The Report

download report

We first introduced ourselves to the public in March 2022 with the Report “How (Well) Known Is Contemporary Italian Art Abroad?”. The study examined the relative weight of contemporary Italian art in the world, and therefore the strength of its cultural and economic support, 16 years after the milestone analysis of 2005 conducted by professors Pier Luigi Sacco, Walter Santagata, and Michele Trimarchi for the DARC (General Directorate for Architecture and Contemporary Art) of the Ministry of Culture, published in the now historical book “Italian Contemporary Art in the World” edited by Skira. We limited our analysis to artists born from 1960 onwards, with the intention of focusing on those who, starting in the 1980s and in their early twenties, began to produce and disseminate art. The postwar art scene and that of the 1960s and 1970s had already received wide attention and recognition, including at the international level, through the valorization of movements such as Spatialism, Transavanguardia, and Arte Povera. We committed to gathering the contributions of curators and, since 2019, mapping the presence abroad of Italian artists – or those trained in Italy – from subsequent generations. Today, in the context of contemporary creativity, the notion of nationality is increasingly fluid and complex, especially with regard to geographical origin and identity.

The research covered museums, cultural institutions, biennials, festivals, galleries, and auctions, with attention also paid to public support (such as the Italian Council, the Italian Cultural Institutes abroad, and the Art Bonus). This work led to the creation of a platform that, while looking to the present and future, also aims to reconstruct the trajectories prior to 2019.

The project won the TOCC cultural call for digital transition launched by the General Directorate for Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture, funded by the European Union – Next Generation EU as part of the PNRR. Today it is finally a reality and aims to be a participatory platform open to external contributions, in which, step by step, a database is built together – that is, with the contribution of all professionals in the contemporary art world and all enthusiasts – on the international presence of Italian artistic production from the late 20th century to the present day. The journey begins today thanks also to the support of Fondazione Fiera Milano, Intesa Sanpaolo, architect and collector Luca Bombassei, and the technical support of Articker, CBM & Partners, ReportAziende Spa, Studio Lombard DCA, and Triennale Milano.

The Platform

The website presents itself as an innovative research tool, both in terms of content and the technologies used, serving students, sector professionals, academics and researchers, policymakers, and public administrations. Its goal is to analyze the functioning of the sector and the support system for contemporary artistic production in Italy, in order to stimulate dialogue among the various stakeholders, foster networking, set new goals, and identify opportunities for integration within the international art system.

The platform includes:

Interviews with curators and directors of Italian and international museums, which will be expanded to include artists, gallerists, and industry experts;
Up-to-date information on exhibitions of Italian artists abroad;
Analysis of the presence of Italian artists in international museum collections, in major biennials, and recurring international art events;
An assessment of the Italian Council’s support;
Monitoring of market presence through major international galleries and auctions, using data from Artprice, compared with that of French and German artists;
Insights into artists’ media visibility, thanks to the collaboration with Articker;
Comparative analysis of international tax systems, curated by Studio Lombard DCA, and of regulatory frameworks in other countries, curated by CBM & Partners.

The core asset of the website is a new database focused on the international careers of Italian artists born after 1960. As of today, it includes more than 100 artists and is expected to grow over time.

From a technological standpoint, the Observatory introduces a major innovation: the use of an advanced artificial intelligence system that combines data research with language processing capabilities, enabling fast, accurate responses based on the most up-to-date available information.

Early evidencies

Although not much time has passed since that first analysis in 2022, several positive developments have taken place. First and foremost, the Italian Council, through its grant programs, has enabled artists to build an international network of relationships in many countries (over 160 foreign institutions across the globe). International museums have opened their collections to Italian artists—or those trained in Italy—from the following generations, although the names found in foreign collections tend to be the usual ones, such as Maurizio Cattelan, Rosa Barba, and Tatiana Trouvé.

Participation in international biennials has become somewhat more frequent, even reaching distant countries like Gwangju, as well as new art hubs such as the Middle East and Saudi Arabia. International galleries have added new Italian artists to their rosters, and those who had already worked on the international stage have found fresh opportunities—such as Marinella Senatore, Chiara Camoni, who recently joined the roster of Andrew Kreps in New York, and the young Emilio Gola, now represented by Madragoa in Lisbon.

Certainly, an important role in boosting this visibility has been played by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), through the visual arts initiatives promoted by the Italian Cultural Institutes abroad (soon to be included on the platform). Media visibility has been high—Italian artists even ranked first in Europe and third worldwide in terms of media exposure, thanks to the strong press coverage of figures such as Claire Fontaine, whose phrase gave the title to Adriano Pedrosa’s Venice Biennale exhibition, and Maurizio Cattelan’s now-iconic banana.

The authors

The author of this report, who has been following the sector for a long time through journalistic work, believes that much more can still be done to enhance contemporary Italian art. However, it is also necessary to maintain constant monitoring of the efforts made—especially at the institutional level—in order to assess the solidity of the results achieved, to set new goals, and to identify new tools for integration into the international art system.

This report therefore aspires to observe what has been sown so far and what has been reaped, in order to understand whether the creativity produced by our culture and our academies can truly take root within the global art systems and become fertile ground for the renewal of the Italian system itself.

As has been shown in various publications and studies, the Achilles’ heel of the Italian system is the difficulty young artists face in entering the professional art world after completing their education in higher institutions (AFAM system). Understanding how far the new generations have come in gaining recognition for their creative value may represent a first step toward building international networks and exchange platforms.

