Finalists’ Exhibition 
Mestre Painting Prize 2025

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Mestre, Centro Culturale Candiani
From 13 September to 12 October, 2025
Third floor exhibition rooms

From 13 September to 12 October 2025, the Centro Culturale Candiani in Mestre hosts the collective exhibition of Premio Mestre di Pittura 2025, organized by Il Circolo Veneto and Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, under the patronage of Regione del Veneto, Città Metropolitana di Venezia and Comune di Venezia, with the collaboration of Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia and Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa. The exhibition will display the finalist works, selected by the prize jury.

The Premio Mestre di Pittura was founded in 1958 from the far-sighted idea of the artist Andreina Crepet Guazzo, who since the early 1950s had hoped for a cultural revival of the mainland, together with the economic recovery underway in those same years. After ten successful editions involving some of the most famous names in Venetian painting and beyond, the Prize was discontinued in 1968. It was revived in 2017, after more than half a century of oblivion, thanks to the energy and passion of the members of the Circolo Veneto. Since 2018 it has been organised in collaboration with the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, a partner in the selection of the works, organisation of the exhibition and production of the catalogue.

Reflecting the link between the Prize and the Musei Civici, and as was the case in its original editions, even today each work that wins the Premio Mestre di Pittura becomes the property of the Municipality of Venice, being added to the collections of the Galleria Internazionale d’Arte Moderna di Ca’ Pesaro.
Founded in partnership between the Municipality of Venice and important Venetian cultural institutions, such as the Accademia di Belle Arti Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, the prize is supported by a large group of generous patrons and private sponsors, with the purpose of promoting contemporary painting.

The Premio Mestre di Pittura 2025 is now in the ninth edition of its renewed series. Also in this edition the prize is open to all, without limits of age, gender, nationality, and on any subject. The jury of the Premio Mestre is made up of illustrious art historians and professionals in the cultural sector. This was already the case with the presidents of the jury in previous editions: Stefano Zecchi, Philippe Daverio and Gianfranco Maraniello.

Since 2021, the Lifetime Achievement Award has paid homage to an artist distinguished in the course of a long career, not only for artistic merits, but also as having close ties to the region. Finally, among the numerous initiatives related to the Premio Mestre and its long tradition, a path of remembrance of the winning artists of the historic editions has been initiated to honour their memory, starting with Ernani Costantini, winner of the first edition in 1958.

Venue

Centro Culturale Candiani
Piazzale Candiani, 7
30174 Venezia Mestre

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Admission free