Under the patronage of the Italian Ministry of Culture, in 2016 pptArt organized the first edition of the Corporate Art Awards,[1][2] aimed at recognizing the best collaborations between the Corporate World and the Art World.[3][4] Out of 80 participating companies from 22 countries, the winners were Banca Intesa Sanpaolo and Deutsche Bank[5] for the best corporate collection, American Express for its international restoration program, Shiseido for the oldest corporate collection in Japan[6] and Piaggio for the social media campaign to support its corporate museum.
The 2016 edition of the Corporate Art Awards was also the occasion for the launch of the Corporate Art Manifesto which was signed by the following artists: John David Mooney, Alexander Evgenievich Ponomarev, Ugo Nespolo, Fernando De Filippi, Stefano Pizzi, etc. [7]
In the 2017 edition, the scope of the Corporate Art Awards was extended to include the Institutional world. The program was then renamed “Mecenati of the XXI century” with the aim to recognize the best art projects supported by institutions and corporations.
The winners of the 2017 Institutional Art Awards were: Central Bank of Italy, Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Investment Bank, Central Bank of Ecuador,[8]European Parliament, UNOG (United Nations Office at Geneva), etc.