Art Bonus: the special edition marking the competition’s tenth anniversary opens up to cultural welfare
The awards ceremony will take place during a public event organised by the organisers
A special edition to showcase cultural welfare projects. To mark the tenth anniversary of the Art Bonus competition, the award’s organisers are capitalising on the growing interest in Italia in initiatives taking place across the country, particularly following the momentum generated by last April’s agreement between the Ministries of Culture and Health. At the heart of this is translational and multidisciplinary research into the relationship between culture and psychological and physical wellbeing, cultural welfare and the ‘social prescription of culture’, and the ‘One Health’ approach.
“Ten years on from its inception,” says Fabio Tagliaferri, chairman and chief executive of Ales, “the competition continues to be an important tool within the communication and promotion strategy for the Art Bonus, which Ales is driving forward through initiatives across the whole country.” The Art Bonus national tour is about to begin, visiting all 20 regional capitals with conferences and events open to the public, “to ensure an ever-wider reach for the scheme and the involvement of local authorities, citizens and businesses across all regions”.
Raising public awareness
“This year,” adds Carolina Botti, director of Ales and Art Bonus liaison officer for the MiC, “the Art Bonus competition is focusing on the theme of cultural welfare, with the aim of raising public awareness of the role of culture as a factor in wellbeing and social inclusion. In this context, the competition aims to highlight the Art Bonus as a tool capable of facilitating the implementation of initiatives aimed at diverse audiences, with particular attention to vulnerable people, by promoting access to culture and the benefits that art and cultural participation can bring to people’s lives’.
Social cohesion and mental and physical health
This edition of the competition therefore aims to raise the profile of cultural welfare initiatives focused on promoting the wellbeing and health of individuals and communities through artistic, creative and cultural practices. It also aims to highlight initiatives that have shown particular attention to vulnerable groups and that have been based on active collaboration between cultural institutions and social and health services. Cultural welfare, now practised and implemented in over thirty countries worldwide, recognises that culture plays a crucial role in welfare, capable of positively influencing not only quality of life but also social cohesion, as well as the physical and mental health of individuals. Art and culture, therefore, help to address issues relevant to people’s lives and health, their social integration, psychological wellbeing and active ageing.
Entry to the competition
The projects eligible for the Art Bonus competition cover the three-year period 2024–2026 and were selected on the platform in accordance with the specific criteria set out in the rules, which can be consulted on the Art Bonus portal. The qualitative assessment of the projects will be carried out by a panel comprising professionals from Ales, alongside experts from Promo PA Fondazione and the CCW-Cultural Welfare Centre. The committee will award a quality score to each project and select a shortlist of 10 projects that will be put to a public vote on Art Bonus’s official Facebook and Instagram pages from 10 to 16 November 2026. The overall winner will be determined by the number of public votes received via social media. The awards ceremony, at which a symbolic prize will be presented to the top three finishers, will take place during a public event organised by the competition’s organisers.
