Artist Laura Pugno wins 5th edition of Sustainable Art Prize

On Saturday 15th October 2022, artist Laura Pugno was awarded the Sustainable Art Prize, promoted by Ca’ Foscari University of Venice in collaboration with ArtVerona.  

The prize is awarded every year to artists and collectives in ArtVerona who work on topics related to sustainability and use their art as an active tool to spread awareness of global issues and challenges. With this initiative Ca’ Foscari University extends its commitment to sustainable development to the world of Arts.

The 2022 edition has been the result of a new cooperation between Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, ArtVerona and the other universities operating in the Veneto region: Iuav University of Venice, University of Padua and University of Verona. All four universities are members of RUS – Rete delle Università per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile, a network which aims at spreading the culture of sustainability inside and outside of the university, as well as promoting collaboration between institutions. 

The winner can use 5,000 euros to create an artistic project on one or more topics related to the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The project, which will take place in autumn 2023, will involve students from the four universities and will be set up within the spaces of Ca’ Foscari.

The jury of the Sustainable Art Prize 2022 was composed of the president, Professor Elena Semenzin - Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Professor Laura Nota – University of Padua, Professor Valeria Tatano – Iuav University of Venice, Professor Matteo Nicolini – University of Verona and Christian Malycha – curatorial director of Fondazione Friedrichs, Bonn/Weidingen.

“For five years now, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, in collaboration with ArtVerona, has organised the Sustainable Art Prize, a prize for artists who participate in ArtVerona and use their art to promote sustainable development – says Professor Elena Semenzin. This year, the prize has expanded its collaboration to the other universities in the Veneto region in order to highlight their shared commitment towards sustainable development. The ultimate goal of such collaborative work is to promote innovative ways to elaborate on diverse thematic areas of sustainability including, but not limited to, through the emotional involvement that is typical of artistic language. Indeed, the artist will develop a cooperative project with our students. The prize is not only a recognition of their artistic production, but also a good opportunity for artists to experiment in a new field by interacting with the academic world. In other words, the prize wants to be the meeting point between art, education, and research.”