call: COMEL Award – Aluminium, the Silent Strength
Deadline: 13 July 2025
Call for entries
COMEL Award Vanna Migliorin Contemporary Art
“Aluminium, the Silent Strength”
Dates & location of event context: the final exhibition will be held at the Spazio COMEL Contemporary Art Gallery in Latina from October 18 to November 8, 2025.
Call text- https://www.premiocomel.it/en/call-for-submission-2025/
Participation is free of charge
info@premiocomel.it
https://www.premiocomel.it
COMEL Award Vanna Migliorin Contemporary Art
Aluminium, the silent strength
From October 18 to November 8, 2025
CALL FOR SUBMISSION X EDITIONT
The COMEL Vanna Migliorin Contemporary Art Award (hereafter “COMEL Award”) was
established in 2012 in memory of Mrs. Vanna Migliorin, for her passion for art and enthusiasm
for supporting innovative projects. In 1968 with her husband Mazzola Alfonso, she founded in
Latina the CO.ME.L. Commercio Metalli Latina (today COMEL Industries), a leading company in
the trade and processing of semi-finished aluminium products that promotes and supports the
COMEL award in a brilliant example of synergy between art and business.
A well-established reality in the modern art scene, among the most innovative European
competitions. A project, now at its 10th edition, that promotes, in addition, intercultural
relations between the countries of the European continent, creates moments of sharing and
meeting between artists, scholars, and the public.
Participation in the call for entries is free and open to artists aged 18 and older who use
aluminium as the main element in the creation of the work they intend to enter in the
competition. At each edition, a high-level jury selects, from all entries received, the 13 finalist
works that will be exhibited in Latina, in the Spazio COMEL Arte Contemporanea gallery
(www.spaziocomel.it ), the exclusive venue of the event. The winner will be awarded the Jury
Award, while the public visiting the exhibition will be asked to vote for their favourite works by
decreeing the winner of the Audience Award.
With a view to a planned and effective promotion of the participants and the Award itself, a
catalogue will be prepared by the organization on the occasion of the exhibition and targeted
dissemination in specialized media. In addition, the finalist artists will be given an interview
about their artistic experience. An important testimony that will become part of the portfolio
of the Award website. The COMEL award will be fully responsible for the care of the catalogue
and communication.
WHY ALUMINIUM?
Aluminium can be forged, modeled, laminated, like hot wax in the artist’s hands. It lends itself to
take on the desired forms and volumes. It is lightweight (a third of steel), shiny, soft, durable, with
good electrical and thermal conductivity, 100% recyclable with an energy cost equal to one
twentieth of that necessary for its first melting. Visually intriguing, with its unique characteristics,
aluminium is the true contemporary material.
WHY 13 ARTISTS?
Because in the Table of Elements, aluminium is the chemical element with the atomic number 13.
ART. 1 – OBJECTIVES AND AIMS OF THE COMEL AWARD 2025
The 2025 COMEL Award aims at:
1. promoting Contemporary Art and the intercultural relationships among the European
countries;
2. strenghtening the link between Contemporary Art and business;
3. enhancing the value of aluminium, its expressive, aesthetic, communicative and constructive
possibilities;
4. establishing a vital and significant relationship between the public and the artists.
ART. 2 – TITLE OF THE COMEL AWARD 2025
Not he who begins, but he who perseveres.
Leonardo da Vinci (plaque mounted on the Amerigo Vespucci ship)
ALUMINIUM, THE SILENT STRENGHT
Aluminium, with its lightness, its great ductility, may appear to be a fragile material. Instead, it
hides an unexpected strength. Its resistance, often underestimated, emerges with
surprising evidence when it is moulded into bold shapes and imposing structures. It could be
said that like the human being, aluminium is capable of withstanding challenges and
adapting to change, finding new structures and new forms of balance.
The theme of the 2025 edition of the COMEL award invites artists to investigate the
hidden qualities of aluminium, exploring its ability to resist, to sustain, to last. The artists are
called upon to use metal as a metaphor for human resilience, the ability to overcome difficulties
and find inner strength even in moments of fragility.
