The Nouveau Musée National de Monaco (NMNM) has announced the results of the 2025 edition of “Les Apprentis Collectionneurs,” a programme designed to introduce high school students to contemporary art and the role of museum acquisitions. Launched in 2017 and supported by SOGEDA (Société pour la Gestion des Droits d’Auteur), the initiative allows students to engage directly with the art world through research, visits, and hands-on experiences.

This year, 24 final-year students specialising in art at Lycée Albert-Ier, guided by their teacher Jean-Guy Cuomo and Benjamin Laugier, NMNM’s public engagement officer, travelled to ARCOmadrid, one of Europe’s most prestigious contemporary art fairs. With a budget of 20,000 euros, they were tasked with selecting one or more artworks from a single artist for acquisition by the museum.

On Wednesday, March 26, the students presented their choices before a distinguished jury, including HRH Princess of Hanover, President of the NMNM Acquisition Committee and Board of Directors; Daniela Memmo d’Amelio, a major patron of the museum and the 2025 edition’s mentor; Hélène Audiffren, visual arts advisor at the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs; artist Francisco Tropa; Jean-Philippe Vinci, Monaco’s Director of National Education, Youth and Sports; Célia Bernasconi, NMNM’s Chief Curator; and Björn Dahlström, NMNM’s Director.

The students’ selections reflected their engagement with major contemporary themes, including climate change, post-colonialism, identity, and migration. Ultimately, they chose three works by Peter Fend, an artist known for merging art and science in his exploration of global issues. The selected pieces—Global Warming (2025), a lightbox installation; Azioni Sulla Terra (2024), a set of 18 drawings; and Oasi con linee del volo (2025), a print and pencil work—were presented by Clara Oliveria Mendes and acquired from Pinksummer Gallery in Genoa.

Born in 1950 in Columbus, Ohio, Peter Fend has long operated at the crossroads of activism, art history, sculpture, architecture, and design, using his work to provoke awareness and inspire action on environmental and geopolitical issues. His reimagining of cartography is a recurring theme, as seen in Oasi con linee di volo (2024), which maps bird migration routes across North Africa’s oases, and Azioni Sulla Terra (2024), which visualises territorial conquests that have reshaped national borders through conflict.

One of his most striking pieces, Global Warming (2025), is a modern reinterpretation of a large-scale 1999 work that originally responded to early warnings about climate change. The new piece takes the form of a lightbox installation, echoing the visual language of Ed Ruscha’s “Twentysix Gasoline Stations” (1963) and his depictions of Standard Oil service stations. Designed to resemble the signage of ExxonMobil petrol stations, the installation directly addresses one of the key causes of climate change, making an urgent statement on environmental responsibility.

In addition to the selected works, a special mention was awarded to Joséphine Giordano for the quality of her presentation.

Over the years, “Les Apprentis Collectionneurs” has brought numerous contemporary artists into NMNM’s collection, including Andreas Angelidakis, Mark Dion, Rita Ferreira, Carsten Höller, Pierre Joseph, Katia Kameli, Anton Kannemeyer, David Medalla, Mika Rottenberg, and Xavier Theunis. The 2025 edition continues this tradition, reinforcing NMNM’s commitment to fostering young artistic voices while expanding its contemporary art holdings.

Image courtesy of Communication Department of the Princely Government / Manuel Vitali: Les apprentis collectionneurs 2025