Germinale - Monferrato Art Fest

From 11 September 2026 to 13 September 2026, From 19 September 2026 to 20 September 2026, From 26 September 2026 to 27 September 2026, From 3 October 2026 to 4 October 2026

See all dates

Germinale's initiatives will take place between September 11th and October 4th in 29 exhibition venues, 18 municipalities in the Lower Monferrato area, and will involve approximately 60 artists: 24 invited artists, 10 in residence, 15 for the Premio Selva, and 12 for The Monferriner.

Twenty-four artists will participate by direct invitation, including established and mid-career artists: Luigi Mainolfi, Richi Ferrero, Paola Anziché, Simone Benedetto, Domenico Borrelli, Boscolo-Rossetto, Chiara Capellini, Claudio Cravero, Agata Ferrari Bravo, Ferdi Giardini, Carlo Gloria, IDEM studio, Sophie Anne Herin, Marguerite Kahrl, Davide Mineo, Jessica Moroni, Johannes Pfeiffer, Paolo Piscitelli, Daniele Ratti, Tamara Repetto, Ugo Ricciardi, Raffaele Salvoldi, Enrico Tealdi, and Marzio Zorio.

Among the most anticipated guests of this third edition is Luigi Mainolfi (Rotondi, 1948), a prominent figure in major international events, including the Venice Biennale and Documenta in Kassel. Mainolfi is now represented in major Italian and international museums. The Artistic Director's decision to exhibit one of his works in the spaces of the Palazzo di Città in Asti stems from the desire to create a dialogue between international artistic research and the cultural identity of the region, continuing the bond established in 1995 with the creation of the Drappi for the historic Palio.
This year's special guest is also Richi Ferrero (Turin, 1951), a Turin-born artist, director, and playwright trained in experimental theater, who has gradually transcended the confines of the stage to develop a language in which theater, visual arts, light, and urban space intertwine. From large-scale public installations to artistic and monumental lighting projects, to the most recent works of visual art, Ferrero has the ability to transform space into an aesthetic and perceptive experience, making light one of the most recognizable features of his research.

GERMINALE FOR A DIFFUSED MUSEUM
One of Germinale's goals is to produce at least one work, for each edition, that can remain permanently in the area.
Two works are planned for 2026: the first is a mural created by artist Carlo Gloria as a tribute to the community of Rinco, a hamlet of Montiglio Monferrato. The work is the result of a participatory process involving residents and the local community: the citizens contributed to the design and were portrayed in the painting. The mural—self-financed by the artist and the Quasi Fondazione Carlo Gloria APS—is part of Germinale's vision of creating a diffused museum of permanent works throughout the area, where art is born from the people and places it represents.
The second is an intervention on the façade of the Church of the Trinity in Villadeati, created by the young duo Boscolo and Rossetto. The project sees the rose window as a perceptive and symbolic element, whose light amplifies and transforms the relationship between the space and the observer. The installation reimagines this luminous element: during the day, the rose window hosts a play of internal light, while at night, the light is projected externally.

ARTIST RESIDENCIES
A key aspect of the project will be the Art Residences, designed to host emerging talents for the duration of the event and offer them a space that will be both a studio and an exhibition space. Within this framework, residents and visitors will have the opportunity not only to enjoy the works on display, but also to meet and meet the artists personally.

Ten Residencies will be planned for the 2026 edition, all included in the official Germinale tour. The winning artists were selected through a public competition and will be announced by July 15th.

LIVE PROGRAM
The exhibitions will be accompanied by a packed schedule of talks on topics related to art and environmental sustainability, performing arts, and workshops.
Continuing with the previous edition, the collaboration with Casa degli Alfieri is renewed, with a program of performances and performing arts scheduled during the opening days of the event and at the various venues throughout the entire duration of the festival.

