ColophonArte Award

The Colophonarte Award, created in 2023, is a look at young art by a major publisher of Italian art books. Open to artists under 40, of any nationality, whose works are presented at Arte Fiera, it allows the winner to conceive and publish an art book in an edition of 250 copies, plus a special more limited edition. In the first two editions, the winners were Elena Mazzi, an Italian artist, and Zehra Dogan, a Kurdish intellectual, journalist, and artist. For the third edition of the Award (in line with its subject, i.e., an artist book) the selection will focus on the candidates’ ability to create a dialog between arts and languages.

Colophonarte, a publisher of art books, was founded in Belluno in 1988. After 36 years, it boasts a catalogue of over 130 books created with the finest contemporary artists in Italy and Europe, who have interpreted poems, texts, music, and ideas from the world’s literature and culture.

Each book is a unique project, but all are linked by a consistent cultural idea, by a recognizable identity, typical of Italian design, and by the precious contribution of master artisans, essential for the creation of such exquisite books. All of the books are published in limited editions, and are always signed and numbered, with texts composed in movable lead type, hand-printed on pure cotton paper, and artisanally bound.

Jury:
Olga Gambari, curator, journalist, and art critic
Serena Carbone, art historian and curator
Ilaria Puri Purini, Andrew Heiskell Arts Director at the American Academy, Rome