively debate all reached the same conclusion: every cultural operator, from the artist to the gallery director, from the collector to the Museum, to the private company, must play a role in reaching a single objective: promoting contemporary culture in Italy. The market is a new and important element for establishing an artist’s success and his value. Francesco Cascino, art consultant and curator for the series of meetings, was the moderator of the debate and questioned the speakers on their role as operators within the sector and regarding the importance of the market in an artist’s growth and in increasing his value.
First of all, public authorities must create a system, it is their task; they must coordinate all the elements participating in the creation and promotion of art finding ways to spread it and have it understood by an increasingly wide public. With regard to the role of the public authorities,Councillor Perbellini, mentioned the example of the experiences of the City of Verona: hosting the exhibit of a contemporary artist such as Marc Quinn in the city’s most visited historical site, namely the house of Juliet; or cataloguing, preserving and making available to the public the video-artworks made in the Veneto region, in the City Library of Verona.
Galleries play a central role in an artist’s growth. Gallery directors, in exchange for their loyalty, invest capital and professionalism in promoting the artist while also asking the public sector for spaces, such as Museums, where their works can be exhibited and made available to the public.
During the meeting, Hélène de Franchis emphasized the need for state funding, while Massimo Di Carlo raised the age old question of tax exemptions and eliminating the VAT on selling art works (in Italy still at 20%), a tool that in other countries is used successfully and that has led to increasing investments in contemporary art.
The artist, who takes the chance both for himself and for his spirituality, to use the words of Andrea Chiesi, requests public authorities to "teach" as many people as possible how to read contemporary art and Gallery directors to help him in obtaining greater visibility through exhibits, fairs and catalogues, but especially by buying his works since that is what artists live off.
What does an art collector think about this? Corinaldi believes it is necessary to change the widespread mentality: culture is a resource and not a cost. He doesn’t understand why in other European countries the government invests millions in promoting and supporting contemporary art while in Italy the attention is always focused on artists who have already reached fame or why resources are wasted on micro-events. The quality of art must make the difference. A company or a bank, rather than sponsoring large exhibits, should invest in buying art works and promoting quality.
Speaking of quality, the Terna Prize represents, according to all the participants, an example to be followed. Buttitta concluded , the Prize also represents an "avant-garde patronage of the arts" referring to the grandiose Medici tradition, while also trying to bridge the gap between Italy and other countries.
2009-09-23
