The call for entries for the 12th edition of the COMEL Award remains open until July 6.

One of the most eagerly anticipated moments during this period is the announcement of the jury, entrusted each year with the challenging task of selecting 13 finalists from among the many entries submitted to the international competition that promotes artistic expression through aluminium.
The jury of the COMEL Award has always been one of the competition’s key strengths. Over the years, it has featured renowned scholars, academics, art historians and critics, museum directors, established artists, and journalists.
As is now tradition, the artistic direction and presidency of the jury will once again be held by Professor Giorgio Agnisola, art critic, writer, and Professor Emeritus of Sacred Art and Cultural Heritage at the Pontifical Theological Faculty of Southern Italy.
Joining Prof. Agnisola and Maria Gabriella Mazzola, representing COMEL Industries—the company that founded and solely sponsors the Award—are distinguished professionals from the contemporary art world:
• Prof. Franco Marrocco, Director of the Brera Academy and artist
• Dr. Francesca Tuscano, art historian and critic, Director of the Civic Art Museum of Olevano Romano
• Dr. Matilde Di Muro, architect, art historian and critic, journalist, and lecturer
The 13 finalist artworks selected by the jury will be exhibited at the COMEL Contemporary Art Space in Latina from October 18 to November 8, 2025. One of them will be awarded the COMEL Award, receiving a €3,500 cash prize and the opportunity to hold a solo exhibition with a dedicated catalogue at the gallery.
To enter the competition, artists must be residents or working professionals in any European country. Eligible artworks may include painting, sculpture, photography, or installation, provided that aluminium is the primary material used and that the piece aligns with this year’s theme: The Silent Strength.
Although aluminium is a lightweight metal, it is also remarkably strong, malleable, and resilient. It can endure great pressure and transformation without losing its essential properties—much like the human spirit, which adapts, falls, and rises stronger than before. Not with brute force, but with a steady, tested energy.
Artists are invited to use aluminium as both medium and metaphor to express the ability to endure, adapt, and persist—traits that define both this extraordinary metal and the human soul.