06/02/2002
by Elisa Fulco

It is a time for change and polemics at the Centro d'arte Contemporanea Palazzo delle Papesse, Siena, one of the few institutional centers in Italy that deals with the latest trends in contemporary art. Immediately after Christmas, the appointment as director of the centre of the art historian Marco Pierini (Siena, 1965), backed by the newly elected major Maurizio Cenni and by the new administration, caused concern regarding the future plans for the museum. The greatest danger felt by critics, gallerists and artists is a "return to order", that is a more academic planning devoid of international awareness that would decrease the contribution given by this institution to contemporary art in Italy, thus effecting the whole art system and its market.

Also known as Palazzo Piccolomini, Palazzo delle Papesse is an historical building built between 1460 and 1495 based on the design of the architect and sculptor Bernardo Rossellino. From 1884 to 1996 it housed the Banca d'Italia, and following very fast restoration work (January to November 1998) that was funded by the Fondazione Monte dei Paschi to the tune of about $1.1 million (€1.3 million) and coordinated by the previous director Sergio Risaliti, the center was reopened in November 1998 and transformed into the new contemporary art museum. Besides the restoration work, the Fondazione Monte dei Paschi has also funded the Papesse with a contribution of about $1.5 million (€1.7 million) between 1998 and today. Financing art does, in fact, give the foundation the right to tax deductions totalling 19%, and helps boost its image.

So far the museum programme has given a notable boost to the market. In fact, many young artists have enjoyed success at the hands of the critics and have seen their market prices rise following their participation in exhibitions at the Papesse. The show FWD Italia held in 1999, for example, brought success to the pair Botto & Bruno from Turin, the duo Bianco-Valente, whose works have become part of the permanent collection of the Museum, and the Swiss couple Perino & Vele, who made a name for themselves in 1999 on occasion of the exhibition Repubbliche dell'arte: Svizzera. As the Neapolitan gallerist Alfonzo Artico says: "After the exhibion at the Papesse the prices for Botto & Bruno and Perino & Vele works tripled, I immediately sold everything that I had on exhibition by Perino & Vele and, with regard to prices, their small objects that in 1999 were worth $892 (€1,032) today are valued around $2,230 (€2,580)".

From 1998 to the present day, 26 exhibitions have been held at the Papesse, made possible thanks to the support of the Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena and of private sponsors like Charming Hotel, that contributes an annual sum of about $89,300 (€103,290). In addition, Nordic institutions contributed $58,000 (€67,140) to the exhibition "Le Repubbliche dell'Arte: Paesi Nordici. With the arrival of a new director, it remains to be seen if planning will still give pride of place to the contemporary and whether the banks and sponsors will renew their commitments.

It does however seem that a rich season awaits the new director. A total of $625,000 (€723,000) has just been donated to the Papesse by the Fondazione del Monte dei Paschi. "There have been no cuts in the funding and the sponsors have confirmed their annual support" Marco Pierini told Gabrius in an interview. On the other hand, however, there will be a decrease in actual programming. Pierini told the La Stampa newspaper (8^th of January, 2002) that he does not "intend to host more than two or three large events a year (against an average of 6 annual shows that Risaliti used to schedule). His first test will come in June, though the director does not want to reveal anything yet for reasons of discretion, or perhaps to spring a surprise. "It will not be a historical exhibition, however, it will deal with the second half of the 20^th century," was his only comment. Pierini has the difficult task of drawing up an exhibition programme that will not let the international art community and market expectations down.