Dr. Laura Mattioli, you are well known as a collector: what experiences or influences in your life have helped shape your passion for art?

«My passion for art was born in the family, since my father was passionate about modern art, a friend of artists, an important collector and patron. He was the famous collector… not me! I am known in the Italian art world above all because I inherited his collection and managed it for 35 years. I do not consider myself a true collector, as I have never had a real collecting project like he, who wanted to represent with his collection the history of Italian art of the first half of the XNUMXth century. I simply bought works by artist friends that I respect and things that, at that moment, aroused emotions in me. Which means shopping – or patronage – if you want to understand in this way a gesture of respect and friendship like buying works by artist friends».

What has been your personal experience with art and how have you involved your children in this world?

«In addition to being a 'collector' - as you defined me before - I studied art history, wrote scientific texts, taught at university level, curated exhibitions. Let's say that being an art historian/exhibition curator has been my profession throughout my life. Since I did it with passion and I always worked at home, my children from an early age saw their mother working in this field, talking about art, meeting artists, so they were naturally involved, visiting exhibitions with me or helping me set up. We also had my father's notified collection on display at home, with which they grew up. However, over time, they both distanced themselves from art: now one has a company that makes mountaineering products and the other studies physics. For them, art has remained a necessary occupation to manage the inheritance they received, but secondary to their personal interests».

Why did you decide to leave Italy and move to New York?

"I decided to leave Italy mainly because I was disgusted by Italian politics and the management of its artistic heritage. I settled in New York (after an initial five-year period spent in Switzerland) to better work on the foundation I created there in 2013, the Center for Italian Modern Art (CIMA)."

What emotions does the word philanthropy evoke in you and what memories is it linked to?

«The word 'philanthropy' seems to me a difficult word and not in common use. It literally means love for man, that is, love for one's neighbor. It seems to me that philanthropy should be a common commitment for all of us, simply as human beings!

I believe, however, that you are referring to this word for voluntary charitable activities promoted by people who have good, or more than good, financial situations. These people, instead of enjoying the money they have or thinking only about earning more, use part of their money to support a charitable cause. I must say that philanthropy is very widespread in the USA, also because it allows for important tax advantages, and involves the majority of people from the middle and upper middle classes. It is certainly considered an important 'status symbol', but I believe that it is part of a mentality of religious origin, particularly Protestant, to consider it a duty to socially share the material goods that one is fortunate enough to have. Instead, in Europe, philanthropy is not considered an ordinary activity and is not in itself part of the normal duties of the citizen".

What are the philanthropic projects or causes that you are most connected to and that you feel have had a significant impact?

"It seems to me you're asking me which of my philanthropic activities has been the most important and successful. Certainly CIMA , especially for the scholarships that have provided approximately 50 young art historians over the course of ten years with important life and work experience in New York, decisively contributing to their personal and professional growth."

What challenges or difficulties have you encountered in your philanthropic journey?

"The biggest difficulty I encountered was fundraising. I founded a 'public charity', a type of foundation that by American law must receive at least a third of its budget from more than twelve donors. However, since I had created the foundation, everyone thought it was a kind of personal pastime of mine, the game of a rich lady who had nothing left to do and who had decided to promote modern Italian art in New York because she was the daughter of an important collector of modern art; who, therefore, was playing on home soil and promoting her interests. As a result, no one (Italian companies with commercial interests in the USA, banks, associations, Italian-American personalities, gallery owners) wanted to financially support the foundation. So, after ten years of activity, we had to close."

In the philanthropic field, good intentions are not enough to make the difference: what elements do you think make a good patron?

"Situations and legislation change a lot both over time and in different countries. So I don't think there can be a single answer that is always right. Certainly, we need to look at structured philanthropic activity (in a foundation or another type of equivalent association) as any for-profit company, with concrete and reasonable objectives, professional staff and serious economic planning. We need to evaluate the context and the social impact of the activity, pay attention to communication, to the network of alliances-collaborations-exchanges that can be developed, to the political situation in which we operate".

“Does arts philanthropy only favor established artists?” Some argue that philanthropists tend to support well-known artists, neglecting emerging talent. How do you evaluate this statement?

«I would say that collecting is often seen as a form of alternative investment. Buying well-known artists is equivalent to buying solid stocks. This does not seem to me to be true collecting, nor philanthropy, but rather a form of investment, in my opinion much riskier than is usually thought because tastes change and what is liked and fashionable at a certain moment, then goes out of fashion and loses value. I believe that the true collector is a great connoisseur of what he collects and must follow his taste and his interests. The patron should support artists on the margins of the market, who thanks to his help can continue to do their work. Of course the problem is to support good artists... but this is the risk to take. Sometimes we think more about supporting a person in need of help than about the value of his art... but perhaps it is right to do so!».

The Center for Italian Modern Art (CIMA) was a study and dissemination center located in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan, New York, specialized in Italian modern art. You established it successfully. How much philanthropic was there in this choice and why did you decide to close it?

CIMA can be considered a philanthropic activity as it has been a place of education on multiple levels: for scholarship holders, who have furthered their professional and academic careers, and for a more general public, who have explored topics little known to American culture. CIMA also conducted activities with schools, from toddlers to high school and university students. It was closed due to financial constraints, namely a lack of financial support, and the cultural climate that has developed in the US since the pandemic, which has shown little interest in European art, which is considered the product of a colonialist and discriminatory culture, and which challenges its values.

How do you deal with criticism or doubts regarding your philanthropic choices?

"I have to say that I have received very little criticism. Perhaps the most common criticism was that it is a center with an overly academic approach. In reality, the experience that the scholarship holders had in New York was much more important on a human and personal level than on a strictly academic level. Then everyone reacts differently to situations and therefore there are people who have had a more positive experience and others less so."

You are a very successful personality: what do you think you have given to the world of art and what to the world of philanthropy?

"Frankly, I don't think I'm a very successful person. I go against the grain, I always say what I think and so I create many enemies. I think I've given works to the art world, supporting the realization of projects that otherwise would not have existed. I'm thinking, for example, of Dan Flavin's installation at the Chiesa Rossa in Milan, made possible also by the fundamental contribution of the Prada Foundation. I think I've given the world of philanthropy, with CIMA, a new model of foundation for educational purposes, which did not exist before."

How would you like to be remembered?

"I would like to leave behind me signs of beauty. They may be ephemeral like a rose, but they help us live more serenely."