Italian
Yesterday morning, the participation notice for the Mestre Painting Prize was presented at the Municipality of Mestre. Artists can submit their applications by Sunday, May 18.
MESTRE (VE). The competition remains, also in this edition, open to everyone without age, gender, nationality limits, and the theme is free. The works must be classifiable as paintings even if in complete stylistic and technical freedom, and must have been created from 2024 onwards.
Confirming the visibility opportunities for the selected artists: the finalist works will be exhibited in the Collective Exhibition of the Finalists at the Centro Culturale Candiani in Mestre, and the winning work of the first prize will become part of the permanent Collection of Ca’ Pesaro (International Gallery of Modern Art in Venice).
The second and third prize-winning works, like in previous editions, will be permanently exhibited within city cultural institutions. There is also a residency for an artist in the new spaces of the Art Archive in Mestre.
At the press conference, the mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, intervened: “The Prize has become a fixed and much-anticipated cultural event, thanks to the foresight of the Veneto Circle which has given it prestige in terms of quality and participation. It is important to give young talents the opportunity to make themselves known by bringing their works to our museums and in front of the eyes of all our citizens and visitors – commented the mayor – As Administration, we are committed to enhancing our young people by offering them spaces to cultivate their passions. I remember the new Art Newspaper Library with the workshops, but also those in Venice, not forgetting the significant investments made in the cultural sector with the restoration of places dedicated to young people such as the Vez and Bissuola libraries, the Park Theater, and the new works we are tackling at Palaplip and Centro Candiani to make them more accessible. A Prize that is maintaining a certain continuity and that exalts contemporary culture. We make all the structures of the Municipality available to the community and ensure that the Foundation of Civic Museums becomes a forge of cultural production. By enhancing the spaces at our disposal, we manage to attract the public and young people through actions.”Together with the mayor, the President of the Municipal Council, Ermelinda Damiano, the President of the Veneto Circle, Cesare Campa, Mattia Agnetti, in charge of the financial, organizational, and administrative management of the Civic Museums Foundation of Venice, the manager of Ca’ Pesaro, Elisabetta Barisoni, and the organizational coordinator of the Mestre Painting Award, Christiano Costantini were also present.
President Damiano emphasized the prestige achieved over the years: “The Mestre Painting Prize has become an important international event that enhances young talents and promotes the artistic culture of Mestre, making our talents and our culture known to all our citizens but also to the visitors who come to the city and frequent our museums.”
During the conference, it was highlighted that the competition maintains the aim of enhancing contemporary painting art, and is promoted by the Association Il Circolo Veneto with the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, with the support of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia and the Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa. Furthermore, it enjoys the patronage of the Region of Veneto, the Metropolitan City of Venice, and the Municipality of Venice.
“The Fondazione Musei Civici has now consolidated its relationship with the Mestre Painting Prize,” Agnetti stated. “Today, the exhibition areas of the Candiani Cultural Center are recognized both nationally and internationally. The Prize has therefore contributed to building the reputation of the Center. The renovation works at Candiani will lead to even more prestigious exhibitions in 2026 and 2027.”
“Also this year the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia – stated Barisoni – confirms its collaboration with the Circolo Veneto for the organization of the Mestre Painting Prize, now in its ninth edition after the revival. The Foundation will also provide, for the second year, an Atelier at the Emeroteca dell’Arte di Mestre, a studio to be assigned for 10 months to an artist selected for the Mestre Painting Prize 2025.”
The call for entries is published on the website: https://www.premiomestredipittura.eu/iscrizione where you can find information regarding the methods and conditions of participation. Applications must be submitted by Sunday, May 18th and each artist can participate with only one artwork.
“The Prize, now in its ninth edition, has become a cultural initiative of international importance – explained Campa – of increasing prestige and diffusion and an enrichment for the city of Mestre, expanding its role as a place of meeting, exchange, and dialogue.”
Costantini’s intervention was of the same tone, reiterating how the prize has helped bring together the city’s major institutions. “Today, pictorial art is doing well – he commented – The Prize is certainly a window that opens up to the city, giving artists the opportunity to exhibit their works throughout the year, thus creating a certain continuity. For this edition, we have decided to provide a QR code to those who decide to admire the works, directing the public to the website of Amici del Premio Mestre di Pittura. Our goal is to promote contemporary pictorial art.”
A Technical Jury, of a high level as in past editions, will select the finalist works to be exhibited in the Collective Exhibition of Finalists at the Candiani Cultural Center in Mestre. The finalist works will be published full-page in the print catalog of the exhibition, as well as on the dedicated page of the prize’s institutional website www.premiomestredipittura.eu.
The same Technical Jury will subsequently determine the winners of the three Acquisition Awards: the winning work of the first prize will become part of the permanent Collection of Ca’ Pesaro (International Gallery of Modern Art of Venice). The winning works of the second and third acquisition prizes, as in previous editions, will be permanently exhibited at local cultural institutions. Also confirmed is the Special Acquisition Award established by the CGIA Association of Mestre, whose work will become part of the art collection exhibited at the Association’s city headquarters, and the Rotary Club Venice Mestre Painting Prize, an acquisition award whose work will be donated to a local institution.
As with the previous edition, the 2025 call includes a special prize consisting of an Artist’s Residence to be awarded to an artist deemed worthy, at the unquestionable judgment of the organization within the cultural production space of the Art Library in Mestre managed by the Foundation of the Civic Museums of Venice. The Mestre Prize Organization reserves the right to award additional prizes to deserving works. Furthermore, scholarships will be awarded to young finalist artists.
All the finalist artists will compete, also in this edition, for the assignment of the Audience Award, consisting of a trophy selected from the best sketch among those proposed by the students of the sculpture course at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice. The winners will be announced and the prizes and awards will be presented during the Awards Ceremony at the Toniolo Theater in Mestre.
Finalists and non-finalists can request a personal page on the website www.amici.premiomestredipittura.eu. The site already features a wide selection of over a thousand works presented in past editions. During the press conference for the presentation of the 2025 edition, the Venetian Circle presented the second prize-winning artwork from the 2024 edition to the Municipality of Venice. The painting, “Venice by Night,” was created in 2024 by artist Ilir Avrami using tempera on canvas, measuring 50 cm in height and 40 cm in width.
