The “Run for Art” sports art exhibition was officially opened on Tuesday in the Espace Colombo at the European Parliament HQ, on occasion of the opening of the autumn session.

The event was conceived and organised by the Giulio Onesti Foundation, with the patronage of the Italian Olympic Committee and the support of the chair of the Culture and Education Committee of the European Parliament, Ms Silvia Costa, who opened the exhibition, together with Board member of the Foundation and project manager Novella Calligaris.
Ms Costa said how the photos presented by the finalists of the Run for Art competition represent the positive power of sport by capturing its essence and returning it as a gift to the public.
The leitmotiv of Run for Art 2016 was the theme of Diversity in 5 declinations: Ability, Age, Culture, Ethnic, and Gender. The word diversity recognizes, respects and values all differences, promoting an inclusive culture. 40 photographs by European photographers under 35 have interpreted them.

The competition involved about 200 art academies and photography schools from about 20 countries of the European Union.
The European jury was chaired by Ms Silvia Costa and composed of professors from European Academies of Art – Klaus Fruchtnis (Paris College of Art), Juliana Manara (Speos International Photographic Institute), Eleni Moutzaki (Hellenic Centre for Photography), Lawrence Zeegen (Ravensbourne University) together with representatives from the European Olympic Committee Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi, and chair of the EOC Athletes Commission, Jean-Michel Saive.
The five talented young people from all over Europe who are the winners of the 2016 photo competition are: Katerina Saranti (GRE) (Ability), Pauline Tran (FRA) (Age), Theodore Panagiotopoulos (GRE) (Culture), Petra Zublasing (ITA) Ethnic, and Volha Misiura (ITA) (Gender).

Particular appreciation was expressed for the winning photo in the Ethnic category, taken by shooting world champion Petra Zublasing, with his picture “Oceanless Beach”, taken in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.