Dedicated to contemporary art and its audiences every year
October 8, 2022
The Giornata del Contemporaneo is the major event that AMACI—the Association of Italian Contemporary Art Museums, with the support of the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture and the collaboration of the Directorate-General for Public and Cultural Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, has dedicated to contemporary art and its audiences since 2005. On Saturday, October 8, 2022, the 24 museums associated with AMACI in Italy, along with all the other bodies and institutions around the world that freely decide to join the initiative, welcome the general public, free of charge, to celebrate contemporary art. A multifaceted programme will be held, involving not only large cities, but also smaller towns—which have always been very active in this sense—in order to spend a single day emphasising the important function that contemporary art plays in the cultural, social and economic development in Italy and abroad.
Now in its 18th edition, the Giornata del Contemporaneo returns in October, in person: a major celebration that once again opens museums, foundations, public and private institutions, galleries, studios and artists’ spaces as well as other venues to the public, free of charge, to encourage participation by as many venues as possible, and to promote and highlight the national and international contemporary art network. The event will maintain a hybrid format—both physical and digital—to encourage and enhance potential participation in both online and offline offerings, and will revolve around the theme of ecology, bound up with that of sustainability: global issues that place us before the need to rethink the contemporary art system through a renewed awareness and a more widespread sensitivity towards the theme.
From October 8 to 14, 2022, the Giornata del Contemporaneo: Italian Contemporary Art will once again travel beyond the national borders involving embassies, consulates and italian cultural institutes: thanks to AMACI’s collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, its cooperation network will be strengthened by all those institutional realities that spread and promote Italian contemporary art in other countries to encourage the various languages of contemporary art on the international stage. As always, the event is characterised by free admission and free participation in all initiatives.
In order to provide greater depth to this reflection, the directors of the associated museums have decided to entrust Giorgio Andreotta Calò (Venice, 1979) with the creation of the guiding image for the event, which in the past years has seen the involvement of Michelangelo Pistoletto (2006), Maurizio Cattelan (2007), Paola Pivi (2008), Luigi Ontani (2009), Stefano Arienti (2010), Giulio Paolini (2011), Francesco Vezzoli (2012), Marzia Migliora (2013), Adrian Paci (2014), Alfredo Pirri (2015), Emilio Isgrò (2016), Liliana Moro (2017), Marcello Maloberti (2018), Eva Marisaldi (2019) and Armin Linke (2021). The image chosen by the artist is Icarus (2021–2022), the latest piece in a complex project created by Giorgio Andreotta Calò since 2019. In the year the Giornata del Contemporaneo turns 18, Giorgio Andreotta Calò’s image seems to respond in a symbolically open way to the invitation to reflect on the environmental crisis, emphasising the importance of passing the baton to the new generations, the adults of tomorrow, to whom we give the responsibility of building a better future than the present we bequeath to them.
Are you an artist, a museum, a foundation, a cultural association, a gallery or an organisation promoting contemporary art?
Sign up here to participate in the 18th edition of the Giornata del Contemporaneo and open your space on Saturday, October 8, 2022 opening free of charge to the public through exhibitions, workshops, events and conferences, artists and new ideas. The edition maintains a hybrid format: you can also join with a digital project. If you take part with a digital project, it will be necessary to present it through your social media channels on Saturday 8 October, accompanied by the hashtag #GiornataDelContemporaneo in order to highlight the network of realities promoting contemporary art.
For further information write to: giornatadelcontemporaneo [at] amaci.org
