The International Award for Participatory Art has chosen the Arte Fiera Bologna – Bologna Art Fair, as the venue to announce the winner of the first edition of the Prize. The Prize will be awarded on Sunday 30th January at 3 pm during the Art Talks series taking place at the Bologna Art Fair, Italy’s leading contemporary art fair.

The winner will be announced by President of the Legislative Assembly of the Region of Emilia-Romagna Matteo Richetti together with the international jury comprising: Julia Draganovic, curator of the Prize; Rudolf Frieling, curator of the Media Arts Department at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Alfredo Jaar, one of the most influential artists on the international contemporary art scene; Bert Theis, artist, curator and co-founder of the out-Office for Urban Transformation and the Isola Art Center, Milan; Luigi Benedetti, Director General of the Legislative Assembly of the Region of Emilia-Romagna.

The three artists have presented projects relating to the Bologna area after having spent a period of residence in the city which gave them the opportunity to get to know the city, its history and the social and cultural context of the surrounding region. During their period of residence, the artists invited members of the public to a series of meetings, debates, conferences, projections and performances.

The three finalists chosen by the jury are Mel Chin (Houston, 1951) who lives and works in North Carolina, USA; Jeanne van Heeswijk (Schijndel,1965) who lives and works in Rotterdam; Pablo Helguera (Mexico City, 1971) who lives and works in New York.

The three artists have presented projects relating to the Bologna area after having spent a period of residence in the city which gave them the opportunity to get to know the city, its history and the social and cultural context of the surrounding region.