Max Mara Announces Winner of the 10th 'Max Mara Art Prize for Women'

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Max Mara has announced Indonesian artist Dian Sastrowardoyo as the winner of the 10th 'Max Mara Art Prize for Women'. Sastrowardoyo will participate in a six-month residency program across Italy.

The prize is organized by Max Mara, Collezione Maramotti, and Museum MACAN, with the winner selected in collaboration with curator Cecilia Alemani. Dian Sastrowardoyo was chosen as the recipient for this 10th edition.

Established to support and promote emerging and mid-career artists at a crucial stage of their careers, the prize offers the winner a six-month residency program across Italy, planned and managed by Collezione Maramotti. This program is specially designed to develop the project proposed during the application. The results will be presented as a solo exhibition at Museum MACAN in Jakarta in the summer of 2027, and then re-exhibited at Collezione Maramotti in Reggio Emilia, Italy, in the autumn of the same year, where the work will be acquired by the museum.

The winner was announced on May 7, 2026, coinciding with the opening of the 61st La Biennale di Venezia (Venice International Art Exhibition). The announcement event featured Cecilia Alemani, curator and chair of the prize jury, Sara Piccinini (Director of Collezione Maramotti), Venus Lau (Director of Museum MACAN), and Elia Maramotti (Representative of the founding family of Max Mara and Collezione Maramotti).

Sastrowardoyo was selected from five finalists, including Betty Ady, Zikra Afifah, Ipe Nur, and Mira Rizki. The jury was chaired by Cecilia Alemani and included Venus Lau, Director of Museum MACAN, curator Amanda Ariawan, gallerist Megan Erlin, collector Evelyn Halim, and artist Melati Suryodarmo. Born in Kebumen, Indonesia, in 1985, Sastrowardoyo is currently based in Yogyakarta. Her work explores the intersection of domestic narratives and state power, drawing on her daily experiences as a single mother to delve into themes such as women's political subjugation, authoritarianism, fascism, patriarchy, and capitalism. She expresses these themes with a keen sense of space, traversing diverse media including installation, painting, sculpture, and video.

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Her winning project, "Crafting Spirit: Cultural Dialogues in Heritage and Practice," examines the impact arising from the intersection of religious craftsmanship traditions and capitalist systems through a comparative study between Italy and Indonesia. Through the creation of devotional objects and religious imagery, it re-examines contemporary issues such as the commercialization and exploitation of faith.

This project also attempts to trace the embodiment of faith, care, and ritual in physical gestures and handcrafts. Sastrowardoyo views craft as a "living archive," positioning it as a medium that reflects cultural, social, and economic transformations. This perspective extends spirituality beyond the religious realm to an unspoken domain of meaning, expressed through repetitive, body-rooted actions.

Her residency will begin in Assisi, Umbria, and continue to Rome, Lecce in Puglia, and Florence. Throughout these locations, she will conduct research and production in parallel, deepening her understanding of religious culture and craft techniques.

10th Winner of the "Max Mara Art Prize for Women"

Dian Sastrowardoyo's Comment:

"I am deeply honored to be selected as the recipient of the 'Max Mara Art Prize for Women'. My proposal, 'Crafting Spirit: Cultural Dialogues in Heritage and Practice,' explores the experiences of women artisans at the intersection of faith and survival."