Good practice:

Preziosa Young Contest

Preziosa Young wants to promote the excellence of the new craftsmanship in Europe. Young artisans under 35 years old are invited to present a project that illustrates the work in which they are currently involved. Their work is examined by an international jury composed of experts such as critics, curators, goldsmiths-artists, and teachers. The jury selects a small group of candidates, their works are collected in a prestigious catalog and showed in an exhibition in Florence first, and in other locations in Europe after. The winners of this great traveling exhibition also compete for the assignment of the special prize offered by the organizer: a three-month stay in Florence as an artist in residence. The project is specifically designed to meet the need for young artists to find opportunities for visibility and promotion. At the same time, it offers galleries, critics, companies, the possibility to know and meet new talents who would otherwise be difficult to identify. New artisans find their biggest obstacle in promoting their projects, and this creates an economic and social gap, which rewards only those who have an economic condition that allows them to overcome this difficulty. Participation in the project is at no cost to applicants, so everyone can participate and be rewarded.
The event is usually patronized by MIBAC, Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities, Tuscany Region, and Municipality of Florence among the others.

The average cost for each edition is about 35,000 euros

9 editions, more than 1500 participants from all over the world for each edition, 60 selected artists, 40 international judges, exhibitions in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, China. All winner artists won a 3-month residency in Florence. More than 10.000 visitors and 7000 published catalogs among each edition, these are the numbers of the activities since 2008. Participants have been increased from the first edition with 51 participants to the contest to the 185 participants to the late editions.

The main difficulty was to promote the project in the best possible way. There are many competitions among which it is difficult to identify good ones and avoid projects with opaque aims. In this forest of proposals, the project is still the only one that assures gratuitousness and visibility to all

Numerically, the largest users and beneficiaries of the project are young people of training age and young artisans/artists. The realization of this event is a perfect occasion to learn how to promote one's own ideas, how to stimulate study, research, assiduity and perseverance in pursuing one's own work and artistic goals.
The setting up of the exhibition, part of a larger project, with seminars, readings, meetings with artists of different generations provokes curiosity, pushes to do better in one's own work, to learn how to deal with others in a positive and constructive way. The formula is simple and can be replicated without difficulty.