Grand Festival AFAM

On December 5, 2025, in the prestigious setting of MAXXI – National Museum of XXI Century Arts in Rome, the final event of the international contest “Normale è straordinario” was held. It was an event that celebrated the path, research and results of a project involving male and female students from the Italian Academies of High Artistic, Musical and Choreographic Education.

A morning dedicated to the finalistsand finalists
The day opened with an exclusive moment reserved for the finalists and finalists of the GTA Contest 2025.
The selected girls and boys participated in a masterclass led by Contest Artistic Director Emanuele Cappelli and Contest Chairman Gabriele Mainetti – director, screenwriter, composer and film producer.

l Afternoon at MAXXI: speeches and discussion
In the afternoon, the MAXXI auditorium welcomed a series of institutional speeches by Fabio Mongelli, GTA Scientific Coordinator, Emanuele Cappelli, and the Scientific Officers of the partner institutions.
This was followed by a talk by Gabriele Mainetti together with writer and journalist Laura Delli Colli.

Awards and exhibition
The day ended with the awarding of the 6 winning projects and the opening at the MAXXI Corner of the exhibition of the 48 finalist works, which can be visited free of charge until December 8.

The works presented-between audiovisual, performing arts, fashion, design and visual arts-told the expressive richness of the new generations and their ability to interpret the theme “Normale è straordinario” in original ways.

Through these languages, male and female students reflected on theuniqueness of each individual, transforming everyday normality into an extraordinariness to be told: each moment, each experience, each choice thus became the essence of a deeply personal and, at the same time, universal work.

It was a well-attended and heartfelt event that saw a strong public presence and great involvement from students, confirming the value of a project that focuses on education, creativity and the power of culture as a space for connection and shared growth.

Learn about the day’s program

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GTA Contest winning projects:

– FIRST PRIZE: The Gaze Of Eve – by Sofiya Arpaci, Xiang Ding, Zoulong Liu, Wenjie Yu (Rufa students)

– HONORABLE MENTION: Hedone – by Maria Christidi (student of Accademia Italiana)

– HONORABLE MENTION: Les mères – edited by Lorraina Favaron (Naba Milan student)

– HONORABLE MENTION: Mani silenziose di Prato – by Jiayi Gao (Ied Florence student)

– HONORABLE MENTION: Endo – by Francesca Morelli (student of Accademia Italiana)

– HONORABLE MENTION: Cronaca Digitale – by Michele Pomponio (Rufa student)