Honoris Causa Degree for Luciano Benetton

EJAlbum, at the conclusion of the Imago Mundi in Albania project, became the initiator of another event of importance for Albanian art: the awarding of an Honoris Causa degree by the University of Arts to Mr. Luciano Benetton. Our company worked personally on the whole procedure, as well as on the corresponding ceremony at the University, a ceremony held in UA's concert hall in the presence of Mr. Benetton himself, the University's Rector Prof. Petrit Malaj, the Academic Senate, the Ambassador of Italy to Albania, Mr. Alberto Cutillo, several other ambassadors, the Minister of Culture of Albania, Ms. Mirela Kumbaro, as well as other ministers, the Director of the Italian Institute of Culture, Ms. Adriana Frisena, a delegation from the Benetton Studi e Ricerche Foundation and Fabrica, personalities from art, culture and the business world, artists, members of the general public, etc.

Excerpt from the citation for the Honoris Causa degree awarded to Mr. Luciano Benetton:

– The University of Arts in Tirana has the honour and the pleasure, after many consultations and discussions between the leadership staff and the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Albania, to confer an Honoris Causa degree in Visual Arts on one of the most important personalities in the world of art worldwide, and beyond. In this way joining a number of important universities that have already conferred such a degree on Mr. Luciano Benetton, such as: Instituto de Empresa, Madrid – Honoris Causa Degree in Business Administration – 10 June 1992, Boston University – Honoris Causa Degree in Law – 22 May 1992, Università Ca' Foscari in Venice – Honoris Causa Degree in Economics – 19 May 1995, UNIACC – Universidad de las Comunicaciones de Chile – Honoris Causa Degree in Communication – 27 March 2007, etc.

Luciano Benetton was born on 13.05.1935 in Treviso, Italy. Former Senator of the Republic of Italy, co-founder and, for many years, president of the Benetton Group, among the most important industrial realities in the world, but above all an important catalyst for contemporary art around the world; founder of the global Imago Mundi project, currently among the most important art collections; founder of Fabrica, an institute on communication; of Colors, a global art magazine; of the Benetton Studi e Ricerche Foundation, etc.; as well as initiator and leader of dozens of projects and collaborations with institutions and universities around the world. Our University had the honour of partnering with the Imago Mundi staff, led precisely by Mr. Luciano Benetton, to create the art collection dedicated to Albania. This collection will culminate in important exhibitions, in galleries and art museums, and has also produced a rather prestigious catalogue featuring 163 Albanian artists.

Co-curator of the project was also one of the professors of the University of Arts, Assoc. Prof. Albes Fusha, who curated the Albanian collection in collaboration with Mr. Elton Koritari, always then under the direction of Mr. Luciano Benetton. There was massive participation from most of the University's teaching staff, and this created the birth of a movement and a positive climate on the school's premises — a climate and spirit we want to deepen and carry further, precisely by involving Mr. Benetton even more in a relationship with the University, so as to make use of the potential arising from this and of the know-how Mr. Benetton has accumulated over the years. Mr. Luciano Benetton's contribution to the University through our Imago Mundi project, and his international prestige, are decisive factors in our decision to confer this Honoris Causa degree, accepted moreover with great pleasure by Mr. Benetton, with the promise that this will create that connecting bridge between the University and the institutions founded and led by him… To dwell in more detail, the Imago Mundi project is a project carried out by the Studi e Ricerche Benetton Foundation, a powerful hub of art not only for Italy but globally. We aim to deepen the interaction between us and the Foundation, undertaking to create, over the years, for our teaching staff and our students too, the encouragement of initiatives that lead to the implementation of the projects this institution very often undertakes, but also to create the opportunity for our teaching staff and students to have full access to the Foundation's endless resources, and why not, to create a partnership that over the years could lead to strengthening our curricula and give us the opportunity for access to the world stage.

Luciano Benetton, among other things, is the founder and funder of Fabrica, one of the most important institutes in the world of communication, with a range of disciplines varying between design, graphics, photography, multimedia, music, theatre, journalism, etc. In this light, of interest to our University is the exchange that could arise between us and this institution, which offers, for example, one-year study scholarships for artists, curators and researchers from around the world, who, after finishing their stay at the Institute, can continue autonomously their artistic and cultural commitment in the interest of our University. It also offers art residencies and funds projects whose purpose is the formation of a new class of interdisciplinary artists, capable of interacting with vital sectors of society such as the economy, art, communication, the social sciences, etc.…

Also worth underlining is the fact that Benetton is the founder of the global magazine Colors, a quarterly magazine distributed in over 40 countries around the world and published in six languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, as well as Chinese. Contributors from around the world contribute to the magazine's content, and its focus is precisely on the globalisation of art, a theme that is current and vital for the University, which could push professors and students to become among these contributors themselves and encourage them to publish their research in this magazine…"

We are pleased to share with you this chronicle of this rather important event, organised and carried out by EJAlbum, as the conclusion of a day in which Mr. Benetton also had the chance, among other things, to hold working meetings with the President of the Republic of Albania, Mr. Bujar Nishani, the Prime Minister, Mr. Edi Rama, several personalities from art, culture and the business world, and especially those whom he himself and the Foundation hold most dear: Albanian artists.

Also follow this Report Tv chronicle of the event:

On our blog there are several other articles about Knots and our projects related to Imago Mundi. Don't miss them…