Nemo Gonano Award 2024 to Valeriia Radchenko
In the great hall of the Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli, crowded with students, with an official ceremony the Nemo Gonano Prize was awarded to the student Valeriia Radchenko who is currently attending the last year of the high professional training course for Master Mosaicist.
This award was born precisely from the desire of the Maniago-Spilimbergo Rotary Club to remember and honor a member who also did a lot for the Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli: Nemo Gonano, who passed away in 2020. It is a scholarship that is awarded to a student of the second course of the School who distinguished himself in the technical and expressive execution of the end-of-year essay.
Valeriia Radchenko created the face of an angel, specifically a seraph, with natural materials and enamels, among which the gold tiles stand out which give the subject hieraticity and religiosity. The celestial figure is inspired by the work of a Russian mosaicist that Radchenko wanted to pay homage to. The technique is Byzantine, explored in depth with teachers Luca Nardini and Elena Pauletto.
Arriving to visit the School at the beginning of 2022, accompanied by a former student of Ukrainian origin, just like her who was born in Mariupol, Valeriia Radchenko fell in love with the mosaic and decided with determination to undertake the training course. A brilliant student, she was able to overcome every linguistic difficulty and apply herself to her studies with dedication and tenacity. The 2024 Nemo Gonano Award obtained is confirmation of this commitment and the skills achieved in mosaic art.
The ceremony was also an opportunity to remember, by the current president of the Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli Stefano Lovison and the president of the Maniago-Spilimbergo Rotary Club Marco Castellarin, the figure of Nemo Gonano: scholar and man active in institutions especially in the field of society, education and culture. Born in Prato Carnico, graduated in Urbino in philosophy and pedagogy, he worked as a school director. He dedicated his life to his profession, civic and administrative commitment and volunteering. He was president of the Province of Pordenone in 1979, regional councilor and from 1991 to 1993 president of the Regional Council. He became president of the Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli in 1994, holding this position for a decade and supervising the major changes necessary to update the mosaicist’s skills to the demands of the job market and, not only that, also to the most up-to-date taste and forms of expression. He was part of the Dante Alighieri Society of Pordenone, of the Ente Regionale dei Migranti of Udine, collaborated with the Società Filologica Friulana and was vice-president of the San Marco Academy of Pordenone. He founded the periodical “Il Barbacian” which is still today a precious source for investigating the Spilimbergo area. He was the author of essays and articles that concerned pedagogy, education, young people, healthcare, emigration, analyzing multiple aspects of constantly changing society.
Precisely because of this attention by Nemo Gonano towards social issues, towards the community in relation to territory and culture, the Award named after him, established in 2020/2021, has among its objectives that of “supporting skills and stimulating future professionalism in a sector, that of mosaic, which characterizes the entire regional territory”. The cash scholarship made available, through this Award, by the Maniago-Spilimbergo Rotary Club is therefore intended to be “a significant recognition” of the technical and ideational aptitudes acquired in the context of teaching activity. An award therefore for commitment, dedication and rectitude, qualities that are reflected in the work of Valeriia Radchenko and which characterized the professional and human life of Nemo Gonano.
December 12, 2024
