Ancona, Italy, 22 November 2025 – 28 February 2026. The Premio Marche 2025 – Biennale d’Arte Contemporanea returns to Ancona, the city where it was born in 1957, continuing its long legacy as a beacon for contemporary art in the Marche region. The new show, titled Erratica, will be hosted at Mole Vanvitelliana from 22 November 2025 to 28 February 2026. Promoted and co-organised by AMIA (Associazione Marchigiana Iniziative Artistiche) and the Municipality of Ancona – Department of Culture, with support from Regione Marche, Erratica unfolds across three distinct sections that map the history of the prize, the state of contemporary art over the last quarter of a century, and its current artistic momentum.
The exhibition retraces the Premio Marche’s story from the 1950s to the 1990s, honouring Alfredo Trifogli, the artist-promoter who founded the initiative and catalyzed Ancona’s cultural life. The early phase is anchored by works from the Pinacoteca Civica “Francesco Podesti” of Ancona, which grew out of the Prize’s activity, curated by Marco Tittarelli. This foundational segment foregrounds the local collection and the region’s devotion to contemporary art’s research and public education.
A central focus, curated by Elena Pontiggia and Gabriele Simongini, revisits the period from 2000 to 2024 when the Prize paused its activity in Ancona and subsequently re-emerged elsewhere. Over these 25 years, a cohort of 25 Italian artists—who significantly shaped national discourse and practice—are revisited to illustrate how the contemporary art landscape has evolved. Among the artists highlighted in this section are Vanessa Beecroft, Gabriella Benedini, Giuseppe Bergomi, Alberto Biasi, Loris Cecchini, Enzo Cucchi, Chiara Dynys, Omar Galliani, Massimiliano Galliani, Giuliano Giuliani, Giorgio Griffa, Emilio Isgrò, Maria Lai, Ugo La Pietra, Eva Marisaldi, Giuseppe Penone, Paola Pezzi, Lisa Ponti, Rosa Maria Rinaldi, Arcangelo Sassolino, Marinella Senatore, Grazia Toderi, Grazia Varisco, Cordelia von der Steinen, and Gilberto Zorio.
A third section, curated by Giacinto Di Pietrantonio, presents the current state of contemporary art through the work of about twenty artists who collectively embody the vitality and innovation of today. This portion includes artists who explore painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, digital media, and online practices, with a number of Marche-based contributors highlighted. Notable names featured include Paola Angelini, Stefano Arienti, Simone Berti, Luigi Carboni, Giuliana Cunéaz, Loredana Di Lillo, Iulia Ghita, Federica Di Pietrantonio, Silvia Mariotti, Marco Pace, Edoardo Piermattei, Alice Romano, Luca Rossi, and Vedovamazzei.
From the diverse array of works in the final section, the Premio Marche 2025 winner will be selected and publicly announced. The prize is symbolic in nature, reinforcing the region’s commitment to sustaining artistic excellence and cultural dialogue. A dedicated Alfredo Trifogli accolade will also be presented to honour the noted founder and long-standing promoter of the Prize Marche.
“In curating the Premio Marche, I asked myself which artists to invite and what narrative to foreground,” explains Giacinto Di Pietrantonio. “The selection, though limited, is deeply personal—reflecting a history of collaboration since the late 1980s and extending to today. Artistic practice, for me, is about more than technique: it engages with nature, ecology, childhood, education, and the perennial tension between portrait, still life, landscape, abstraction, and representation.”
The show is led by Directors Stefano Tonti and Arianna Trifogli, with a Scientific Committee comprising Giacinto Di Pietrantonio, Stefano Papetti, Elena Pontiggia, Gabriele Simongini, Stefano Tonti, and Arianna Trifogli. In addition to the exhibition, the Premio Marche 2025 will feature a program of conferences, educational activities, and guided tours organized in the lead-up to the prize and during the exhibition, aimed at broadening public access to and understanding of contemporary art.
Erratica strengthens the Marche region’s position as a central stage for contemporary art in Italy. This edition reaffirms the Prize Marche’s founding ideals, bringing Ancona back into the national and international dialogue around recent artistic production. The organizers hope Erratica will contribute to Ancona’s cultural tourism and reinforce the city as a dynamic hub for contemporary art in the run-up to 2028, the planned year of Italian Capital of Culture candidacy.
The exhibition will be accompanied by educational services and guided visits for schools and the public, designed to engage diverse audiences and to offer context for the works and their historical significance. Further details on schedules, tickets, and accompanying programs are forthcoming from AMIA and the Municipality of Ancona.
Photo credits: Biennale d’Arte Contemporanea, Ancona
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