Italian Council 2026, call for proposals kicks off: 2.7 million for contemporary art

With a total budget of 2.7 million euros, the Ministry of Culture ’s General Directorate for Contemporary Creativity launched on Feb. 13, 2026 the 15th edition of Italian Council, the public program dedicated to the support and international promotion of Italian contemporary art. The initiative is part of the sector’s internationalization policies and aims to consolidate the presence of Italian artists, curators and critics in foreign cultural contexts, while supporting the production of new works destined for the country’s public collections.

Italian Council was conceived to encourage the creation of unpublished works to become part of Italy’s public heritage, flanking production with a strategy of promotion outside the country’s borders. In fact, the program supports commissioning and acquisition projects accompanied by international dissemination activities, exhibition, publishing and research initiatives, as well as residency and study abroad paths. Selected proposals are called upon to build relationships with foreign cultural institutions and to return the results of the experiences to an international audience as well. Public institutions and private nonprofit entities, both Italian and foreign, including museums, universities, foundations and cultural associations, are eligible to apply. Projects must involve the production of new works by living artists with Italian citizenship or tax residents in Italy, their international promotion and entry into public collections. A contribution of up to 80 percent of the total cost is provided for such initiatives, within ceilings differentiated according to the type of intervention. The funded activities must take place between July 1, 2026 and August 31, 2028.

Alongside the production and acquisition of works, the program supports the international promotion of artists, curators, and critics through monographic exhibitions abroad, participation in events and reviews of international significance, curatorial assignments, and publishing projects aimed at the dissemination of Italian art of the last seventy years. Also eligible are initiatives that accompany the entry of works by Italian artists into the collections of foreign museums, strengthening the structural presence of Italian art in international museum contexts. Italian Council also provides a line of intervention dedicated to the direct support of professionals through research and residency grants abroad worth 15,000 euros gross. The grants are intended for artists, photographers, curators and critics with Italian citizenship or tax residents in Italy and cover projects lasting fifteen months, to be realized between July 1, 2026 and October 31, 2027. There is a requirement for a public return at accredited institutions at the end of the research period.

Applications must be submitted exclusively through the Directorate General for Contemporary Creativity’s Call Portal, active as of February 20, 2026. The deadline for submitting applications is 3 p.m. on March 31, 2026. Any requests for clarification can be submitted by March 16, 2026 to the Italian Council Secretariat at italiancouncil@cultura.gov.it. Selected projects are scheduled to start no earlier than July 1, 2026. Initiatives supported under research grants must end by October 31, 2027, while those related to production and international promotion must end by August 31, 2028. All information about the call and how to participate is available on the website of the Ministry of Culture’s General Directorate for Contemporary Creativity.

Italian Council 2026, call for proposals kicks off: 2.7 million for contemporary art

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