Aluminium thus becomes a symbol of silent strength, a discreet but powerful resistance,
which manifests itself through the creativity and ingenuity of the artists.
ART. 3 – CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION
Participation in the competition is free. There are no age limits and it is open to all artists, 18
years of age and older, of any European nationality as far as they use aluminium as the main
and significant material for the realization of the work to be submitted.
Each artist may submit only one work (Sign up by following the instructions in Paragraph 5 –
REGISTRATION) The deadline for submission to the COMEL AWARD is July 13, 2025.
All employees of the promoter company and those who are linked by kinship are excluded from
participating to the Contest. All third parties and their employees that collaborate in any way
for the realization of the Competition are also excluded. The winners of the previous editions of
the Prize are also excluded from participating in the Contest.
ART. 4 – CRITERIA FOR ARTWORKS
Released or unreleased artworks using the following techniques may be submitted:
painting, sculpture, design, photography and installation that uses aluminium as the main
and most significant element. Quality, research, originality and contemporaneity of the work
will be the main criteria of selection. Maximum allowed size of the works is 150 x 150 x 150
cm.
The work must be completely done at the time of registration, projects, sketches or
3D simulations of the works will not be accepted. The works nominated for the Prize must be
the physical and intellectual property of the artist who presents them. The selected
works, accompanied by all the necessary materials and detailed instructions, must arrive
ready to be installed. The works, under penalty of exclusion, must not be winners of other
competitions similar to this one.
ART. 5 – REGISTRATION
To apply for the COMEL Prize 2025, interested artists can participate by fully completing the
online application form available on the website https://www.premiocomel.it.
Failure to do so will result in exclusion, and the following information must be provided:
a) name and surname;
b) nation, place, and date of birth
c) place of residence (nation, city, province);
d) email address;
e) phone number;
f) and website or internet visibility;
g) a series of 3 to 5 images of the work, full-length picture, taken from different
perspectives (5 MB maximum size) and showing clearly the work with aluminium, with the
indications of technical characteristics, the materials used, size, title and year of creation;
h) a brief description of the artwork to be submitted;
i) a brief curriculum vitae, biography and ‘artist statement’;
j) processing of personal data authorization;
k) full acceptance of rules and regulations of the Award referred to in this announcement.
ART. 6 – SELECTION PROCESS AND JURY
A professional Committee in the field of art, will select thirteen works, among all the submitted
artworks. The thirteen works will be exhibited, from October 18 to November 8, 2025, at
the gallery Spazio COMEL Arte Contemporanea, via Neghelli 68, Latina, Italy, in a special
dedicated exhibition for the selected artists and the Jury will choose among them the winner
for the COMEL Award of Contemporary art 2025. In addition to the above mentioned 13
artworks, the Jury will also identify two additional reserves that will be called to participate in
the exhibition, only in the case of exclusion or waiver of the previous selected works. The Jury
also may signal, beyond the winner, some special mentions and/or prize.
The selection procedure will be performed on photographic images, so it is recommended
for the submission, to send the material as exhaustive as possible.
The judgement expressed by the Jury is final and irrevocable.
The names of the members of the jury of the COMEL award 2025, chaired by Giorgio
Agnisola, art critic and writer, will be communicated in the coming months.
ART. 7 – PHASES AND DEADLINES
1. July 13, 2025 (midnight), the registration deadline of the COMEL 2025 Award;
2. Within August 31, 2025, the finalist artists will be contacted via e-mail and announced online,
who will be provided with information on sending the work and the exhibition;
3. By September 19 2025, at the latest, the selected artists must send the registered work (see
Art. 11 – TRANSPORT, INSURANCE, PREPARATION OF WORKS). Failure to respect the delivery date
of the work will result in exclusion from the competition. The works must be delivered in suitable
reusable packaging for returning the works at the end of the competition.
