“BECAUSE OF MANY SUNS”

THE COLLEZIONETAURISANO

ACQUISITION AWARD

WE ARE HAPPY TO PRESENT “BECAUSE OF MANY SUNS”, THE COLLEZIONETAURISANO ACQUISITION AWARD FOR ART-O-RAMA 2021 (MARSEILLE).

MEANT TO BE LAUNCHED IN 2020, IN ITS FIRST EDITION THE AWARD HAS THE INTENTION OF SUPPORTING EMERGING ARTISTIC PRACTICES THAT PRESENT AN INSIGHTFUL LOOK INTO CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY.

IN UNCERTAIN TIMES OF SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION AND MISGUIDED POLITICAL ACTION THAT OFTEN LEADS TO DIVISION AND SEPARATION, ART CAN PROVIDE A WAKE-UP CALL FOR SOCIETY BY FOSTERING DIALOGUE BETWEEN PEOPLE AND PROVIDING THE TOOLS FOR IMAGINING NEW POSSIBLE WAYS TO (CO)-INHABIT OUR PLANET. AS THE EXPLOSION OF THE PANDEMIC HAS HAD A PROFOUND IMPACT ON THE ARTS AND THE CULTURAL SECTOR AT LARGE, THE LAUNCH OF “BECAUSE OF MANY SUNS” IN 2021 HAS THEN A TWOFOLD MEANING: TO SUPPORT ARTISTS AND THEIR GALLERIES THROUGHOUT AN ESPECIALLY DELICATE CONJUCTURE; TO CREATE A SHARED SPACE FOR REFLECTION. IN LINE WITH THE COMMITMENT OF THE COLLEZIONETAURISANO TOWARDS ART THAT IGNITES CRITICAL REFLECTION ON THE DYNAMICS OF DOMINATION OF A POST-CAPITALIST SOCIETY, THE AWARD WILL OFFER RECOGNITION TO THOSE ARTISTS WHOSE PRACTICE PROVIDES A PROFOUND UNDERSTANDING OF THE TIME(S) WE LIVE IN. WHILE EACH ARTISTIC MEDIUM WILL BE EQUALLY CONSIDERED, THE SELECTION CRITERIA WILL TAKE INTO SPECIFIC ACCOUNT THE ARTISTS’ TRAJECTORY (PRIMARILY FOCUSING ON THOSE ARTISTS WHO STARTED EXHIBITING PROFESSIONALLY WITHIN THE LAST TEN YEARS), AND THE PRICE OF THE WORK PRESENTED AT ART-O-RAMA (EQUAL OR LESS THAN €5000). MOST IMPORTANTLY, BOTH THE ARTWORKS SELECTED FOR THE OFF-LINE FAIR (TO BE HELD IN MARSEILLE BETWEEN AUGUST 27 TH AND SEPTEMBER 12 ND 2021) AND THOSE FEATURED IN ART-O-RAMA’S IMMATERIAL SALON WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR CONSIDERATION. IN THIS WAY, THE COLLEZIONETAURISANO NOT ONLY WANTS TO CELEBRATE THE OUTSTANDING WORK THAT ART-O-RAMA HAS DONE TO ADAPT TO THE CURRENT SITUATION WITH THE CREATION OF AN ONLINE PROPOSAL DIFFERENT FROM ALL OTHERS, BUT ALSO TRIGGER REFLECTION ON COLLECTING PRACTICES AROUND EPHEMERAL MEDIA. A JURY MADE UP OF COLLECTORS SVEVA TAURISANO, BRUNO BOLFO AND INDEPENDENT CURATOR CAROLINA CIUTI WILL FIRST SHORTLIST THE CANDIDATES AND THEN ANNOUNCE THE FINAL RECIPIENT/S OF THE ACQUISITION AWARD AT A CEREMONY TO BE HELD ON THE PREMISES OF ART-O-RAMA AND/OR ONLINE. ALONGSIDE THE ACQUISITION, COLLEZIONETAURISANO WILL THEN COMMISSION AN EMERGING CURATOR, ART WRITER OR RESEARCHER TO WRITE AN ESSAY ON THE CREATIVE PRACTICE OF THE WINNING ARTIST/S.

“BECAUSE OF MANY SUNS” is the title of the Collezione Taurisano Acquisition Award x Art-o-rama, as devised by the transdisciplinary art collective Apparatus 22. It refers to the Award as a ray of sun that nurtures young practices, claiming for the construction of a more supportive environment for the arts.