SPECIAL PROJECTS

SELVA ART PRIZE
The Selva Art Prize returns for the second consecutive year. This initiative, dedicated to the promotion and support of young artists, offers numerous prizes and numerous opportunities for artists under 40.
The 15 finalists for the Prize will be selected through a public competition and will have the opportunity to exhibit their works in a final group exhibition, hosted in the prestigious former Asilo Regina Elena in Castagnole Monferrato.
The initiative's first award will consist of the organization acquiring the winning work and awarding the artist €2,500.
The Selva Art Prize is promoted and supported by Compagnia dei Caraibi and Dispensa, passionate and deeply committed partners of this new edition of Germinale. Both organizations have always been sensitive to the issues of enhancing the local area and landscape, as well as promoting contemporary art in all its forms. This commitment stems from the desire to foster a constant dialogue between art, community, and the local area. It translates into a desire to support young talents, foster new creative synergies, and offer tools for understanding, experiencing, and sharing culture as a collective experience. In the spaces of Dispensa, this spirit will find new expression with a fall spin-off during Turin Art Week, continuing the journey begun with Contaminazioni, a project dedicated to young artists that took place in 2024.
Through the recognition of the Selva Art Prize, Compagnia dei Caraibi and Dispensa confirm their commitment to promoting emerging talents and new creative synergies.

THE MONFERRINER - The magazine that (isn't) there. The 2026 edition of Germinale sees the debut of The Monferriner, a new editorial and cultural project to tell the story of the region hosting the art fest. This magazine depicts its true identity through the language of contemporary illustration, including Infernot, villages, architecture and castles, landscapes and communities, and details.
The Monferriner is an Instagram profile that collects covers dedicated to Monferrato, as well as the story behind the artist's choice. Starting from the cover, we delve into journeys that, over time, will create a new narrative of the region's geography.
During Germinale, an open call will be held to invite illustrators to submit their covers for publication on Instagram. The works selected through the call will be on display at the former Pharmacy in Cocconato d'Asti during the festival, along with those created by a series of artists invited to contribute to the project.
The Monferriner project is a collaboration between Germinale and sixeleven, a Turin-based creative agency, in collaboration with Galleria Caracol.

MICROMONDS UNDERFOOT - Workshops for primary schools
Among the central projects of the new edition of Germinale Monferrato Art Fest is Micromondi sotto i piedi, a workshop dedicated to local primary schools. The initiative involved 460 children on a creative journey to discover the soil as a place of memory, metamorphosis, and storytelling, transforming them into "archaeologists of the future."
Led by young artist Gregorio Furnari, the students created clay tiles, veritable fossils of the present, using the imprint of everyday, natural, and technological objects. The workshop raised awareness of environmental sustainability and introduced them to contemporary art, strengthening the connection of new generations with the region. Through creativity and innovative tools such as narrative podcasts, the children became protagonists in the narrative of the Monferrato landscape and its memory. The schools involved in this experience are: the primary schools of Frinco, Calliano, Montiglio Monferrato, Castell'Alfero, Cocconato, and Portacomaro, the "G. Marconi" primary school in Murisengo, the "F. Sarzano" primary school in Moncalvo, and the "F. Mezzadra" primary school in Vignale.
The works created will be brought together in a large collective work, a shared collection of local testimonies, which will be exhibited in the Romanesque Parish Church of San Lorenzo in Montiglio as part of the Germinale 2026 program.

VISAGI – PORTRAITS OF A LIVING TOWN
Among the various content items included in the Germinale 2026 program is Claudio Cravero's Visagi photography project, which involves the local community, town after town.
Visagi - from the Piccolo Vocabolario Piemontese-Italiano: Visagi, noun: face, face, appearance - is a project that explores the relationship between the world of tradition and contemporary society.
A photographic snapshot to tell the story of a community searching for its identity between an agricultural past and new visions, meeting old and new citizens on the ever-delicate thread of integration. A focus on the local community's stories, its present, and its possible future. In 2026, the project will inhabit the streets of Olivola's historic center, after engaging the residents of Rinco, Carboneri-Remorfengo, Colcavagno, Montiglio Monferrato, Villadeati, Piovà Massaia, and Murisengo. VISAGI is a work in progress: first, a discussion with the local and non-resident population, then the outdoor photo set and interviews with the subjects during the shoot, and finally, the display of large photographic prints in the streets and squares of the town.

