“PREMIO VALCELLINA”

VALCELLINA AWARD

INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY TEXTILE FIBER ART COMPETITION: HERE ARE THE FINALISTS

SATURDAY 8TH MAY: ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE WINNERS

THE THEME “WE(H)AVE”: A CHALLENGE FOR YOUNG ARTISTS TO INTERPRET THE PRESENT, WITHOUT FORGETTING THE PAST, TO OFFER INNOVATIVE VIEWS

59 YOUNG ARTISTS WHO JOINED, 18 COUNTRIES INVOLVED, DESPITE THE DIFFICULTIES CAUSED BY THE PANDEMIC SITUATION

PRESS CONFERENCE TO PRESENT THE WINNERS ON 19TH JUNE AT THE FORMER SAVIO TYPOGRAPHY IN PORDENONE

STREAMING OF THE AWARDS CEREMONY AND WORKS EXHIBITION ON THE ASSOCIATION SOCIAL CHANNELS ON 26TH JUNE

FIRST PRIZE OF 3,000 EUROS AND A NUMBER OF OTHER AWARDS, TOTAL AMOUNT OF 9,500 EUROS

“Inexpressible”, Katrina Leitena (Lettonia), copyright Katrina Leitena

Dedicated to the theme “WE(H)AVE”, the interweaving of art, culture and traditions, the Valcellina Award, International Contemporary Textile Fiber Art Competition, organized and promoted by the Association Le arti Tessili APS of Maniago (PN), despite of the pandemic situation, it is now in its eleventh edition, registering again this year a wide participation by “fiber art” artists from all over the world: 59 young creatives from 18 countries. Through the chosen theme –We(h)ave- a play of words between the verb “to weave” and the expression “we have”, the young artists were invited to create a work that could interpret the present, in dialogue with historical memory to seek innovative visions and, through their own artistic research, intuit innovative visions to design and offer a cultural and social transformation. The first jury, composed of prestigious names such as Eva Comuzzi, art historian, Renata Pompas, journalist, essayist, expert in Fiber Art and Lydia Predominato, fiber artist and curator, after a careful evaluation of the material received and in accordance with the rules of the Competition, has selected the 23 best works that will compete for prizes at stake.

“The River My Heart Seeks”, Yu Jung Wu (Taiwan), copyright Yu Jung Wu

The works that passed the first selection are from Tawain as Pieces of Jade by Chia-ling Li (aka Jialing Lee) in which the ancient manual technique of creating fans mixes with digital tools, but also innovative techniques such as the crypto art Soundweave, an entirely digital work by the Italian collective formed by Selene Torlino, Marco Taurino and Alessandro Rubei of or hybrids as Intimo from China by Jiying Liu, Xu Yingbo and Peng Shaohua (China) in which the work is integrated by a video projection. There are more traditional works, such as the textile work Sincretismo of the Mexican Alma Villa Hernandez and hand embroidery as Inexpressible of the Latvian Katrina Leitena.

“INTIMO-intimo”, Jiying Liu / Xu Yingbo / Peng Shaohua (Cina), copyright Jiying Liu / Xu Yingbo / Peng Shaohua

Much attention to ecology, nature, the recovery of waste materials and ancient manufacturing techniques as in Drop by the Czech artist Anezka Kruzikova made with self-made loom and the textile garden always made with waste material of the Italian-Iranian Elham Mossllemi Aghili “Ontologia selvaggia”.

It is also worth mentioning the evocative Childhood Game by the Chinese artist Kun Zhao on invisible relations and the very interesting Social Landscape//Sound Landscape by Giulia Iacolutti from Udine, a work of relational art, made in eight days during the 25th edition of the Stazione di Topolò, which involved in the collective embroidery inhabitants, passers-by and festival guests who embroidered, based on cadastral maps and genealogical analysis from 1500 to today, the urban plan of the country, today under depopulation.