4. Exhibition opening: October 18, 2025
5. Proclamation and award ceremony: November 8, 2025
ART. 8 – AWARDS
A) COMEL jury Award 2025
The unique winning artist will be awarded the COMEL Jury Award 2025. The prize consists of
a cash prize of € 3500.1 The winning artist will also be awarded a solo exhibition to be held at
the Spazio COMEL Arte Contemporanea, located in via Neghelli, 68 – Latina. The publication
of a catalogue of the exhibition is also included. The dates and conditions of the exhibition
to be agreed in advance with the organization and however no later than the calendar year in
which the prize has been held.
The work will become part of the permanent collection COMEL. By accepting the Prize, the
winner relinquishes ownership of his/her work and gives COMEL all rights related to it,
including the publication right of the image, while retaining the right to be recognized as the
author of the artwork.
1 A withholding tax will be applied to the prize in accordance with the law.
B) Audience COMEL Award 2025
The artist who will receive the greatest number of preferences from the exhibition visitors, will
be awarded a solo exhibition to be held at the Spazio COMEL contemporary art gallery, located
in via Neghelli, 68 – Latina. The dates and conditions will be agreed in advance with the
organization and it will be displayed no later than the calendar year in which the prize has
been held. The ‘Audience Award’ does not consist of a cash prize and the winning artwork
will remain property of the artist.
The award ceremony will take place on Saturday, November 8, 2025, as part of the
exhibition. The presence of the competition winners at the ceremony would be highly appreciated.
ART. 9 – CATALOGUE
The catalog will include pictures of the selected works, short biographical notes of the
finalists and critical texts of the jury, in Italian and English. Copies of the catalog will be
delivered free of charge to the artists and to all visitors of the exhibition.
ART. 10 – OPENING OF THE EXHIBITION
The inauguration will take place on Saturday October 18, 2025 and the works will remain
on display until Saturday November 8, 2025, subject to a possible extension of the exhibition time.
ART. 11 – TRANSPORTATION, INSURANCE, ARTWORKS INSTALLATION
The transportation (delivery and collection) and insurance will be at the expense of the artist.
The COMEL will take charge of the insurance of the works only within the gallery space, during
the exhibition.
The works must be received no later than Friday 19 September 2025, under penalty of
exclusion, at the headquarters of the COMEL Industrie in Latina (LT), CAP 04100, in Via
Congiunte sinistre n ° 398 from 8:30/13:00 – 15:00/18:00 from Monday to Friday.
The works must be delivered in a suitable reusable packaging for the return of the artworks
at the end of the competition.
The artworks will be installed by the exhibition organizers according to the instructions
previously arranged with the artists (see Paragraph 4 – CRITERIA FOR ARTWORKS). Each work
must arrive ready for installation, under penalty of exclusion. Except for the award winning
work (which becomes the property of the COMEL Industrie permanent collection) all
artworks should be collected directly from the COMEL company premises by Wednesday 19
December 2025, at the company address: COMEL Industrie via Congiunte Sinistre n. 398 –
04100 Latina (LT) Italy. From Monday to Friday, from 8.30/13.00 to 15:00/18:00 The works not
collected within the deadline will be considered as a legacy to the Prize.
ART. 12 – PRIVACY
Each candidate expressly authorizes the COMEL Prize, as well as his legal representative,
to process personal data transmitted, pursuant to law 675/96 (Privacy law) and
subsequent amendments of Legislative Decree 196/2003 (Privacy code), also for the insertion
in databases managed by the aforementioned people.
Each participant in the competition grants the COMEL Award, as well as its legal representative,
free of charge, the reproduction rights of the works and texts released to the prize, for
the purpose of drawing up the catalog, publication on the Prize website and other
forms of communication, promotion and activities of the organization. The material sent for
registration only, will not be returned. The organizers of the competition will have the right to
make a final decision on anything not specified in this notice.
The organization reserves itself the right to make changes to the notice if the need
arises, communicating it on the portal www.premiocomel.it
Participation in the COMEL Award implies full and complete acceptance of all the articles of
this call for submission.
COMEL Award Organizing Secretariat
Phone 0773 487546 | Email info@premiocomel.it
https://www.premiocomel.it
https://www.facebook.com/PremioComel
