Call for submission X Edition

THE ALUMINIUM EXPERIENCE

The COMEL Vanna Migliorin Contemporary Art Award (hereafter “COMEL Award”) was established in 2012 in memory of Mrs. Vanna Migliorin, for her passion for art and enthusiasm for supporting innovative projects. In 1968 with her husband Mazzola Alfonso, she founded in Latina the CO.ME.L. Commercio Metalli Latina (today COMEL Industries), a leading company in the trade and processing of semi-finished aluminium products that promotes and supports the COMEL award in a brilliant example of synergy between art and business. (1)
It is a well-established art reality in the contemporary art sector and it can be counted among the most innovative European art competitions. It selects 13 artists whose works, sticking to the assigned theme, best enlighten the expressive, aesthetic, communicative and creative qualities of aluminium.
A well-established reality in the modern art scene, among the most innovative European competitions. A project, now at its 10th edition, that promotes, in addition, intercultural relations between the countries of the European continent, creates moments of sharing and meeting between artists, scholars, and the public.
Participation in the call for entries is free and open to artists aged 18 and older who use aluminium as the main element in the creation of the work they intend to enter in the competition.
At each edition, a high-level jury selects, from all entries received, the 13 finalist works that will be exhibited in Latina, in the Spazio COMEL Arte Contemporanea gallery (www.spaziocomel.it ), the exclusive venue of the event. The winner will be awarded the Jury Award, while the public visiting the exhibition will be asked to vote for their favourite works by decreeing the winner of the Audience Award.With a view to a planned and effective promotion of the participants and the Award itself, a catalogue will be prepared by the organization on the occasion of the exhibition and targeted dissemination in specialized media. In addition, the finalist artists will be given an interview about their artistic experience. An important testimony that will become part of the portfolio of the Award website. The COMEL award will be fully responsible for the care of the catalogue and communication.

1 The COMEL Award has joined the “AMACI project – Business with Contemporary Art”. It is a network of companies with a common interest in supporting the value of Contemporary Art in Italy, so as to transmit knowledge, experiences and ideas, according to the principle of sharing among the partners of AMACI.

WHY ALUMINIUM?

Aluminium can be forged, modeled, laminated, like hot wax in the artist’s hands. It lends itself to take on the desired forms and volumes. It is lightweight (a third of steel), shiny, soft, durable, with good electrical and thermal conductivity, 100% recyclable with an energy cost equal to one twentieth of that necessary for its first melting. Visually intriguing, with its unique characteristics, aluminium is the true contemporary material.

WHY 13 ARTISTS?

Because in the Table of Elements, aluminium is the chemical element with the atomic number 13.

ART. 6 – SELECTION PROCESS AND JURY


A professional Committee in the field of art, will select thirteen works, among all the submitted artworks. The thirteen works will be exhibited, at a date to be defined, at the gallery Spazio COMEL Arte Contemporanea, via Neghelli 68, Latina, Italy, in a special dedicated exhibition for the selected artists and the Jury will choose among them the winner for the COMEL Award of Contemporary art 2023.
In addition to the above mentioned 13 artworks, the Jury will also identify two additional reserves that will be called to participate in the exhibition, only in the case of exclusion or waiver of the previous selected works. The Jury also may signal, beyond the winner, some special mentions and/or prizes
The selection procedure will be performed on photographic images, so it is recommended for the submission, to send the material as exhaustive as possible. The judgement expressed by the Jury is final and irrevocable.

The judgement expressed by the Jury is final and irrevocable.The names of the members of the jury of the COMEL award 2023, chaired by Giorgio Agnisola, art critic and writer, professor of sacred art at the Pontifical Theological Faculty of Southern Italy. The names of the members of the jury of the COMEL award 2023 will be communicated in the coming months.

