The third edition of Food and Future – Italian Video Art Contest, which took place on October 9, at the Italian Institute of Culture in New York, marked a qualitative leap for the competition dedicated to young artists of the Italian Academy of Fine Arts. Thanks to the entrance of the Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano Reggiano, the Mention of Honor awarded by the public has become a real prize: the “Parmigiano Reggiano” Award of the Popular Jury.
The Consortium has identified in the Food and Future format the opportunity to support young Italian artists in their food story and, at the same time, to promote in the United States the product, considering how the USA represents the main foreign market of the Consortium with 12,500 tons exported in the first 9 months of the year (+2.8% compared to the same period of 2025)
. The new award, voted by the public in the room with dedicated cards, provides a plate with the name of the winner and, above all, the possibility to realize a docu-video on behalf of the Consortium, with travel, food and accommodation guaranteed for the shooting: a concrete opportunity to transform the artistic experience into a professional opportunity, with a showcase of great visibility.
“The support that the Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano Reggiano provides us makes us proud and shows how important it is to value young artists and promote Italian food in the United States”, commented Stefano Prior and Luigi Capone, founding members of Pensiero Mediterraneo. “Parmigiano Reggiano is one of the most important Italian brands and known in the USA: we could not want a partner more indicated to promote this contest”.
To conquer the “Parmigiano Reggiano” Award of the Popular Jury was “How much is enough” by Raffaella Mastrorilli and Nicolò Tempesta, students of Vincenzo Di Palma at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bari. The short story tells the day of a fisherman who, before dawn, takes the sea and then returns home to prepare his lunch: in the loneliness of the present he relishes the memory of his son and the days spent together in a boat, sharing a simple meal of bread and tomato. Food thus becomes a device of memory, capable of changing meaning depending on whether it is lived alone or in company. A work that struck and moved the New York public and that also won the second place in the Food and Future 2026 Award and the Mention for the best technical achievement.
On the podium also climbed, in second place, “Do not open that cardboard” by Gionata Andrew Dantec, pupil of Luigi Barletta at the Academy of Fine Arts of Naples, and, on the third, “Buy the book” by Davide Palamà, pupil of Ivan Corbucci and Patrizia Dalmaso at the Academy of Fine Arts of Lecce. To communicate the winners was Dr. Pasquale Antonio Riccio, president of Campus Salute. The Food and Future 2026 Prize, awarded by the jury chaired by Davide Ippolito, went instead to “EAT IT, DON’T F*CK IT” by Carlo Gargiulo and Simona Aiello, of the Academy of Fine Arts of Naples.
The collaboration with the Consortium also gave rise to the final moment of the evening: the rite of the cut of Parmigiano Reggiano. Not a simple cut, but a technical and traditional gesture – “shoulder” the shape following the natural grain – performed by chef Fabio Manfredi, Culinary Consultant and Event Lead, who for several years has collaborated with the Consortium in the United States.
The format, competition and the Food and Future award are owned by Pensiero Mediterraneo, a company based in Rome, founding members Stefano Prior and Luigi Capone. The competition promotes the work of young artists of Italian Fine Arts Academy through a creative reflection on food, sustainability and the Mediterranean diet. The award will be held between November and December in Italy, at the Academies of the winners.
Pensiero Mediterraneo thanks the Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano Reggiano and its president Nicola Bertinelli for believing in the goodness of the project.
And the appointment is already fixed: from 2027 Food and Future will become a national award, open to all the Academies of Italian Fine Arts that will want to join.
L’articolo Food and Future and Parmigiano Reggiano: The Popular Jury Prize for young Italian artists is born in New York.
