Open Call for a Visionary Leader
Launching on
27th September 2025
How canHow can collaboration between art and enterprise unlock new prosperity?How can contemporary art reshape our relationship with nature?How can art connect the next wave of engaged citizens?
ParCO is Parma’s bold new home for contemporary art – a place to cultivate culture through participatory practice. Our mission is to promote artistic experimentation, regeneration and social dialogue with a view towards the future.
ParCO will be a space to connect and create. A place for cultural experimentation, exchange and shared production. A place open to the city and a platform for understanding and responding to the contemporary challenges shaping our world today.
Set within the heart of the storied Oltretorrente district, in the city's breathtaking Old Hospital, it remains one of the oldest examples of Italian civic architecture. Founded in 1201, today this majestic 15th century complex is ready to be re-imagined for the tomorrow — a place where the past, present and future are in active dialogue.
Context
Parma is a city where history, art, and innovation converge – one of the most dynamic centers in Emilia-Romagna and consistently ranked among Italy’s best for quality of life. Deep within Italy’s Food Valley, it boasts a rich cultural legacy, from Verdi’s operatic brilliance to Bertolucci’s cinematic storytelling.
Parma City Centre
Today, Parma is also a hub of strong industries, forward-thinking leadership, and innovative sustainability efforts.
At its heart, ParCO embodies this spirit of transformation. Housed in the restored 15th-century Old Hospital, surrounded by the University of Parma, Parco Ducale, and key cultural institutions, it will be a driving force in shaping the city’s future. As Parma prepares for its role as European Youth Capital 2027 – ParCO will be a catalyst for artistic and cultural innovation.
The ParCO project idea stems from a proposal by the association “Parma, io ci sto!”, shared with the Municipality of Parma: a public-private partnership to co-design the cultural future of the city.
The Old Hospital is under restoration
Parma, City of Culture 2020-21, established great cultural conditions for ParCO
An artistic pathway that connects the neighbourhood and nature
The building connects Parco Ducale with the Oltretorrente neighbourhood
Spaces to learn, exchange ideas, grow, and feel good.
ParCo, a space like nature, alive and in constant evolution
Our Mission
ParCO is an invitation to re-imagine Parma as a live laboratory of contemporary art, connection and shared vision. It will be a space where creative practice opens new horizons, where differences drive dialogue.
A space that cultivates a regenerative approach to cultural production, rooted in care for people, our place, and our shared prospects for the future of the planet.
It will be a place that welcomes all, founded on principles of openness and accessibility — from the perspective of the building as well as the content.
Three core values guide our objectives as we move towards tomorrow:
Curiosity, Connection, Courage
A career-defining opportunity to lead a pioneering project set to become a touchstone for contemporary art in Parma and beyond.
We are looking for a visionary leader who will develop this ambitious project and support the launch of ParCO. The ideal candidate will be capable of helping this new cultural institution reach its full potential, building solid relationships with artists, institutions and audiences — both locally and globally — and staying tuned to the immediate needs of the project as well as its potential for long-term growth.
Applications for the project will be open from September 27. Follow us to stay up to date.
If you have any questions please reach out to info@parmacontemporanea.org and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
The origins of the project
ParCO was born from the shared vision of "Parma, io ci sto!" and the Municipality of Parma, a pioneering public-private partnership dedicated to imagining and co-designing the city’s cultural future. An evolution of Parma’s experience as Italian Capital of Culture 2020–21, this collaboration brings together active citizens, cultural institutions, and forward-thinking businesses, all committed to investing in contemporary creativity as a way of building community value.
in 2023, following a co-creation process guided by cultural studio The Place Bureau and their collaborators, the city shaped a collective vision to imagine a new space dedicated to contemporary art in Parma. Today, this vision is being brought to life with the search for a visionary leader capable of interpreting the spirit, defining the identity and overseeing the launch of this incredible project.