GTA Contest: two students awarded at MAXXI

Rome, December 23, 2025

The AFAM Grand Festival represented a moment of collective exchange, offering a comprehensive overview of the project’s development, research activities, and the results achieved. The students selected as finalists for the GTA Contest 2025—the international competition that involved more than 200 young artists and designers from the Academies and Institutes partnering with the Grand Tour AFAM—had the opportunity to take part in a masterclass led by Emanuele Cappelli, Artistic Director of the contest, and Gabriele Mainetti, President of the GTA Contest, as well as a film director, screenwriter, composer, and producer.

In the afternoon, the MAXXI Auditorium opened its doors to a program of institutional talks, discussions, and artistic performances. The day concluded with the award ceremony for the winning project of the GTA Contest 2025 – Normal is Extraordinary and the opening, at the MAXXI Corner, of the exhibition featuring the 48 finalist works. The exhibition Normal is Extraordinary showcased projects ranging from audiovisual works to performing arts, fashion, design, and visual arts, offering a compelling panorama of artistic expression by young and talented generations.

Through their works, participants reflected on the uniqueness of each individual, expressing the extraordinary nature of everyday normality. Every moment, experience, and choice thus became the essence of a personal yet universal artistic narrative.

Two projects by Accademia Italiana stood out among the Contest, receiving an honorable mention and confirming the central role of artistic research as a tool for storytelling and awareness. During the AFAM Grand Festival, held on Friday, December 5, the works of Maria Christidi and Francesca Morelli were recognized.

With Hedone, Maria Christidi explored the theme of sexuality through an intimate and sensitive narrative, transforming personal experience into a visual reflection capable of combining fragility and expressive strength.

Endo, a project by Francesca Morelli, emerged from a five-year research journey and addresses the daily reality of a chronic inflammatory condition that is still marked by underdiagnosis and limited medical attention: endometriosis.

The announcement marked the culmination of a day entirely dedicated to experimentation, dialogue, and the diversity of artistic languages—an occasion in which the theme Normal is Extraordinary took shape through authentic stories, capable of transforming individual experience into a shared vision.

Project “GRAND TOUR AFAM” – funded by the European Union Next Generation EU (NGEU) – for the internationalization of higher education institutions in the arts and music (AFAM) according to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). CUP: I83B24000030006 Investment line: M4C1I3.4T5 “Strategic partnerships/initiatives to innovate the international dimension of the AFAM system.”