M.A.C.I.S.T. Museum

The "Museum of International Contemporary Art Without Trends", was born from an idea of the master Omar Ronda, from the sensitivity of some collectors and many internationally renowned artists who have decided to donate and make available their works with the aim of support the prevention, treatment and research activities of the Edo and Elvo Tempia Foundation, which has been involved in the fight against cancer for over 40 years.
For this reason MACIST - having been created for the benefit of a moral body of excellence in the area - defines itself as an "ethical and democratic" museum. The ethical challenge that MACIST poses is to enhance and make known world contemporary art, without trends and in its best qualitative expressions, while supporting cancer research activities. In this sense, visitors to the Museum play the role of recipients of culture and at the same time of active protagonists in the fight against cancer. MACIST is also defined as a "democratic" reality for two reasons: first of all, access to museum spaces is completely free and free for both permanent and temporary collections; secondly because there is no predominant artistic tendency among the works of the permanent collection. The permanent collection constitutes an interesting selection of the most important contemporary artistic currents from the sixties to today: Pop Art, Noveau Réalisme, Historical Avant-gardes and Avant-gardes, Arte Povera, Neo-Expressionism, Minimalism, Transavantgarde, Conceptual Art, New Futurism, Hyperrealism, etc.
MACIST is located in a strategic position: in Biella, in the Riva district, within the so-called "island of creativity", a stone's throw from Via Italia, the main artery of the city center. The museum space, inaugurated on 14 March 2015, is accessible, freely and free of charge, on Saturdays and Sundays from 3 to 7.15 pm, excluding July and August.
The building that houses the Museum, expertly restored, has an area of over 700 m2 and is located inside the ancient "Fabbrica dell'Oro" (1901) by Giuseppe Gualino (father of the more famous Riccardo, a great Biellese entrepreneur and art collector), an example of industrial archeology and an important point of reference for the goldsmith's art in Italy in the early twentieth century. The spaces are composed primarily of a permanent exhibition, which brings together 150 works and installations by 120 Italian and international artists (the latter from 23 different countries).
The Museum also consists of a room for video projections and a part intended exclusively for temporary exhibitions. Fifteen exhibitions have been held since its opening, all of which were highly successful with critics and audiences: "Andy Warhol & Company"; "Italian plastic"; “Michelangelo Pistoletto. Historical works from 1959 "; “Umberto Mariani: Before Lead. Historical works "; “Luca Alinari. Unknown seventies "; “Bertozzi & Casoni. Great Ceramics "; “Homage to Plinio Martelli”; “Ugo Nespolo. Historical works "," Robert Rauschenberg - XXXIV Tables for Dante's Inferno "; “African art. From traditional to contemporary "; "The Vespa in History and Art"; “Omar Ronda. Osiris "; “Omar Ronda. Anthology "; "Gianni Depaoli - Hope"; “Danilo Marchi - Electric Hexagons”.
The presidency is entrusted to Mariella Genova Ronda.
The curator of the museum is Mark Bertazzoli.