Maestrobiennale25 Arte ed Estro a Monopoli

Here's the English translation of the given Italian text:

---

**The Maestro Art Biennale Returns to Monopoli**

In its second edition: a dialogue between salvation and extinction

Against the extinction of feeling, art responds.

From June 18 to 28, 2025, the city of Monopoli (BA) hosts the second edition of the MAESTRO International Biennale of Art and Flair, a widespread and visionary event that transforms the city's historical fabric into a large collective fresco on the present.

The chosen theme – **EXTinction | SAVE** – is both a cry and a prayer: an exhortation to save what risks disappearing, both in nature and within the soul. In an era marked by uncertainties and creeping nihilism, the Biennale sends a message of hope and responsibility: art can become critical awareness, collective care, and a seed of rebirth.

Amidst white alleys and ancient churches overlooking the Adriatic, Monopoli transforms for ten days into an artistic and cultural port where past and future intertwine.

Dozens of artists from Italy and around the world present works that range from painting to sculpture, from photography to installation, and include video art, poetry, music, theater, and performance. It is a journey through the great fragilities and deep desires of our time: the wounded environment, the threat of war, memory and oblivion, the body and spirituality, identity, and mutual care.

Participating artists include:
Adelia De Padova, Adriano Scarano, Alessandro Ribezzi, Alessia Legati, Alessio Mazzulli, Angelo Liuzzi, Anna Bracco, Antonella Di Palma, Antonio La Rosa, Ariel Faby (Casieri Fabiola), Arianna Ladogana, Armando Di Nunzio, Arturo Ursumando (UTER), Bakary Manneh, Chen Yongqiang, Chiara Ballone, Chiara Fronterrè, Cristina Fanelli, Dangyong Liu, Danilo Calò, Danilo Lombardi, Davide Salerno, Diberto (Domenico Bertoncelli), Diego Bono (Vulpes Vulpes), Diversamente Idem e Panchina 88, eLEM, Emelie Sjöström, Emily Antico, Ersilia Sarrecchia, Filly Fiordaliso, Francesca Caramia, Francesca Danese, Francesco Montemurri, Galiano Lombardi, Germana Genchi, Gabriela Acha, Gio Montez, Giorgia Loparco, Giovanni Trimani, Giulia Crastolla (Robin), Giuseppe Laera, Graziana Minoia, Laura Grimaldi, Laura Schena, Laura Vesparul, Leonardo Napoletano, Lisio Ferri, Luciana Lato, Luciano Caggianello, Luigi Ambrosetti, Luigi Notarnicola, Marica Franchini, Madia Daniela Massagli, Martina Sabatelli, Martina Sabatini (Mercy Mei), Mauro Di Berardino, Monica Vanno, Nino De Luca, Nilla, Omar Tigrini, Paola Sarappa, Pier Maurizio Greco, Piero Migailo, Pierpaolo Miccolis, Prisca Tozzi, Progetto Donna, Rebecca Bertini, Roberta Pepe, Rosanna Martino, Ruggiero Fabio Bufo, Sandro Farina, Silvia Corti, Simone De Nitti, Stefano Napoletano, Tamara Lippolis, Teodoro (Dodò) Fuso, Thea Torre, Thelo Ef, Tinta, Tserenpil Myadagmaa (Maya), Valentina Toscano, Valerie D'Aniello, Valeria Magini, Valeria Patrizi, Vincenzo Marino, Xiuwen Guan, Sofia Cocozza.

Space is also given to young emerging talents: three students from the "Luigi Russo" Art High School in Monopoli (two-year course - graphic-pictorial disciplines) will exhibit their works: Martina Sabatelli, Stefano Francioso, and Martina Pizzarelli.

Each brings their own vision and sensitivity to the choral dialogue, composing a mosaic of creative voices united by the common thread of ethical commitment.

Art, here, becomes an ethical gesture and a shared vision, a powerful invitation to awareness and care for the world we inhabit.

Three symbolic places will host the Biennale: Casa Santa, the ancient Church of San Salvatore, and the historic Palazzo Martinelli. Each becomes a poetic threshold where art, awareness, and participation meet.

The artistic direction is entrusted to Davide Cocozza, artist and theorist of ethical-humanitarian-visual art, to Velia Littera, Roman gallerist and curator (founder of the Pavart Gallery in Rome), and to Luca Oscuro, president of the Cibele Cultural Association.

This Biennale is born as a collective act of care: an aesthetic and human response to a broken, uncertain, yet still vibrant time.

**Inauguration and Lilly Colucci Prize**

The inauguration will take place on Wednesday, June 18, at 6:00 PM at Casa Santa and the Church of San Salvatore: an experiential and participatory vernissage, involving the public in a collective and festive rite through music, theater, and performance.

