Germinale Monferrato Art Fest: creativity, sustainability, and a dialogue between art and the territory
Jayde BrowneShare
Monferrato is preparing for one of the most anticipated cultural events of the year: Germinale - Monferrato Art Fest, the contemporary art festival that will transform twenty-two municipalities in the hills of Asti and Alessandria into an open-air art laboratory from September 12th to October 12th. This edition, the second of the festival, launched in 2024, promises to be even richer and more ambitious, featuring nearly fifty artists and twenty-seven exhibition venues ranging from deconsecrated churches to castles, historic cellars, prestigious architectural spaces, and period residences. Art is literally rooted in the territory, engaging with the landscape, history, and local communities.
Curated by Francesca Canfora and promoted by the Quasi Fondazione Carlo Gloria APS, in collaboration with Casa degli Alfieri and Ecomuseo Basso Monferrato Astigiano, Germinale offers a profound reflection on the relationship between art, the environment, and the community. The main theme of the 2025 edition revolves around the concept of "Alimurgy: nourishing the gaze and cultivating the mind," a reference to the 18th-century tradition of using wild plants as a food source in times of difficulty. Here, art becomes slow nourishment, a thought that sprouts and spreads across time and space, fostering the growth of a more attentive, participatory, and inclusive collective consciousness.
The festival features twenty-five invited artists, including both established names and emerging talents, such as Albertelli Abbaldo, Luca Arboccò, Aurora Meccanica, Salvatore Astore, Maura Banfo, Nicola Bolla, Domenico Borrelli, Enrica Borghi, Federico Borroni, Maurizio Camerani, Vanni Cuoghi, Riccardo Dapino, Emilio Ferro, Giulia Forgione, PierLuigi Fresia, Lorenzo Gnata, Enrico Iuliano, Giacomo Modolo, Frédérique Nalbandian, Pedro Pires, Marco Tagliafico, Alessandro Sciaraffa, Luigi Stoisa, Guendalina Urbani, and Antonio Violetta. In addition, seven artists will be participating in art residencies, while fifteen will compete for the prestigious Selva Art Prize, and one has been selected for the special project "I'm in love with my car." The cross-disciplinary involvement of artists allows for the exhibition to encompass every medium and sensibility, from environmental installations to sculpture, painting, photography, video art, and performance art.
Visitors will be welcomed into evocative settings: from Razzano Castle to Alfiano Natta, where a permanent work will be presented, to historic cellars, from Baroque churches to the monumental palaces of the historic town centers scattered across the hills. Castagnole Monferrato represents the hub of the festival, with Villa La Mercantile and Casa degli Alfieri hosting exhibitions, workshops, talks, and installations. Each location becomes a narrative space for encounters and discovery, weaving a network of relationships between art, community, and the environment.
The Germinale Art Fest program features a surprising variety of events: exhibitions are complemented by a rich calendar of performing arts shows, guided tours, poetic walks through the landscape, talks on environmental sustainability, and workshops for adults and children. La Macchina Magnifica, the "Art Coach" born within the BMA Ecomuseum, will accompany visitors on itinerant tours of the venues, with site-specific performances of music, dance, and theater. Teatro Natura's poetic walks, led by Francesco Occhetto and Patrizia Camatel, invite audiences to rediscover the region through words, meditation, and contemplation of natural beauty. The festival also intersects with "La casa in collina d'autunno," directed by Lorenza Zambon and Antonio Catalano, which welcomes national and international companies, scholars, artists, and audiences passionate about theater, music, and interdisciplinary research.
The artistic cast is rounded out by guests of national and international standing such as Michelangelo Pistoletto, who will present "Terzo Paradiso a Vezzolano" in Albugnano on September 20th, and Alfredo Pirri, the protagonist of the closing event on October 12th in Castagnole. In addition to the return of artistic residencies, the festival also hosts traveling theater projects, including "Paesaggi. Una passeggiata tra il visibile e l'invisibile" by Lorenza Zambon, which combines history, nature, memory, and literary influences in immersive experiences among the hills.
Many of the events are also aimed at schools, with educational programs that foster dialogue between generations and raise awareness among communities about the value of art and environmental sustainability. Creative workshops will allow children to explore contemporary art, while in-depth meetings offer opportunities for discussion between artists, curators, scholars, and the public. Germinale thus becomes a hotbed of ideas, experiences, and narratives, capable of stimulating active participation and expanding the reflection on the role of art in contemporary society.
There is no shortage of projects linked to local traditions and the valorization of artisanal knowledge, with installations that engage with the winemaking, gastronomy, and rural culture of Monferrato. Among these, the direct involvement of wineries and farms stands out, hosting site-specific works and offering guided tastings, creating a bridge between material culture and artistic imagination. Interaction with the landscape is one of the most original aspects of this edition: artists and audiences participate together in performances and immersive events in the vineyards and natural spaces, in a true celebration of the territory.
The festival stands out for its ability to create networks: some of the initiatives are carried out in synergy with other Piedmontese festivals sensitive to environmental and landscape issues. The "Terre Alt(r)e" residency project involves companies and artists from across Italy, while collaborations with research centers and universities fuel the debate on best artistic practices for a sustainable future. The commitment to sustainability is also reflected in the organization: soft mobility, digital content, reduced environmental impact, and the inclusion of vulnerable audiences are hallmarks of this edition.
