At Art Basel Hong Kong, scheduled from May 21 to 23 (preview on the 19th and 20th), the exhibition project "Italians" will make its debut, financed by the Italian Cultural Institute through Cura Italia, Decree-Law of March 17, 2020, No. 18.
THE FUND FOR INTEGRATED PROMOTION
Cura Italia, with an overall allocation of 2.5 billion euros, established in Article 72 – "Measures to support the revival of the Country System abroad after the pandemic crisis" – the "Fund for Integrated Promotion", with an initial endowment of 150 million euros for the year 2020.
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In particular, the allocation includes 18 million euros earmarked for financing the budgets of diplomatic-consular network offices and 7 million euros for contributions to the Italian Cultural Institutes. It is from this special fund that the Italian Cultural Institute of Hong Kong drew resources for the organisation of the "Italians" exhibition.
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IL PROGETTO E LE GALLERIE COINVOLTE
The concept of "Italians" originates from Stefano Fossati, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute of Hong Kong: "For some years now, Italian Cultural Institutes have been receiving additional funds for the Vivere all’Italiana programme. With Cura Italia, the Institute I direct received an extra 150,000 euros, with which I realised the Design made in Hong Kong project and the Art Basel exhibition. My initial intention was to set up an Italian pavilion at the Hong Kong Arts Centre, proposing to the ten galleries already present at Art Basel Hong Kong to organise a pavilion promoting Italian art. However, the fair was postponed from March to May, and the galleries withdrew their participation. Subsequently, Art Basel offered galleries the opportunity to organise collective booths, and as a Cultural Institute we created an association of galleries: no fewer than eight out of ten (Alfonso Artiaco, Cardi, Continua, Massimo De Carlo, Galleria d'Arte Maggiore, Rossi&Rossi, Mazzoleni, Franco Noero) joined the project."
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ITALIANS AND ARTWORK PRICES
The curatorship of "Italians" was entrusted to Fabio Cavallucci, who devised a project based on thematic juxtapositions. The subject of flowers includes a painting by Giorgio Morandi, Fiori, 1949 (from Galleria d'Arte Maggiore, priced between €480,000 and €550,000), and the polychrome ceramics by Bertozzi and Casoni, Per Morandi, 2020 (from Galleria d'Arte Maggiore, priced between €28,000 and €35,000).
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