Cecilia Alemani, curator and chair of the prize jury, made the announcement on May 7 alongside Sara Piccinini, director of the Maramotti Collection; Venus Lau, director of Museum MACAN – Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara; and Elia Maramotti, representative of the family that founded Max Mara and the Maramotti Collection. The announcement coincided with the opening of the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.
Dian Suci, Is It a Body Has No Walls and Has No Collapses, 2020 © Dian Suci. Photo: Dian Suci.
“If I’m asked whether it’s still necessary to have a prize for women artists, my answer is, of course, yes,” said Cecilia Alemani, the director and chief curator of High Line Art in New York and the current curator of the Max Mara Art Prize for Women. “It is also very meaningful that we’re here in Venice, a city that is very dear to me, where I curated the 2022 Venice Biennale The Milk of Dreams. I know this prize will offer incredible opportunities not only to the winning artist, but also to the five shortlisted artists, to advance their careers.”
A New International Phase for the Max Mara Art Prize for Women
The tenth edition marks a structural transformation of the prize. Since its inception in 2005, the Max Mara Art Prize for Women has supported and promoted artists who identify as women at a crucial stage in their careers. It was the first award in the visual arts dedicated specifically to emerging and mid-career female artists. “It was a way for us to do something very pragmatic and concrete,” remarked Elia Maramotti, “and to give women artists, whose opportunities have often paled in comparison to those of men, time, space, and resources.” After a long collaboration with the Whitechapel Gallery in London, the prize is taking on an international, nomadic dimension. Starting with the 2025–2027 cycle, each edition will take place in a different country in collaboration with a local partner institution. For the inaugural edition of this new phase, the prize’s curator has identified Indonesia as the key art scene and the prestigious Museum MACAN as the partner.
Dian Suci, Beneath Fingers: Echoing Through the Shadow of a Still House, 2025 © Dian Suci. Photo: Dian Suci.
Dian Suci’s Residency and Future Exhibition
With this award, Suci will embark on a six-month travel residency in Italy designed specifically for her by the Maramotti Collection. During this research and production period, she will develop the project that she presented to the jury, which included Alemani, the museum’s director Lau, curator Amanda Ariawan, gallerist Megan Arlin, collector Evelyn Halim, and artist Melati Suryodarmo. The project will then be featured in a solo exhibition at the Museum MACAN in the summer of 2027, and subsequently at the Maramotti Collection in Reggio Emilia (Italy) in the fall of the same year. At that time, the works will become part of the collection. Suci, born in Kebumen in 1985 and now living and working in Yogyakarta, was selected from a shortlist of five finalists that included Betty Adii (b. 1997, Wamena, Papua), Dzikra Afifah (b. 1998, Bandung, Indonesia), Ipeh Nur (b. 1993, Yogyakarta, Indonesia), and Mira Rizki (b. 1994, Bandung, Indonesia). Alemani described the Indonesian art milieu as “a context characterized by great dynamism, resilience, and poetic complexity.” The finalists are considered representative of this energy and the variety of artistic languages present in the local scene. These languages range from traditional techniques, such as ceramics and mythological narratives linked to the sea, to contemporary practices, such as soundscapes and video.
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Collezione Maramotti. Ingresso lato Est / East entrance. Ph. Bruno Cattani
Dian Suci’s Artistic Practice and Themes
Suci’s work lies at the intersection of domestic narratives and the political power of the state. Drawing on her experience as a single mother, she addresses themes related to the political domestication of women, authoritarianism, fascism, patriarchy, and capitalism. These elements continue to shape the status of women in contemporary Indonesian society. Through installations, paintings, sculptures, and videos, Suci creates works characterized by a strong focus on spatial composition and narrative dimension. She explores the relationships between daily life, political history, and social structures. Her work gained international recognition when she participated in Sharjah Biennial 16.
Dian Suci, Searching Land in the Land Word, 2022 © Dian Suci. Photo: Dian Suci.
The Project “Crafting Spirit: Cultural Dialogues in Heritage and Practice”
The project for which the artist received the award is titled “Crafting Spirit: Cultural Dialogues in Heritage and Practice,” and it explores the relationship between religious craftsmanship and the capitalist system by comparing Italy and Indonesia. The project focuses on the production of votive objects and sacred images, examining the intersection of spirituality and the commodification of faith in contemporary culture. Suci’s investigation aims to determine if and how spirituality can persist as a force of cultural resilience within systems characterized by injustice, oppression, and market logic. This new body of work focuses particularly on the embodiment of faith, care, and ritual in manual labor’s gestures and processes. The artist views craftsmanship as a living archive of traditions and collective memory that can bear witness to a community’s cultural, social, and economic transformations. Grounded in Indonesian culture, her work broadens the concept of spirituality beyond strictly religious practices to include physical, repetitive activities through which people attribute meaning to the inexpressible. In this sense, the project aims to explore the transformation of the sacred into a material presence and view it as a reflection of the global logic of profit and production.
The Italian Residency Program
During her residency in Italy, Suci will receive support from mentors and specialists. She will also participate in in-depth workshops, field trips, and studio work sessions. The program includes meetings with religious communities, congregations, university professors, artisans, and artists who can provide technical skills and theoretical tools necessary for developing new works.The program begins in Assisi, where Suci will experience the monks’ way of life and observe the tensions between spirituality and the commercialization of faith in a city that symbolizes Franciscanism. The next stop is Rome, where the artist will attend Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica and analyze its symbols and meanings. Then, the journey will continue to Lecce, where Suci will delve into the history and techniques of the local papier-mâché tradition through a specially organized study program.The final phase of the residency will take place in Florence. There, she will study egg tempera and weaving on ancient handlooms to expand his knowledge of their applications in an ecclesiastical context.
Dian Suci, I want to tell a long story. But are you able? Am I able?, 2018. Watercolor on paper, acrylic on paper, tea dyes on bread paper, variable dimensions. © Dian Suci. Photo: Mohammed Febrian
Cultural Dialogue Between Indonesia and Italy
When asked about the award, the artist explained that the project stems from the stories of women artisans, whose work often combines religious devotion with the need for economic survival. She added that the award is an opportunity to expand her research between Indonesia and Italy and to learn from traditions and rituals that preserve spirituality in the gestures and bodies of the creators. Alemani highlighted that Suci’s work stands out for its ability to transform the domestic and everyday realm into a space of political resistance. The project’s uniqueness lies in the analytical perspective through which the artist explores spirituality. She views it not as an escape from reality, but as a form of resilience against the invasive logic of capitalism and mass production.The Italian residency will foster a cultural dialogue across different contexts. The artist will encounter Umbrian sacred craftsmanship, Lecce papier-mâché tradition, and Florentine artisans. These experiences will provide Suci with valuable tools for understanding how manual labor can preserve a collective memory and belief system capable of resisting the commodification of life and art.
Dian Suci, Larung May the Blooms Be Carried Safely through the Night, 2024. © Dian Suci. Photo: Dian Suci.
