CHE C’È DI NUOVO?
Uno sguardo sulla scena artistica emergente in Ticino
(What's New? A look at the emerging art scene in Ticino)

Museo Cantonale d'Arte, Lugano

21 May – 2 July 2006

Opening: Saturday 20 May, 6.30 pm

Press conference: Friday 19 May, 11 am

From 21 May to 2 July 2006 the Museo Cantonale d’Arte is hosting the second edition of What's New? A look at the emerging art scene in Ticino. Instituted in 2003 to bring greater visibility to contemporary art in Canton Ticino, the exhibition is held every three years and seeks primarily to keep the public regularly and directly up to date with what is happening on the ever changing, new art scene. It also gives artists an opportunity to make their work known outside the canton.

The 14 artists present this time are Al Fadhil, Davide Cascio, Umberto De Martino, Donato Di Blasi, Ivana Falconi, Luca Frei, Fabrizio Giannini, Prisca Groh,  Andreas Gysin and Sidi Vanetti,  Piritta Martikainen, Gian Paolo Minelli, Laura Solari, Una Szeemann, Matteo Terzaghi and Marco Zürcher. They were chosen by a select committee from 40 or so names highlighted by critics, curators and art historians working in the region. This choice is by no means a comprehensive overview of what is happening in up and coming artistic creation in Ticino but, as the subtitle says, aims to offer wide-ranging recognition of the trends, languages and themes distinguishing today’s art.

The exhibition project is backed by Percento Culturale Migros Ticino, which as well as contributing to the initiative has set up a ‘prize to encourage artistic creation’ worth CHF 10,000. It will be awarded to one of the artists by a jury of experts from the rest of Switzerland and Italy.

The jury awarding the prize comprises Monica De Cardenas, gallery owner, Luigi Di Corato, art historian and lecturer at the Università Cattolica in Milan, Jean-Paul Felley, art historian and co-director of the Attitudes contemporary art centre in Geneva, Yvonne Pesenti, director of Percento Culturale Migros Ticino and Madeleine Schuppli, director of the Kunstmuseum in Thun.

The prize will be awarded on Saturday 20 May at 6.30 pm, during the inauguration of the exhibition.

Artists:
Al Fadhil, Davide Cascio, Umberto De Martino, Donato Di Blasi, Ivana Falconi, Luca Frei, Fabrizio Giannini, Prisca Groh, Andreas Gysin e Sidi Vanetti, Piritta Martikainen, Gian Paolo Minelli, Laura Solari, Una Szeemann, Matteo Terzaghi e Marco Zürcher.