EvolveArt - 2nd edition
“EvolveArt”: to talk to young people about energy transition, we showcase their talent
Let's choose art again! We believe that art is a powerful means of talking to young generations about sustainability, the environment, climate change and energy transition. And with the “EvolveArt” initiative, we wanted to do something more: support the talent of very young artists studying at Italian art schools.
So, in November 2025, we launched the second edition of the “EvolveArt” competition, promoted, as last time, by the Fondazione MAIRE - ETS and MAIRE Group together with the Associazione Amici della Biennale dei Licei Artistici (ABiLiArt) and Rete Nazionale dei Licei Artistici (ReNaLiArt),but with an important new feature: the new edition boasts the prestigious collaboration of the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GNAM).
The challenge, open to all students in years III, IV and V of all Italian art schools, is to create a sculpture on the theme of “Sustainable development, energy transition and the circular economy” to highlight the role of young people in combating climate change.
The call for entries was launched in November 2025 and registration is now closed; the stage 2 (i.e. the collection of materials to be sent to the Evaluation Committee) is currently underway. For full details, read the announcement!
All updates on this edition of the competition will be available on this page. Click below for details!
THE ANNOUNCEMENT
The second edition of the “EvolveArt” competition is underway. This challenge is aimed exclusively at young artists in their final three years of study at Italian art schools, and this year’s brief is to create a sculpture on the theme “Sustainable development, energy transition and the circular economy: the role of young people in combating climate change”.
The announcement contains all the necessary information; the announcement is available only in Italian. For further clarification, please email abiliart.evolveart@gmail.com.
To read the news about the launch of the project, click here.
THE STAGES OF THE COMPETITION
The competition is divided into five stages.
Stage 1 consists of registration and the submission of projects by sending the application form and the documents required in the Call for applications (attached), to be completed by the Headteacher of the school attended by the young artist wishing to take part in the competition. Stage one concluded at the end of 2025.
Stage 2 involves the selection of the eight projects that will proceed to the subsequent stages of the competition, at the sole discretion of the Evaluation Committee. Stage 2 concluded in early 2026.
Stage 3 involves the creation of the artworks; the supervising teachers must send updates on the progress of the work to the Association.
Stage 4 involves the evaluation of the completed artworks.
Stage 5 involves the dispatch of the completed and winning artworks.
These artworks will be the subject of a temporary exhibition at the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome in September 2026 and, thereafter, a permanent exhibition at a MAIRE Group venue.
For further details regarding the competition, please email abiliart.evolveart@gmail.com.
THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE
The Evaluation Committee of the second edition of the “EvolveArt” competition is composed of:
Chair of the Evaluation Committee
Renata Cristina Mazzantini, General Manager of the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GNAMC)
Members of the Evaluation Committee
- Mariagrazia Dardanelli, President of AbiLiArt – Honorary President of ReNaLiArt
- Antonia G. Pasquariello, Progettista, Valutatore AFAM
- Roberto Dottorini, Scultore
- Renato Pennisi, Senior Specialist Art of XX/XXI c., Director Christie’s Italy
- Carlo Nicolais, MAIRE Group – Institutional Relations, Communication & Sustainability Vice President
- Irene Di Amato, Communication Manager – Fondazione MAIRE – ETS
REGISTERED ARTISTIC HIGH SCHOOLS
The second edition proved to be a success too! Although the brief to create a sculpture on the theme of sustainability might have seemed a daunting challenge, the response from schools and young artists was excellent: 57 Art Schools entered the competition, representing no fewer than 18 regions of Italy.
According to the competition rules, each school could submit up to eight project proposals, and these could be put forward by individuals or groups of up to three people.
The coordinating teachers sent all the materials to the Association so that the Evaluation Committee could meet and select the eight finalist projects to proceed to the next stage.
THE SELECTED PROJECTS
The Evaluation Committee for the second edition of the EvolveArt competition met in Rome, at the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, to select the eight finalist projects. The following were selected:
- Liceo Artistico Statale Fabrizio De Andrè, Tempio Pausania (SS) – FUTURO
- Liceo Artistico Statale Nolfi Apolloni, Fano (PU) – PERCENTORANE
- Liceo Artistico Statale Domenico De Ruggieri, Massafra (TA) – SKYLINE
- Liceo Artistico Statale Donato Bramante, Roma (RM) – ZEFIRO
- Liceo Artistico Statale Bianchi-Virginio, Cuneo (CN) - MERCIS EST
- Liceo Artistico Statale Soleri-Bertoni, Saluzzo (CN) – BREAKFREE
- Liceo Artistico Statale Emilio Sereni, Afragola (NA) - EREDITÀ SOSTENIBILE
- Liceo Artistico Statale Lanza-Perugini, Foggia (FG) - CONO DI LUCE
With the support of their teachers, the young artists can now move on to the production phase, which will culminate in an exhibition of their works: a temporary exhibition in September at the GNAMC, followed by a permanent exhibition at one of the MAIRE Group’s venues.
For full details, read the dedicated news article by clicking here.
DISCOVER ALL EDITIONS
To find out more about the project and all the pages dedicated to individual editions, scroll below and click!
EvolveArt contest / 2nd edition (2025)
Following the success of its first edition, the EvolveArt competition returns with a new challenge for talented students in grades III, IV and V of all Italian art schools: to create a sculpture on the theme of “Sustainable development, energy transition and the circular economy: the role of young people in combating climate change”.
Curious to know where we are at?
EvolveArt contest / 1st edition (2024)
In its first edition, the EvolveArt competition challenged young people in their third, fourth and fifth years of all Italian art schools to create a work on the theme of “Technology and innovation for energy transition”, imagining they were designing the cover of our EVOLVE magazine... Are you curious to see the extraordinary results?
EvolveArt /the concept
Let's choose art! We believe that art is a powerful means of communicating with young people about sustainability, the environment and energy transition. With the ‘EvolveArt’ format, we wanted to do something more: support the talent of young artists studying at Italian art schools.
Discover the idea and all the editions of the project!
TO SUPPORT US
To contribute to initiatives promoting heritage, restoration projects for drawings in the Historical Archive, and the dissemination of corporate archive culture, you can donate through our ‘Support the MAIRE Historical Archive’ campaign on Rete del Dono.
