INVITO 2017

Concurrently with MIART and the Week of Contemporary Art patronized by the City of Milan – Culture, the Museo del Novecento presents “INVITO” 2017 [Invitation], the exhibition devoted to the ACACIA 2017 Prize winner, the annual award bestowed by the Milan Contemporary Art Collectors Association.

This year, the exhibit organised by ACACIA, and traditionally hosted in the private dwellings of the Association’s members, will be held for the second time in the halls of the Museo del Novecento, thus strengthening the bond that the Association has tied with one of the most important Italian museums.

The protagonist of the 2017 edition of the ACACIA Prize, which has now reached its fourteenth anniversary, is Rossella Biscotti (b. Molfetta, 1978) and her work entitled “Dalla stazione marittima al Ministero del Lavoro e Politiche sociali” (From the Maritime Hub to the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies), 2010, which becomes part of the Museo del Novecento heritage.

Ms. Biscotti’s work stems from a thorough, in-depth exploration of our recent historic past. The outcome of her investigation gives life to works encompassing the world of cinema, performance arts, photography, and sculpture, with the ultimate aim of stirring a subjective reflection on historic events. In particular, historic and political events blend with personal recollections to the purpose of offering a new interpretation of the past and maintaining a dialogue with present time.

The work “Dalla stazione marittima al Ministero del Lavoro e Politiche sociali” is part of a series entitled “Tre performance” (Three performances), produced in the spring of 2010 in Naples, the city that the artist became familiar with when she attended the Academy of Fine Arts. This series was conceived to highlight the relationship between the city and the individuals, giving food for reflection on social and labour issues.

“Dalla stazione marittima al Ministero del Lavoro e Politiche sociali” records the stroll of a man along the way that connects the port to the building that accommodates the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies – two emblematic locations in Naples. On his way to the Ministry, the man holds a brick made of brass, the symbol of labour and fatigue as well as a potential tool for rebellion.


This work now joins the production of other artists, such as Mario Airò, Rosa Barba, Gianni Caravaggio, Maurizio Cattelan, Roberto Cuoghi, Lara Favaretto, Francesco Gennari, Sabrina Mezzaqui, Marzia Migliora, Adrian Paci, Paola Pivi, Luca Trevisani, Grazia Toderi, Marcella Vanzo, Nico Vascellari, Francesco Vezzoli, Tatiana Trouvé, and Linda Fregni Nagler, whose work makes up the ACACIA collection that was generously bestowed by the Association to
the Museo del Novecento in 2015 and that, each year, becomes richer with the addition of the work by the winner of the prestigious prize.

Photo: Rossella Biscotti, “Dalla stazione marittima al Ministero del Lavoro e Politiche sociali”, 2010