Fondazione Merz returns with the “ad occhi chiusi…” Prize, as part of the Foundation’s ongoing research. For 2026, in conjunction with the major exhibition on Marisa Merz, the inspiration behind the Prize, the project has evolved. The focus remains on young artists, with a particular interest in research that addresses social and political issues and the urgent challenges of the present day. The Prize offers one of the artists taking part in Artissima the opportunity to produce an exhibition or performance to be presented during next year’s edition of the fair.

The title of the award comes from a phrase by Marisa Merz: “When the eyes are closed they are extraordinarily open,” inviting us to reflect on the idea that art, amid the noise of a media landscape filled with images that are too rapid and superficial to describe reality, offers a deeply personal point of view. In this sense, the Prize recognizes artistic practices capable of investigating the present through personal and original languages, in dialogue with the research of the Foundation.

The winners of the previous editions were: Heba Y. Amin (2021), Nona Inescu (2022), Marwa Arsanios (2023), Monia Ben Hamouda (2024) and Caroline Cordeiro (2025).

Jury “ad occhi chiusi…” Prize 2026
Beatrice Merz, President, Fondazione Merz, Torino
Övül Ö. Durmuşoğlu, Director, Index- The Swedish Contemporary Art Foundation, Stockholm
Alya Sebti, Senior Curator, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin
Giulia Turconi, Assistant Curator, Fondazione Merz, Torino