The jury of the newly founded International Award for Participatory Art, consisting in Julia Draganovic, Rudolf Frieling, Alfredo Jaar, Bert Theis and, for the Legislative Assembly of the Region Emilia-Romagna, Luigi Benedetti, has selected the three finalists of the first edition of the prize. Mel Chin, Jeanne van Heeswijk and Pablo Helguera are invited to spend a research period in Bologna and develop a site specific project idea. The winning project, selected by the same jury, will be created in 2011. Beside the budget to accomplish the project, the winning artist receives an award of 15,000 Euros.

The intention of the International Award for Participatory Art is to support an artistic production beyond market strategies, and to stimulate a source of inspiration for participatory techniques through a biennial call for entries.

Curators and international renowned artists such as Carlos Basualdo, Catherine David, Pablo Leòn de la Barra, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Tom Finkelpearl, Manray Hsu, Geeta Kapur, Enrico Lunghi, Nina Möntmann, Julian Navarro, Anne Pasternak, Cesare Pietroiusti, Gabi Scardi, Zara Stanhope, Aneta Szylak, Tom van Gestel, Per Gunnar Tverbakk and Catherine Wood nominated candidates to the prize who in the last five years had presented and created innovative projects and approaches regarding participation.

The International Award for Participatory Art is a biennial project which started in 2010. Beyond the finalists, the longlist of nominated artists for the first award included: Shaina Anand/CAMP, Ayreen Anastas and Rene Gabri, Navjot Altaf, Zanny Begg, Meschac Gaba, Seamus Farrell, Marianne Heier, Grzegorz Klaman, Mingwei Lee, Otolith Group, Maria Papadimitriou, Marjetica Potrč, Ines den Rooijen and Kateřina Šedá.

www.assemblealegislativa.regione.emilia-romagna.it/