Riccardo Benassi, Monia Ben Hamouda, and Binta Diaw have been selected as the three preeminent artists for the fourth edition of the MAXXI BVLGARI Prize, a project aimed at supporting and promoting young artistic talents. This initiative is a collaboration between the MAXXI National Museum of 21st Century Arts and Bulgari, the iconic Italian brand with a history spanning over 130 years. Throughout its history, Bulgari has played a vital role in promoting emerging talents on the international stage.

The announcement of the finalists took place during a special event at the Italian Embassy in Paris, with introductory remarks from Ambassador Emanuela D’Alessandro, the Secretary General of MAXXI, Francesco Spano, the Global Communication Director of Bulgari, Alessandra Tirolo, and Bulgari’s Director of Heritage and Philanthropy, Matteo Morbidi. The Director of MAXXI, Francesco Stocchi, discussed the new edition of the prize while engaging in a conversation with Nicolas Bourriaud and Diana Campbell, members of the international jury responsible for selecting the finalists. In May 2024, the works specifically created for the prize will be exhibited at MAXXI under the curation of Giulia Ferracci. At the end of the exhibition project, the jury will choose the winner, and their artwork will become a part of the museum’s collection.

This year, a new addition to the MAXXI BVLGARI Prize is the recognition of digital art. Roberto Fassone received a special mention for the best digital art project. Emanuela D’Alessandro, the Italian Ambassador in France, emphasized the importance of promoting contemporary Italian art and supporting the young talents behind it, with the MAXXI BVLGARI Prize playing a crucial role in this endeavor. Alessandro Giuli, President of MAXXI, expressed his gratitude to the Italian Embassy in Paris for hosting the project generously. He also thanked Bulgari, a long-standing partner of MAXXI, for their shared values of innovation, experimentation, and support for creativity. The collaboration between the two organizations is a model of successful public-private cooperation in the service of culture. Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of Bulgari, highlighted the evolving nature of the MAXXI BVLGARI Prize, noting its growing contemporary significance. He pointed out the inclusion of a special category for digital art in the 2024 edition as an example of Bulgari’s commitment to expanding its creative vision into new artistic forms, including the digital realm.

The jury unanimously selected the three finalists for the 2024 edition for their ability to express aesthetic diversity, experimentation, and the productivity of the young Italian artistic generation. They achieved this through innovative and poetic use of various artistic mediums, from sculpture to multimedia installations and various technological platforms. The artists’ works tackle urgent themes such as envisioning the future, addressing personal and collective memory, exploring Italian identity amidst global sociocultural transformations, and investigating how technology influences the body and emotional domestic spaces.

MAXXI BVLGARI PRIZE 2024 Finalists: Riccardo Benassi (Cremona, 1982, based in Berlin and Bergamo, Monia Ben Hamouda (Milan, 1991, based in Milan and al-Qayrawan, Tunisia) Binta Diaw (Milan, 1995, based in Milan)
MAXXI BVLGARI Prize for Digital Art Special Mention: Roberto Fassone (1986, based in Florence) and the international jury for the MAXXI BVLGARI Prize consisted of: Francesco Stocchi, Artistic Director of MAXXI, Nicolas Bourriaud, Director of the Radicants curator collective and Artistic Director of the 15th Biennale de Gwangju (South Korea), Diana Campbell, Artistic Director of the Samdani Art Foundation (Dhaka, Bangladesh) and Chief Curator of the Dhaka Art Summit, Andrea Lissoni, Artistic Director of the Haus der Kunst in Munich, Ute Meta Bauer, Founder and Director of the NTU Center for Contemporary Art in Singapore and Artistic Director of the 2024 Contemporary Art Biennale in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.

The finalists were selected from a list of candidates recommended by prominent figures in the contemporary Italian art scene, including curators, researchers, critics, and journalists. This year’s candidates were nominated by Antonia Alampi, Maria Alicata, Martina Angelotti, Nicolas Ballario, Lucrezia Cippitelli, Valentino Catricalà, the duo Alfredo Cramerotti and Aurora Scalera, Lorenzo Madaro, and Francesco Urbano Ragazzi.
The MAXXI BVLGARI Prize, initially established in 2000 as the « Premio per la Giovane Arte, » marked the birth of the MAXXI collection. Over the years, it has served as a pivotal platform for emerging artists. Past finalists include renowned artists such as Yuri Ancarani, Giorgio Andreotta Calò, Massimo Bartolini, Vanessa Beecroft, and many others. In 2018, it transformed into the MAXXI BVLGARI Prize, gaining greater prominence with the support of Bulgari. The 2024 edition marks the fourth consecutive year of this prestigious award, acknowledging the evolution of both the prize and the artists involved in alignment with Bulgari’s increasing contemporary direction.

Bulgari’s participation in this prize aligns with their tradition of collaborating with contemporary artists such as Zaha Hadid and Anish Kapoor, who reimagined the iconic B.zero1 ring. The MAXXI-Bulgari partnership was first established in 2014 during the « Bellissima: Italy and High Fashion 1945-1968 » exhibition, where Bulgari was the main partner. The MAXXI BVLGARI Prize reinforces and renews this partnership, built on shared values of excellence, innovation, passion, creativity, and experimentation. It also underscores the importance of public-private cooperation in supporting culture.

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