The Germinale Monferrato Art Fest journey is peppered with poetic inspiration, creative practices, and human encounters. The festival not only exhibits, but also invites visitors to "nourish their gaze and cultivate their thoughts" through a journey that connects artists, places, and stories in a unique collective narrative. The second edition sparks a new blossoming in Italian culture, renewing the belief that art can question roots, build relationships, and generate new visions of the future.
Contemporary art re-embraces the Monferrato landscape, making it a fertile space of wonder and change, where ideas are sown and shared emotions are reaped.
Curated by Francesca Canfora and promoted by the Quasi Fondazione Carlo Gloria APS, in collaboration with Casa degli Alfieri and Ecomuseo Basso Monferrato Astigiano, Germinale offers a profound reflection on the relationship between art, the environment, and the community. The main theme of the 2025 edition revolves around the concept of "Alimurgy: nourishing the gaze and cultivating the mind," a reference to the 18th-century tradition of using wild plants as a food source in times of difficulty. Here, art becomes slow nourishment, a thought that sprouts and spreads across time and space, fostering the growth of a more attentive, participatory, and inclusive collective consciousness.
The festival features twenty-five invited artists, including both established names and emerging talents, such as Albertelli Abbaldo, Luca Arboccò, Aurora Meccanica, Salvatore Astore, Maura Banfo, Nicola Bolla, Domenico Borrelli, Enrica Borghi, Federico Borroni, Maurizio Camerani, Vanni Cuoghi, Riccardo Dapino, Emilio Ferro, Giulia Forgione, PierLuigi Fresia, Lorenzo Gnata, Enrico Iuliano, Giacomo Modolo, Frédérique Nalbandian, Pedro Pires, Marco Tagliafico, Alessandro Sciaraffa, Luigi Stoisa, Guendalina Urbani, and Antonio Violetta. In addition, seven artists will be participating in art residencies, while fifteen will compete for the prestigious Selva Art Prize, and one has been selected for the special project "I'm in love with my car." The cross-disciplinary involvement of artists allows for the exhibition to encompass every medium and sensibility, from environmental installations to sculpture, painting, photography, video art, and performance art.
Visitors will be welcomed into evocative settings: from Razzano Castle to Alfiano Natta, where a permanent work will be presented, to historic cellars, from Baroque churches to the monumental palaces of the historic town centers scattered across the hills. Castagnole Monferrato represents the hub of the festival, with Villa La Mercantile and Casa degli Alfieri hosting exhibitions, workshops, talks, and installations. Each location becomes a narrative space for encounters and discovery, weaving a network of relationships between art, community, and the environment.
The Germinale Art Fest program features a surprising variety of events: exhibitions are complemented by a rich calendar of performing arts shows, guided tours, poetic walks through the landscape, talks on environmental sustainability, and workshops for adults and children. La Macchina Magnifica, the "Art Coach" born within the BMA Ecomuseum, will accompany visitors on itinerant tours of the venues, with site-specific performances of music, dance, and theater. Teatro Natura's poetic walks, led by Francesco Occhetto and Patrizia Camatel, invite audiences to rediscover the region through words, meditation, and contemplation of natural beauty. The festival also intersects with "La casa in collina d'autunno," directed by Lorenza Zambon and Antonio Catalano, which welcomes national and international companies, scholars, artists, and audiences passionate about theater, music, and interdisciplinary research.
The artistic cast is rounded out by guests of national and international standing such as Michelangelo Pistoletto, who will present "Terzo Paradiso a Vezzolano" in Albugnano on September 20th, and Alfredo Pirri, the protagonist of the closing event on October 12th in Castagnole. In addition to the return of artistic residencies, the festival also hosts traveling theater projects, including "Paesaggi. Una passeggiata tra il visibile e l'invisibile" by Lorenza Zambon, which combines history, nature, memory, and literary influences in immersive experiences among the hills.
Many of the events are also aimed at schools, with educational programs that foster dialogue between generations and raise awareness among communities about the value of art and environmental sustainability. Creative workshops will allow children to explore contemporary art, while in-depth meetings offer opportunities for discussion between artists, curators, scholars, and the public. Germinale thus becomes a hotbed of ideas, experiences, and narratives, capable of stimulating active participation and expanding the reflection on the role of art in contemporary society.
There is no shortage of projects linked to local traditions and the valorization of artisanal knowledge, with installations that engage with the winemaking, gastronomy, and rural culture of Monferrato. Among these, the direct involvement of wineries and farms stands out, hosting site-specific works and offering guided tastings, creating a bridge between material culture and artistic imagination. Interaction with the landscape is one of the most original aspects of this edition: artists and audiences participate together in performances and immersive events in the vineyards and natural spaces, in a true celebration of the territory.
The festival stands out for its ability to create networks: some of the initiatives are carried out in synergy with other Piedmontese festivals sensitive to environmental and landscape issues. The "Terre Alt(r)e" residency project involves companies and artists from across Italy, while collaborations with research centers and universities fuel the debate on best artistic practices for a sustainable future. The commitment to sustainability is also reflected in the organization: soft mobility, digital content, reduced environmental impact, and the inclusion of vulnerable audiences are hallmarks of this edition.
The Germinale Monferrato Art Fest journey is peppered with poetic inspiration, creative practices, and human encounters. The festival not only exhibits, but also invites visitors to "nourish their gaze and cultivate their thoughts" through a journey that connects artists, places, and stories in a unique collective narrative. The second edition sparks a new blossoming in Italian culture, renewing the belief that art can question roots, build relationships, and generate new visions of the future.
Contemporary art re-embraces the Monferrato landscape, making it a fertile space of wonder and change, where ideas are sown and shared emotions are reaped.