Exhibition Period: November 7, 2026 – January 8, 2027
🖼️ Award-Winning Artworks, click here!
Exhibition Opening & Hours:
- Friday 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
- Saturday and Sunday 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM / 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Awarded Works
Selected Works
Award
Manifesto Thought
Artistic practices as forms of knowledge
The central theme of the 20th edition explores the epistemic dimension of art: every artwork as a cognitive act, every creative process as research.
Art as thought
The artwork is not merely an aesthetic expression: it is a way of knowing, interpreting, and questioning reality. Artistic practice becomes a rigorous intellectual act.
Manifest and visible
The term manifesto evokes both the sense of a public declaration and that which clearly appears. Art renders visible what is submerged, giving shape to thought.
Practices and processes
The award values not only the final work, but the entire creative process: research, experimentation, and method as an integral part of the artistic project.
Shared knowledge
Visual and performative arts as universal languages capable of building bridges across disciplines, cultures, and generations, nurturing collective knowledge.
Visual Arts Section
Subsections of the Award
Call for Applications and Regulations
The Academy of Fine Arts of L’Aquila has been officially entrusted by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR) with organizing the “Visual Arts” section of the 20th edition of the National Arts Award.
Participation in the Award is governed by the General Call issued by the Ministry and by the relevant internal Regulations adopted by the Institution to define specific criteria and organizational procedures for the event.
All AFAM institutions and their respective candidate students are invited to carefully consult the official documentation before submitting their proposals, remembering that the deadline for submitting applications is set for 11:59 PM on August 2, 2026.
Official Documentation and Downloads
To view the admission requirements, eligible subsections (Visual Arts and Restoration), and technical specifications for delivering artworks, please use the following links:
🏛️ Call for Applications (Link to the MUR page)
- 10/28/2025 – National Arts Award – 20th Edition – Institutions in charge of organization
- 12/15/2025 – National Arts Award 2025/2026 20th Edition – Visual Arts and Design Call for Applications
- 01/16/2026 – Executive Decree No. 1537 of 01-16-2026 – Rectification of PNA 20th Edition Call for Applications
📄 ABAQ Regulations and Forms:
- 02/16/2026 – Enactment of ABAQ PNA XX 2026 Regulations
- 02/16/2026 – PNA 2026 20th Edition Regulations ABAQ Academy of Fine Arts L’Aquila
- 07/14/2026 – Addition to ABAQ PNA XX 2026 Regulations (Art. 5, paragraph 2, letter e)
- 09/04/2026 – Postponement of delivery period for selected works (October 5-15, 2026) – Protocol note 7535/A12
For further real-time updates on the Award, you can constantly monitor the
PNA Page on the official ABAQ website – abaq.it/pna
Commissions / Juries of PNA XX
Visual Arts Section Jury (figurative, digital, performative, and scenographic)
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Prof. Cesare Pietroiusti – President
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Prof. Carla Subrizi – Member
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Prof. Alessandra Troncone – Member
📄 Ministerial Appointment Decree – Visual Arts (D.M. prot. 88 of 09/08/2026)
Restoration Subsection Jury
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Prof. Fabio Piacentini – President
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Prof. Fabio Talarico – Member
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Prof. Antonio Mirabile – Member
📄 Ministerial Appointment Decree – Restoration (D.M. prot. 89 of 09/08/2026)
🔄 Updates and Minutes of the PNA XX Juries
Minutes No. 1 – Visual Arts Section
Agenda:
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Establishment of the committee
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Determination of evaluation criteria
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Definition of work schedule
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Any other business
📑 Download Minutes No. 1 – Visual Arts (Meeting of 09/16/2026)
Minutes No. 1 – Restoration Subsection
Agenda:
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Establishment of the committee
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Determination of evaluation criteria
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Definition of work schedule
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Any other business
📑 Download Minutes No. 1 – Restoration (Meeting of 09/16/2026)
Participation
List of Selected Participants
Following the conclusion of the work of the Juries appointed by the Ministry of University and Research, the list of selected participants for the final exhibition of the National Arts Award – 20th Edition (2026), Visual Arts Section, is provided below.
Award Schedule
From internal selection to the final exhibition
The Context
Academy of Fine Arts of L’Aquila – ABAQ
Founded in 1969, the Academy of Fine Arts of L’Aquila (ABAQ) is a point of reference for artistic education in Central and Southern Italy, capable of responding to the transformations of contemporary art. Organizing the 20th edition of the PNA allows the Academy to strengthen its role as an active cultural hub, fostering dialogue among the excellences of the AFAM system in conjunction with the initiatives of L’Aquila Italian Capital of Culture 2026.
This edition will unfold in the heart of the city through a widespread network of exhibition and institutional spaces. The focal point of the exhibition route will be the Former Monastery of Santa Caterina da Siena, which will host the opening event of the exhibition and mark the official inauguration of the Academy’s new downtown branch, joined by Palazzo Benedetti which, being re-opened to visitors thanks to events like this, allows citizens and tourists to rediscover the grandeur of L’Aquila’s nobility and the historical layering that makes the historic center of L’Aquila unique. The itinerary also includes important local art institutions such as MU.SP.A.C., the Experimental Museum of Contemporary Art, also known by the acronym MuSpAC, founded in 1993, and Spazio Genesi ETS, the latter promoted and managed by ABAQ students. The institutional connection and stages of the award will be completed at the main seat of the Academy, where the Academy Theater will serve as the official setting for the award ceremony.