An initial reflection emerges from the field research conducted in 2020 by Bertacchini and Borrione as part of a project promoted by GAI (Association for the Circuit of Young Italian Artists) on emerging artistic careers developed in art academies:
“The Visual Arts sector turns out to be the least remunerative, while the ‘Other fields,’ characterized by professions more closely linked to the cultural and creative industries (such as publishing, film, design), are those in which individuals report the highest income levels—starting from €19,000 per year.”

autore Silvia Anna Barrilà

Freelance journalist. After working in video art in Berlin and Lugano (Switzerland), she started writing specializing in art market and collecting for Il Sole 24 Ore (since 2008) and art & design for DAMN Magazine. During the years, she has developed multiple cultural initiatives including: Collective (Italian collectors' association) and Contemporary Art Galleries magazine (research-focused galleries, 2015-2024). She is co-author of BMW Art Guide by Independent Collectors. Parallel to journalism she has been a Lecturer at 24 Ore Business School since 2011, and she has been advising private and corporate clients on acquisitions of art & art-communication projects, including the collaboration with Studio Lombard DCA in Milan (since 2023).

autore Franco Broccardi

Expert in cultural economics and sustainability, arts management, and business management and organization, he is a consultant, board member, and auditor of museums, theaters, art galleries, foundations, festivals, and cultural associations.
He deals with consultancy and training for banking foundations, public, and private institutions in matters of the third sector, management and organization of cultural institutions, and the art market.
Co-founder and partner of the Lombard DCA studio in Milan and founder and editor of the magazine AES Arts+Economics.
Contract professor in Economics of cultural heritage at the University of Bergamo. Among other positions, he is president of the Economics of Culture Commission at the National Research Foundation of Accountants, consultant for tax policies of Federculture, member of the technical commission supporting the board of directors as well as Member of the Social Balance Sheet working group of ICOM Italia – International Council of Museums, consultant of ADEI – Association of Independent Publishers.

autore Maria Adelaide Marchesoni

After an extensive background as a financial analyst, from 1993 to 2011 she headed the Financial Markets Analysis Department at Il Sole 24 Ore and has collaborated with Plus24-ArtEconomy24 since its inception. She served on the Board of Directors of Bastogi Group from 2012 to 2020, and since 2021 has been a board member of Brioschi Sviluppo Immobiliare SpA. She is the author of several publications for the Il Sole 24 Ore Group.

autore Marilena Pirrelli

Journalist for Il Sole 24 Ore in the weekly finance and investment publication Plus24. Creator and editor since 2007 of the ArtEconomy24 section, in print and online, dedicated to the economics of art and art market. In 2011, she designed the Master in Economics and Management of Art and Cultural Assets for 24Ore Business School in Milan and Rome, where she serves as academic coordinator and lecturer. She teaches in various master's programs, participates as an art market expert in the Permanent Roundtable for Artwork Circulation at the Italian Ministry of Culture (MiC), and is a keynote speaker at conferences and workshops. She has written several publications, including "The sign of art in companies", Marsilio Arte 2024, "Economy of art", Egea 2023.

collaboratore Ilaria Dal Lago

Ilaria Dal Lago (b. Turin, 1996) has lived in Milan since 2016. She completed her undergraduate degree in "Arts, Design, and Performance" at IULM University and earned a second-level diploma in "Visual Cultures and Curatorial Practices" from Brera Academy of Fine Arts.

Over the years, she has collaborated with artists' studios and contemporary art galleries. From 2022 to 2025, she worked at ZERO…, Milan, where she was closely involved in exhibition coordination, art fair management, and maintaining relationships with the gallery’s artists.

collaboratore Mattia Biagetti

Mattia Fernando Biagetti works in the field of contemporary art with a particular focus on the art market. He has an academic background and completed a master's degree at the 24Ore Business School. He has collaborated with specialized magazines, exploring the dynamics and perspectives of the art system.

collaboratore Beatrice Carrara

Art historian and graduate student at the University of Bergamo, where she focuses on issues related to the enhancement of tangible and intangible cultural heritage.

Methodology

If one of the criteria used by the "Arte al futuro" study conducted by the Fondazione Santagata for the Economics of Culture to classify someone as a professional artist is the amount of income earned through artistic activity, then “purely artistic-creative work contributes to less than 50% of artists’ total annual income, and therefore the majority are often forced to take on multiple jobs, even outside the cultural sector.”

Another element emerging from the study by Bertacchini and Borrione—which also aligns with our findings—is the lack of institutional networks in Italy that, following the model of Frac, Kunstverein, or Kunsthalle, could serve as public, curated exhibition platforms. In the absence of such structures (with the Rome Quadriennale being a praiseworthy exception), young artists are often pushed to complete their educational and exhibition paths abroad, where they frequently receive support from Italian Cultural Institutes (mainly in the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and the USA), allowing them to grow through mentoring and engagement with critics and audiences. In Italy, these activities are almost exclusively carried out by independent cultural centers or research-focused galleries.

The value chain of artistic work and its development, after all, depends on a series of actors who play a mediating role in bringing contemporary art to the attention of the public and enabling its recognition. The artist, especially at the beginning of their career, risks having to constantly search for resources just to continue working.

Despite the fact that the European legislator has repeatedly urged member states to adopt the Social Status of Artists (2006/2249) with the aim of creating a “European professional registry,” Italy still lacks structural protections for this profession, which remains under-recognized and poorly paid—issues that were further exacerbated by the pandemic crisis. To this day, without such a registry, we don’t even know the exact number of professional artists in Italy.