Germinale – Monferrato Art Fest

From 10 September to 4 October 2026, Germinale activates a cultural network spanning 17 municipalities across the provinces of Asti and Alessandria, creating an artistic itinerary that crosses territories, communities and generations. Exhibitions, installations, site-specific works and artist residencies give rise to a collective narrative connecting geology, local history and the contemporary imagination.

The programme brings together around fifty established and emerging contemporary artists, with a particular focus on the production of new works and their relationship with the local area. Alongside exhibitions staged across more than twenty venues, the festival hosts ten artist residencies involving both international artists and emerging artists under the age of 35 selected through a dedicated open call.

One of the project’s defining features is the ongoing development of the Germinale Open-Air Museum, a permanent collection of works that remain in the area and help strengthen the dialogue between contemporary art and landscape. In 2026, the museum will be expanded with two new permanent installations in Villadeati and Rinco, a hamlet of Montiglio Monferrato.

Particular attention is also devoted to supporting young artists through the Selva Art Prize, an award for artists under 40 culminating in a final group exhibition in Castagnole Monferrato. At the same time, an extensive public programme will animate the festival’s four weekends with talks, workshops, performances and events open to the public, offering opportunities to explore and discuss its central themes.

The involvement of younger generations also lies at the heart of the project. Through Micromondi sotto i piedi (Micro-Worlds Beneath Our Feet), workshops held in local primary schools invite children to explore geological memory and landscape through creativity. The project will result in a large collective artwork conceived as a “fossil archive of the future”, which will be presented during the festival.