“Ontologia selvaggia”, Elham Mossllemi Aghili (Iran), copyright Elham Mossllemi Aghili

A second jury will attribute the awards on Saturday 8^th May and will be made up of 5 experts in the field: Eva Comuzzi, art historian, Renata Pompas, journalist, essayist and expert in Fiber Art, Anna Galtarossa, artist who works between San Pietro In Cariano (VR) and New York, Massimo Premuda, President of the House of Art (TS), Vice President Curator at the Revoltella Museum (TS), Curator at the Ugo Carà Museum of Modern Art Muggia and curator of Doubleroom and with the textile artist, textile and costume historian Thessy Schoenholzer Nichols.

The jury will evaluate the works received and will award the following prizes: scholarships in cash, for a total prize pool of € 9,500.00 and the opportunity to attend a period of study free of charge at the partner Academies and Institutions, national and international.

“Il gioco dell’infanzia”, Kun Zhao / Sun Peigen (Cina), copyright Kun Zhao / Sun Peigen

The press conference to present the selected works and the winners will be held at the Ex Tipografia Savio in Pordenone in via Torricella, 2 on Friday, 19^th June at 10:30 a.m. and on the occasion the publication Fiber Art: 20 years of the Valcellina Prize will be presented. The text, with images and texts, tells in its 360 pages, the 20 years of the Competition through interventions of illustrious speakers as Gina Morandini fiber artist and creator of the Valcellina Award, recently passed away, Andrea Bruciati art historian with whom Le Arti Tessili has cooperated for many years and current director of Villa Adriana and Villa d’Este Tivoli, Beatrijs Sterk expert of Fiber Art International former President of the ETN Europeean Textile Network, Keiko Kawashima, director of the Gallery Gallerygallery in Kyoto (Japan), Justin Thompson, internationally renowned artist and lecturer at the SRISA Santa Reparata Shool of Art in Florence, Vanna Romualdi, professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna, Ilaria Bomben, Barbara Girardi and Lucia Vedovi fundamental figures in the organization of the event and other important personalities who have collaborated and still cooperate in the realization of the Valcellina Award Competition.

“Segni di resistenza”, Reyhaneh Alikhani (Iran), copyright Reyhaneh Alikhani

“Despite the difficulties of this period that upset the development of the event – says Annamaria Poggioli, president of the Association Le Arti Tessili and responsible for the project Valcellina Award– we questioned our commitment to honor the Competition in new ways.The finalist works will be the protagonists of a streaming event during which our usual ceremonial will be respected. Embracing contemporaneity in this particular historical fragment also means this!”

In June 26^th, during a streaming event, it will be possible to view the works set up of this eleventh edition at the Arte Fabbrile e Coltellerie Museum, realized with the contribution of Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, Municipality of Maniago and Friuli Foundation, with the support of Ecomuseo Lis Aganis, BCC Friulovest Banca, Maniago, Savio Macchine Tessili, Pordenone and the Association Il Capitello, Pordenone. The event benefits the support and partnership of several institutions including the ETN European Textile Network.

“Red Carpet”, Lisa Martignoni (Italia), copyright Lisa Martignoni

The Valcellina Award, open to young people under 35 from all over the world, as well as being an extraordinary international springboard, is one of the most important Italian events dedicated to fiber art, a particular form of contemporary art with ancient origins that is expressed through the different techniques of weaving, the use of fibers of various materials, the use of effects obtained with “patchwork” techniques, with the “ready-made” and with what symbolically can be referred to “making textiles”. Over the years it has also acquired a place of absolute importance in the international art scene, as well as becoming a vehicle of promotion for the territory. The Valcellina Award is the spearhead of the initiatives of Le Arti Tessili Association, which organizes it to promote knowledge and interest in contemporary textile art and encourage new talents.

Info:

www.premiovalcellina.it, valcellinaaward@leartitessili.it FB@valcellinaward

“Deep Inside and Far Beyond”, Khrystsina Vysotskaya (Bielorussia), copyright Khrystsina Vysotskaya