ART. 7 – PHASES AND DEADLINES

1. July 16th, 2023 (midnight), the registration deadline of the COMEL 2023 Award;
2. Within August 30th, 2023, the finalist artists will be contacted via e-mail and announced online, who will be provided with information on sending the work and the exhibition;
3. By September 22th, 2023, the selected artists must send the registered work (see Art. 9 – TRANSPORT, INSURANCE, PREPARATION OF WORKS). Failure to respect the delivery date of the work will result in exclusion from the competition. The works must be delivered in suitable reusable packaging for returning the works at the end of the competition.
4. Exhibition opening: October 21yh, 2023
5. Proclamation and award ceremony: November 11th, 2023

ART. 8 – AWARDS

A) COMEL jury Award
The unique winning artist will be awarded the COMEL Jury Award 2023. The prize consists of a cash prize of € 3500. ² The winning artist will also be awarded a solo exhibition to be held at the Spazio COMEL Arte Contemporanea, located in via Neghelli, 68 – Latina. The publication of a catalogue of the exhibition is also included. The dates and conditions of the exhibition to be agreed in advance with the organization and however no later than the calendar year in which the prize has been held. The work will become part of the permanent collection.

CO.ME.L. By accepting the Prize, the winner relinquishes ownership of his/her work and gives. CO.ME.L. all rights related to it, including the publication right of the image, while retaining the right to be recognized as the author of the artwork.

² Witholding tax on money prize

B) Audience COMEL Award 2023
The artist who will receive the greatest number of preferences from the exhibition visitors, will be awarded a solo exhibition to be held at the Spazio COMEL contemporary art gallery, located in via Neghelli, 68 – Latina. The dates and conditions will be agreed in advance with the organization and it will be displayed no later than the calendar year in which the prize has been held. The ‘Audience Award 2023’ does not consist of a cash prize and the winning artwork will remain property of the artist.

The awards will take place on Saturday October 21th 2023 as part of the exhibition. The presence of the winners of the competition at the time of the award ceremony was very welcome.

ART. 9 – CATALOGUE
The catalog will include pictures of the selected works, short biographical notes of the finalists and critical texts of the jury, in Italian and English. Copies of the catalog will be delivered free of charge to the artists and to all visitors of the exhibition.

ART. 10 – OPENING OF THE EXHIBITION
The inauguration will take place on Saturday October 21th 2023 and the works will remain on display until Saturday November 11th, 2023, subject to a possible extension of the exhibition time.

ART. 11 – TRANSPORTATION, INSURANCE, ARTWORKS INSTALLATION
The transportation (delivery and collection) and insurance will be at the expense of the artist. The COMEL will take charge of the insurance of the works only within the gallery space, during the exhibition.
The works must be received no later than Friday 28 October, 2023, under penalty of exclusion, at the headquarters of the CO.ME.L. in Latina (LT), CAP 04100, in Via Congiunte sinistre n ° 398 from 8: 30/13: 00 – 15: 00/18: 00 from Monday to Friday. It is essential that the works arrive accompanied by suitable reusable packaging for the return of the works at the end of the competition.

The works must be delivered in a suitable reusable packaging for the return of the artworks at the end of the competition
The artworks will be installed by the exhibition organizers according to the instructions previously arranged with the artists (see Paragraph 4 – CRITERIA FOR ARTWORKS). Each work must arrive ready for installation, under penalty of exclusion. Except for the award winning work (which becomes the property of the CO.ME.L permanent collection) all artworks should be collected directly from the CO.ME.L. company premises by Wednesday 22th December 2023, at the company address:
CO.ME.L. via Congiunte Sinistre n. 398 – 04100 Latina (LT) Italy. From Monday to Friday, from 8.30/13.00 to 15:00/18:00

The works not collected within the deadline will be considered as a legacy to the Prize.

ART. 12 – PRIVACY
Each candidate expressly authorizes the COMEL Prize, as well as his legal representative, to process personal data transmitted, pursuant to law 675/96 (Privacy law) and subsequent amendments of Legislative Decree 196/2003 (Privacy code), also for the insertion in databases managed by the aforementioned people.
Each participant in the competition grants the COMEL Prize, as well as its legal representative, free of charge, the reproduction rights of the works and texts released to the prize, for the purpose of drawing up the catalog, publication on the Prize website and other forms of communication, promotion and activities of the organization. The material sent for registration only, will not be returned.
The organizers of the competition will have the right to make a final decision on anything not specified in this notice.
The organization reserves itself the right to make changes to the notice if the need arises, communicating it on the portal www.premiocomel.it

Participation in the COMEL Prize implies full and complete acceptance of all the articles of this call for submission.