From August 1-31, 2020, Grottaglie (Italy), the famous ‘city of ceramics’, hosted the exhibition of the works competing for the MediTERRAneo Awards.
Thirty-nine artists were selected out of over eighty applications received from different regions of Italy but also from European and non-European nations
The exhibition is widespread and includes seven exhibit locations including semi-private places, not always accessible to the city community, in a path that winds from the Episcopio Castle to the Capuchin Convent through the alleys of the charming Old Town.
An exceptional jury, chaired by the Mayor Ciro D’Alò from various experiences in the world of ceramics, enriched this new edition by decreeing the winners:
• Irene Biolchini, Curator and Guest curator at the MIC – International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza and lecturer for the Digital Arts department of the University of Malta.
• Mirco Denicolò, Visual artist who deals with ceramics from an artistic, didactic and technological point of view. He is an ISIA teacher where he teaches ceramic modeling laboratory and where he takes care of the technological laboratory;
• Lorenzo Fiorucci, Historian and art critic, collaborator of the Museum of Palazzo Collicola in Spoleto, specializes in 20th century ceramic sculpture;
• Flaminio Gualdoni, Professor of Ancient Art History at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, Commissioner of the 44th Venice Biennale.
The first prize for the best work consists of a contribution of 3500 Euros and, the second winner, in addition to receiving the sum of 1500 Euros, was given the opportunity to exhibit one of his reviews during the 2021 Ceramics Exhibition.
The second winner of the last edition, Giorgio Di Palma, also presented his solo exhibition in the Conference Room of the Episcopio Castle.
Ingressi contingentati by Giorgio di Palma
Winner of the exhibition award during the 27th Contemporary Ceramics Competition in Grottaglie (2019), Giorgio Di Palma is grappling with his first solo show in Grottaglie, the city where he lives and works.
For the occasion, he presents to the public a new project, created during the months of lockdown where he entrusts objects, reliefs and sculptures with the task of telling what happened during the closing. His exhibition is a journey into an atypical temporal dimension, where many of the works have been conceived to merge between past, present and future.
Visiting the exhibition is like unwrapping a pack of 90s stickers and finding yourself in your hands one of those cards that change image if you move them left and right, passing from before to after.
The Exhibition of Ceramics born in 1971 has expanded to the world by bringing together local, national and international artists. The Competition Exhibition pays homage to ceramic craftsmanship, as an essential element of the identity history of the city of Grottaglie which for centuries has managed to transform the earth into works of art.
The winners of the XXVII Concorso di Ceramica Contemporanea Mediterraneo:
Aurora Avvantaggiato (Italy) – First prize
Giulio Polloniato (Italy) – Second prize
Eduardo Herrera (Argentine/Italy) – Honourable mention
Vladimir Kornienko (Ukraine) – Honourable mention
Aurora Avvantaggiato (Italy) – First prize 
Giulio Polloniato (Italy) – Second prize 
Eduardo Herrera (Argentine/Italy) – Honourable mention 
Vladimir Kornienko (Ukraine) – Honourable mention
Contact
infopoint@comune.grottaglie.ta.it
