1st Edition | Ogni cosa è tutte le cose [Everything is all things]
Call for curators and artists
An initiative in support of emerging artistic talent in Southern Italy
Curated by Mario Francesco Simeone
Organizational Secretary: Patrizia Pagnotta
Promoted by Fondazione Donnaregina per le arti contemporanee – museo Madre and Amici del Madre, the Meridiana Prize aims to open up a horizon of visibility for emerging artists, with a specific focus on their presence in Southern Italy. It proposes a survey of an area characterized by great cultural vibrancy. With a focus on curatorial activity as the foundational core of thought and project development, the Meridiana Prize intends to provide a dynamic institutional platform for artistic research practices that reflect and reshape the layered identities of a macro-area.
A symbol indicating the passage of the Sole a mezzogiorno (Sun at noon), the meridian line is often found as an architectural element in many buildings, whether public or private, from inland villages to coastal areas and large cities. Likewise, the Prize aims to shed light on artistic experiences across Southern Italy, evoking the image of a light that reveals, marks, and connects different territories and languages.
In the long term, the initiative aims to provide an updated survey of artistic experiences rooted in the territory. In a broader horizon, the various editions will contribute to building an archive of episodes that, while originating in a specific context, engage with the dynamics and trends of global art, transcending geographical boundaries.
Theme of the 1st Edition | Ogni cosa è tutte le cose [Everything is all things]
‘…they were made of heavenly stone, all prickly pears, and when a living soul was encountered, it was a boy coming or going along the line, picking the thorn-crowned fruits that grew, coral-like, on the stone…’
*Elio Vittorini, Conversazione in Sicilia (Conversation in Sicily)
Interpreting the underlying concept that ‘everything is all things,’ latent in the pages of Conversazione in Sicilia by Elio Vittorini – a key text in the construction of Southern Italy’s modern identity – the plurality of artistic languages the Prize seeks to highlight not only belongs to a narrative of the South, but also contributes to shaping a story that resonates in the deep connections between local histories and global experiences.
UPDATE:
The Fondazione Donnaregina per le Arti Contemporanee – museo Madre and the Amici del Madre are pleased to announce the winners of the first edition of the Meridiana Prize, curated by Mario Francesco Simeone. The prize aims to promote and support artistic production in Southern Italy and the curatorial research that enhances its value.
The winners are curator Gabriella Rebello Kolandra (Rio de Janeiro, 1993) with artists Clarissa Baldassarri (Civitanova Marche, 1994), Maria Luce Cacciaguerra (Palermo, 1997), and Anna Maria Maiolino (Scalea, 1942); and curator Samuele Piazza (Parma, 1988) with artists Andrea Bolognino (Naples, 1991), Raffaela Naldi Rossano (Naples, 1990), and Effe Minelli alias Fabio Cirillo (Pompeii, 1986).
The two exhibition projects, submitted by the curators as part of their application, will be realized at the Madre museum as exhibitions, scheduled between the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026. They will also be presented by the winning curators, in conversation with Mario Francesco Simeone, as part of the 21st edition of Giornata del Contemporaneo AMACI, taking place at the Madre museum on Saturday, October 4th.
The open call, which closed on June 30th 2025, saw significant participation, with 64 project submissions and over 250 curators and artists involved.
The winners were selected by a jury composed of Stefano Collicelli Cagol, Director of the Luigi Pecci Center for Contemporary Art in Prato; Eva Fabbris, Director of the Madre Museum; Luca Lo Pinto, former Artistic Director of MACRO – Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome; Renato Magaldi, President of the Amici del Madre Association; and Angela Tecce, President of the Donnaregina Foundation for Contemporary Arts.
Sponsors: Antony Morato, Tridama Foundation.
Click here to download the Call
Click here to download the Application Form
Click here to download the Floor Plans