Zegna announced new partnership with Art Basel A new chapter between art, nature and social engagement
In the world of contemporary art and conscious luxury, Zegna is writing a new chapter in its history by announcing a global multi-year partnership with Art Basel. This agreement is not only a significant strategic move, but also a natural continuation of a long-standing cultural commitment. For Zegna, art has never been a mere decoration: it is a language of identity, a means to express shared values, visions, and responsibilities. Since its beginnings in the early 20th century, the maison founded by Ermenegildo Zegna has regarded art as an integral part of life, work, and community. It was the founder himself who realized that beauty could inspire daily work, deciding to commission artworks from local artists to enrich Trivero, the hometown, and the wool mill at its heart. That initial gesture, made not out of vanity but as a form of giving back, laid a path that is still being followed today. Over the decades, the interaction between art and industry has taken on different forms, while maintaining its sincerity. The Oasi Zegna, a mountainous area of extraordinary natural value, has become an open-air laboratory, where art and nature coexist in harmony. The commissioned works—chosen not for fame, but for affinity of vision—have transformed industrial spaces and natural landscapes into places of reflection and wonder, strengthening the connection between production, environment, and culture.
Through the collaboration with Art Basel, Zegna chooses to bring this dialogue onto a global stage. The international fairs in Basel, Miami Beach, Paris, and Hong Kong will offer new opportunities to narrate, through curated experiences, a brand identity where aesthetics meets ethics. It is not about showcasing a legacy, but about evolving it: creating space for contemporary visual culture to reflect on pressing issues such as sustainability, inclusion, and social transformation. At the heart of this initiative is “Visible,” a project born from the collaboration between Fondazione Zegna and Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto. Conceived as a laboratory for socially engaged art, “Visible” supports creative practices that act concretely on the social and environmental fabric through an innovative scholarship model. It is not just modern patronage, but a cultural alliance where beauty becomes a tool for change. The involvement of Vincenzo De Bellis, a leading figure at Art Basel, in the Steering Committee of “Visible” reinforces the strategic and symbolic dimension of the partnership. His presence guarantees a deep dialogue between art institutions and enlightened enterprises, capable of elevating artists who do not merely represent the world but actively seek to change it.
Gildo Zegna, Chairman and CEO of the group, reaffirmed the sense of continuity and vision behind this alliance: supporting creativity not as a decorative end, but as a lever for collective progress. For ZEGNA, art is a way of being in the world, a responsibility to cultivate day by day, generation after generation. This philosophy also finds powerful testimony in the historic relationship with Michelangelo Pistoletto and his family, a bond that has spanned generations while always remaining faithful to the idea that culture should not be confined to museums, but live in everyday spaces. In Basel, during the upcoming edition of Art Basel, the new recipients of the “Visible” 2025 scholarships will be announced, selected among artists and collectives who place the major challenges of our time at the center of their research. The evening will also be a tribute to Pistoletto, recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize: a recognition that affirms how art can be a force for transformation when it is tied to social justice and care for the planet.