During the inaugural evening, the prestigious Lilly Colucci Prize will be awarded, dedicated to the memory of a young woman of profound humanity, passionate about culture, justice, and solidarity.

The award will be conferred by Lilly's father, the visionary entrepreneur and man of great sensitivity, Baron Vitantonio Colucci.

A recognition that celebrates art as an act of love and civil commitment and emphasizes the ethical value of the exhibited works: every artistic gesture, as Lilly's story teaches, can become a seed of social change.

**The Program**

*June 18–28 (Casa Santa & Church of San Salvatore)*
Collective exhibition "SAVE – EXTinction": a widespread exhibition featuring works by all participating artists.

*June 18, 6:00 PM*
Inaugural vernissage + creation of the large collective canvas "Artists and Visitors" (eco-friendly materials and biochar).
7:00 PM – Theatrical performance "Ten Minutes" by Francesca Danese.
9:00 PM – DJ Set with Peter Kosmic.

*June 19–25 – Palazzo Martinelli*
Solo exhibition "Like a Zoo" by Davide Cocozza, curated by Velia Littera.

*June 19–27*
Creative reuse art workshop with Paolo Di Marco.

*June 20, 7:00 PM – Poetry Section*
Meeting with Rosanna Martino and presentation of the book "Errors."
Plastic-sculptural performance with Armando Di Nunzio and Dangyong Liu.

*June 21, 6:00 PM – Talk/Debate*
"EXTinction | Save: mind and body"
Guests: Tamara Lippolis, Angela Chionna, Laura Schena, Francesco Underscore.
Following: "The Path of Feeling" – interactive installation by Luciana Lato.

*June 22, 7:00 PM – Music Section*
Sound performance CELIA curated by Simone De Nitti.
9:00 PM – Talk "Photography Today" with Angela Brucoli.

*June 26–28*
Choreographic pizzica workshop with Vanessa Di Gennaro.

*June 27, 6:30 PM – Literature Section*
Presentation of the book "The Truth, Please, About Social Media" with Tinta.
Following, poetry reading curated by Rosanna Martino.

*June 28, 6:30 PM – Finissage with music, art, and awarding of prizes.*

**Featured Solo Exhibit: "LIKE A ZOO" by Davide Cocozza**

From June 19 to 25 at Palazzo Martinelli, "Like a Zoo" presents as a perceptual and spiritual experience. Cocozza – painter and "visual rebel" – translates the urgency of life into powerful images: each work is an act of denunciation, and at the same time, one of protection.

In this silent theater of collective consciousness, every depicted creature becomes a mirror of existence, a voice of compassion and resistance.

**Collaborations and Partners**

The Biennale is promoted by the Cibele Cultural Association, with the patronage of the Department of Culture of the Municipality of Monopoli, and supported by: Greenpeace Bari, LAV Bari, BioEsperia, BioDea, AmoPuglia, EtimoLogia, Associazione Lilly Colucci, Pavart Gallery (Rome), Amici di San Salvatore, Progetto Donna, Plastic Puglia, Specchi – Inclusive Workshops, Minopolis Bookstore, Baldovino, Titti the Bar, Titti the Deli.

All events – except for the pizzica workshop – are free to enter, in line with the inclusive and collective spirit of the initiative.

**Words from the President – Luca Oscuro**

"Maestro Biennale is an opportunity, a space of sharing, where everyone – established and hungry artists, visitors, critics, simple passersby – can find refuge in the great embrace of beauty. Maestro is an antidote to the poison of the human soul: it is care, redemption, an act of unconditional and universal love."

**Words from the Artistic Director – Davide Cocozza**

"A few days ago, I lost my older brother, Vanni. When the doctor in the ICU gathered us to tell us nothing more could be done, my mother, without hesitation, chose to donate his organs. As one life faded, others were lighting up.

In that moment, I felt an infinite love, like a light that crosses everything. Yet I was also thinking about how many unjust deaths occur every day: the children of Gaza, the mothers who cry, the women victims of femicides, the animals, nature, our mother earth. It wasn’t just my brother on that bed: the world was there.

We can no longer ignore it. We have a duty to watch, act, protect, donate.

This Biennale is a shared gift. The artists who participate are sowers of hope. They teach us to see, to feel, to guard.

What matters is to oppose with love everything that is not love. Everywhere. In every way."

**Info and Updates**

📱 @maestrobiennale25
📱 @maestrobiennaledimonopoli
📱 @associazioneculturalecibele
🌐 www.davidecocozza.it