Zegna announced a global multi-year partnership with Art Basel, marking a significant new chapter in the company’s long-standing dedication to contemporary art and cultural dialogue. As an Official Partner, Zegna will be present across all four Art Basel fairs, including Basel, Miami Beach, Paris, and Hong Kong, and will create curated experiences that spark dialogue between art, design, and responsible entrepreneurship.
Art has always been an essential element of Zegna's identity. The company's relationship with art dates back to the 1920s when founder Ermenegildo Zegna commissioned works from local artists such as Ettore Pistoletto Olivero and Otto Maraini to transform Trivero and the original wool mill, at the heart of what is today Oasi Zegna, a territory of over 100 square kilometers in the Biella Alps to demostrate that a factory could become a place of beauty and culture. Monumental staircases, fountains, friezes, and portraits quietly transformed the Oasi Zegna landscape into a living museum. Over the decades, this vision has evolved. Without ostentation or commercial aim, the company continued to commission site-specific public artworks by artists like Daniel Buren, Dan Graham, and Roman Signer, chosen for their ability to interpret the Zegna world in an authentic way. Globally, Zegna has extended this vision by inviting artists like Graham Sutherland, Not Vital, and Kiki Smith to create bespoke wool trophies, symbolizing the brand’s legacy in textile innovation. Art is also present throughout Zegna's spaces, in its Milan headquarters, where the work Woolen-The Reinstated Apple by Michelangelo Pistoletto celebrates the authenticity of Zegna's partners and the sustainable roots of its wool. Installations by William Kentridge, Mimmo Jodice, and Ettore Spalletti can be found in Zegna stores worldwide.
At the center of this collaboration is Visible, a project initiated by Cittadellarte-Fondazione Pistoletto and Fondazione Zegna, which supports socially engaged artistic practices through a pioneering fellowship model. To strengthen the artistic dimension of the initiative and reinforce the partnership with Art Basel, Vincenzo De Bellis, Art Basel director, fairs and exhibition platforms, will join the Visible Steering Committee.
At this year's art fair in Basel, the company will introduce the recipients of the 2025 Visible Situated Fellowship, artists and collectives whose work addresses urgent environmental and social challenges, while also celebrating Michelangelo Pistoletto’s nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.
"For over a century, our family has believed in the power of art to elevate places, enrich lives, and shape culture. This partnership with Art Basel and Cittadellarte is a natural evolution of that belief, a way to honor our legacy while looking forward. At Zegna, we see art not as embellishment, but as an agent of change," said Gildo Zegna, chairman and ceo of Ermenegildo Zegna Group.
Photo: Le Banderuole Colorate, work in situ, Zegna wool mill, Trivero, 2007 Daniel Buren, photographed by Luca Fregoso, Courtesy of Zegna
