Marca Corona 2025-2026 Award
Mani-mente-Mani (Hands-mind-Hands)
Allegories of matter and relationships
Are you an artist under 35 in search of a great opportunity?
Now’s your chance. The Marco Corona Award is back for its fourth edition and invites talented young Italian and international artists to put their creativity to the test with an original project.
Art and business: a dialogue that unites tradition and future
Marca Corona, the Sassuolo district’s oldest ceramics company, is still forging links between art and business. After almost three centuries of history and partnerships with great artists, the brand is renewing its commitment to supporting young creative spirits with an award that prioritises experimentation, manual skills and innovation.
The theme: Hands-mind-Hands
The 2025-2026 edition of the Marca Corona Award invites participants to think about the importance of the creative act, manual skills and relationships. Hands that shape, build and touch matter and other people. An invitation to rediscover the corporeal and tactile dimension of art in an age dominated by the digital.
Entries may explore:
● the relationship between man and nature, creative act and matter;
● manual skills as knowledge and poetry;
● collective creation as a shared value;
● the allegory of working with your hands as a form of responsibility towards the future.
The competition offers a cash prize, an artistic residence and the opportunity to develop the artist’s design in a ceramic medium.
How to enter
Entries for the competition open on 10 October 2025.
To enter, fill in the online form and upload a compressed file (.zip or .rar, maximum 50 MB) containing:
● artistic portfolio,
● brief description of the project (max 3000 characters),
● up to 5 representative images,
● copy of photo ID.
The schedule of the 2025/2026 Marca Corona Award
Entries will close at midnight on 12 January 2026. 5 finalists will be selected by 24 January.
The award ceremony will be held on 6 February 2026, coinciding with Arte Fiera in the Art City Bologna circuit.
Prizes
● Cash prize of €1,500 in recognition of the winner’s talent.
● Artistic residence working alongside the Marca Corona marketing team and laboratory.
● Physical realisation of the work in ceramic medium.
This unique project combines craftsmanship, business and contemporary art and forms part of the creative story of a company that has been actively expressing and promoting Made in Italy style and culture for more than 300 years.
