Combat Prize 2021

Now in its twelfth edition, and in the second year of a worldwide health emergency that gives little sign of ending, the Combat Prize continues to give voice to emerging talent and innovative experimentation.

The climate of contemporary art as a whole is not encouraging; calls for help are heard everywhere, and the timid signs of protest lamenting the lack of a coordinated, forward-looking policy in favour of this sector have practically faded into an awkward silence. For the most part supported by the private sector, the production of Italian artists is at risk of being starved. The more pressing needs stemming from the prolonged health crisis risk marginalizing their production and the motor of the entire art system. The much longed-for end of this crisis situation remains the indispensable precondition for the initiation of something different. Our battle must be to ensure that art becomes an integral part of our lives again, to guarantee that it is not relegated to a peripheral role, disregarded and set aside as superfluous.

Despite all that, like a plant germinating in infertile soil but full of intrinsic life, the Combat Prize resists and, amazingly, even manages to thrive. Our hope is to have created an effective instrument, reliable and capable of making an important contribution to the Italian art scene.

During periods of crisis, there is often a change in the nature of artistic production. Should that occur, we will be ready to support artists by acquiring or commissioning their work and to document the emerging trends within the Italian and international art scene, trying to recognize the most promising and dynamic ones as they develop.

I would like to thank the Communal Administration of Livorno, the Fondazione Livorno, Poliart and the publishing house Sillabe, who have consistently supported the Combat project over these past years and been constantly attentive to our work.

Finally, a heartfelt applause to the more than 1200 artists who participated in this twelfth edition, without whom it would not have been possible.

It is my sincere hope that the Combat Prize represents both a marvellous journey of exploration and a source of self-knowledge for you all.

Paolo Batoni

President of the Blob ART Cultural Association