Sarezzo, the Art Prize reaches its 31st edition

Sarezzo. The prestigious Art Prize of the Municipality of Sarezzo reaches its 31st edition, hosted in the historic Palazzo Avogadro, in via Gremone 2.
The inauguration will be held on Friday 24 February from 18.30 to 20.30. Saturday 25 February it will be possible to visit the exhibition from 3 to 7 pm; Sunday 26 February from 10 to 12 e
from 15 to 18. At 18 the award ceremony of the winners.

The “Commune of Sarezzo painting prize” was born in 1992 by will of the then Councilor for Culture Giuliano Benini who aimed to introduce an artistic appointment in conjunction with the feast of the Patron Saints Faustino and Giovita. Initially the award was divided into several sections: artists could participate with a graphic work, a theme work, or even a work in the free theme section. Already in the first editions of the event there was a fair participation mostly of local artists. Thanks also to the contribution of the “Comitato San Faustino”, the prize captured an ever-increasing interest in the provincial artistic panorama in the following years.

With the sixth edition the municipal administration guided by the then Mayor Fabio Ferraglio set himself the goal of improving the event above all from a qualitative point of view. A single section of contemporary art with a free theme was therefore proposed and the prizes to the winners, thanks also to the decisive contribution of local sponsors, proved to be attractive also for artists of a certain prestige.
Furthermore, a professional in the sector, the painter Giovanni B. Tomasoni, began to take care of the coordination of the exhibition. Thanks to his decisive professional contribution and his great passion for art, which characterized his entire life up to the time of his premature death in November 2004, the prize progressively reached highly respectable quality levels and a notoriety that now extends to the entire national territory.
Over the years, in fact, works have been recorded not only from Lombardy, but more generally from northern Italy (in particular Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia) and, in some cases, also from central and southern Italy.

Over the years of administration under the jurisdiction of the guided junta by the Mayor Massimo Ottelli the event continued to be supported in a significant way and this led to the consolidation and increase, also in terms of notoriety, of the important results
obtained.
In the years 2005/2010 the coordinator of the prize was the artist from Brescia Raffaella Formenti.
From the following years the coordination was carried out internally by the Cultural Services Office. In 2017, on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of the Prize, the Diego Toscani Leading Administration also introduced the “Sculpture” section and the name of the prize became “Comune di Sarezzo Art Prize”.
This decision made it possible to attract a greater number of artists and, consequently, to collect an ever-increasing number of works until reaching 105 in the 2020 edition.

The same year Prof. Paolo Sacchini was appointed President of the jury, art critic and director of the Paul VI collection – contemporary art, museum of the Art and Spirituality Association of Concesio. After the 2021 break due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the municipal administration decided to re-propose the Prize in 2022, postponing this edition to the month of May for the same reasons, experiencing renewed interest.
With the 2023 edition we intend to re-propose the event in conjunction with the feast of the Patron Saints Faustino and Giovita scheduled for February.
In all these years there has never been a lack of support from the local realities which, thanks to sponsorships and contributions, have decisively guaranteed its continuity.
municipal.