PARTNER MUNICIPALITIES OF THE GERMINALE NETWORK
The third edition of the festival will involve 18 municipalities:

Asti
Alfiano Natta (AL)
Calliano Monferrato (AT)
Camagna Monferrato (AL)
Casale Monferrato (AL)
Castagnole Monferrato (AT)
Castell’Alfero (AT)
Cocconato (AT)
Frinco (AT)
Moncalvo (AT)
Montiglio Monferrato (AT)
Murisengo Monferrato (AL)
Olivola (AL)
Piovà Massaia (AT)
Portacomaro (AT)
Viarigi (AT)
Vignale Monferrato (AL)
Villadeati (AL)

The gems of this edition will be the municipalities of Asti and Casale Monferrato.
In Asti, the exhibition will unfold in two venues of great historical and architectural value: Palazzo di Città and Palazzo Mazzetti.
The former, home to the town hall since the 16th century and renovated in Baroque style by Benedetto Alfieri, will house Soltitan, a bronze sculpture by Luigi Mainolfi, in the atrium, creating a dialogue between contemporary art and historic architecture.
The presence of Palazzo Mazzetti, the prestigious home of the Civic Museum and an important example of the city's Baroque architecture, marks Germinale's membership in the Fondazione Asti Musei's widespread museum network throughout the Asti area. This collaborative effort involves public and private entities, including municipalities, museums, cultural associations, and foundations, united by a common goal: to promote, enhance, and network the rich artistic, historical, and cultural heritage of the Asti area. An installation by contemporary artist Domenico Borrelli will be exhibited at the historic residence. In Casale Monferrato, the project will involve three exhibition venues: the Paleologi Castle, the Cloister of the Bistolfi Civic Museum, and the Kiosk of Visions. The Castle, with its monumental spaces, will host the exchange between contemporary art and historical heritage; the Kiosk of Visions will host the Artist-in-Residence project, while the Cloister of the Bistolfi Civic Museum, the heart of the ancient Santa Croce convent complex, will offer a particularly evocative setting for the works on display, with its architectural balance and intimate atmosphere.

PROJECT PARTNER INSTITUTIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS
The institutions and associations with which we have an important collaboration for various activities are: the Asti Museums Foundation, the Basso Monferrato Ecomuseum, the Casa degli Alfieri, the Gente&Paesi Foundation, the MadreSelva Association of Villadeati, the Fra' Guglielmo Massaia Association of Piovà Massaia, and the Club per l'UNESCO Association of Vignale Monferrato.
Germinale is part of the Orma circuit, artist's traces, a project that brings together the most important artistic initiatives in the Langhe, Monferrato, and Roero regions, conceived and organized by the ATL L M R.

THE TERRITORY AND THE PRODUCTIVE EVENTS
Many local businesses are involved in Germinale as exhibition venues or project partners for the Art Residencies. The works and artistic installations will be hosted at Castello di Razzano and Bava Azienda Vitivinicola. Combriccola Marchetti is renewing its collaboration by hosting the two artists in residence in Cocconato (AT).

THE ART GALLERIES INVOLVED
The third edition of Germinale involves the following galleries: Umberto Benappi, Weber&Weber, RedLab Gallery, Galleria Simondi, and Société Interludio.

Germinale - Monferrato Art Fest is organized with the support of the Piedmont Regional Council,
with the patronage of the Piedmont Region, with the local operational support of the Langhe Monferrato Roero Tourism Board and Alexala, the ATL Province of Alessandria, with the contribution of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Asti, in collaboration with the Fondazione Asti Musei, and with the support of partners Compagnia dei Caraibi and Dispensa.
Germinale - Monferrato Art Fest is organized and produced by the Quasi Fondazione Carlo Gloria and is an annual traveling and widespread contemporary art festival. Its third edition will take place in the hills of Basso Monferrato from September 10th to October 4th. The initiative, founded in Rinco di Montiglio by the Quasi Fondazione Carlo Gloria, aims to promote art and culture and enhance the local area and landscape through the implementation of projects and itineraries dedicated to contemporary art that involve and connect eighteen municipalities of Basso Monferrato, between the provinces of Asti and Alessandria. Each municipality represents a stage in a complex journey, hosting different types of content, including exhibitions, open-air installations, and art residencies. These events are held in representative locations across the region, both architecturally, touristically, and productively, as well as for their connection to local tradition and cultural heritage. The event takes its name from the seventh month of the French revolutionary calendar, a term itself derived from the Latin germinalis, meaning "the month in which plants sprout." Germinale embodies the idea of rebirth, of buds and new leaves, a broader metaphor for the cultural rebirth of places through the various expressive languages of contemporary art.

Different locations

All the updates on:
https://www.germinale.art/