“Fiat 500 entra al MoMA” is a Winner at the 2017 Corporate Art Awards

  • The “Fiat 500 entra al MoMA” (Fiat 500 joins the MoMA Collection) project wins one of the Corporate Art Awards for its successful transformation of the Fiat 500 – an icon of Italian creativity – into a global work of modern art
  • The Fiat 500 project is the only vehicle from the automotive industry to receive this coveted accolade
  • Confirming the status of the Corporate Art Awards, Italian President Sergio Mattarella held a private audience for Fiat and other award-winning brands
  • The 2017 edition of the Corporate Art Awards involved 80 companies from 18 countries – a global prize for a global icon
November 22, 2017 , Turin, Italy -  The Fiat 500's acquisition by the New York Modern Art Museum (MoMA) has earned the Fiat brand an accolade at the 2017 Corporate Art Awards. The award celebrates the status of the most popular car in the Fiat brand's history – the icon that brought mass car ownership to Italy and has become a worldwide ambassador for the country and a major symbol of Italian creativity – as a genuine, globally important work of modern art.
 
Founded last year with the aim of increasing the visibility, recognition and reputation of projects that connect the world of business to the world of art, the prestigious Corporate Art Awards are organized in association with the LUISS Business School and support from the Italian Arts, Heritage and Tourism Ministry, as well as the Confidustria industrialists' association, ABI banking association, Museimpresa museums' association and the Foreign Ministry.
 
This year's edition, which concluded yesterday in Rome with the awards ceremony in the Collegio Romano's Sala Spadolini, repeated the international success of 2016, with the participation of 80 companies from 18 countries. A global scope that very much reflects the identity of the Fiat 500 itself: with more than 80 percent of sales made outside Italy, and the car is a European best-seller in its segment, topping its category in nine European countries and in the top three in another seven.
 
Attending the private audience with Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Olivier Francois, Head of Fiat Brand and Chief Marketing Officer, FCA, declared: "We are honoured to receive this prestigious award. A tangible recognition that Fiat 500 is not just an industrial masterpiece with a 60-year history, but rather a real symbol of Italian creativity, which has won a place in the collective imagination. And its journey continues today, with ever-increasing vigour and awareness of its role as an ambassador for Italian excellence worldwide."
 
The coveted 2017 Corporate Art Award is yet another prize for the splendid Fiat 500, 60 years after its birth. Its acquisition by the permanent collection of the New York Modern Art Museum provides incontrovertible proof of the car's iconic, global status and is a genuine tribute to its unforgettable style. The charming "face" of the Fiat 500 with its chrome whiskers and round headlights is recognised around the world – and has inspired artists all over the world to evoke it in their works.
 
Specifically, the model purchased by the MoMA is a 500 F series, the most popular 500 ever, made from 1965 to 1972. If the 500F is added to the other versions (Sport, D, L and R) of the first generation, more than 4 million cars were produced from 1957 to 1975. A car of undisputed success, followed in 2007 by the birth of the new generation: today's 500, just like its illustrious ancestor, immediately proved highly successful, since in just 10 years it has already acquired 2 million customers, as well as winning an impressive array of prizes, including World Car of the Year and the Compasso d'oro.
 
Apart from its worldwide sales and numerous awards, the Fiat 500 is a symbol of Italian design and manufacturing worldwide, and fully deserves its place in the collective imagination, with importance far beyond the automotive industry itself. This status is confirmed by the impressive programme of events that the brand took part in this year to pay homage to the 60th anniversary of the Fiat 500. In addition to its entry into the MoMA and its prize at the Corporate Art Awards, the Fiat 500 was featured in “See You in the Future,” Fiat's first short movie, starring Oscar®-winner Adrien Brody, and took part in the delightful “500 Forever Young Tour” roadshow, which saw the iconic Fiat 500 visit some of Europe's loveliest squares. Last but not least, the Fiat icon has also been featured on a stamp and a coin, everyday objects which are also collectors' items, intended for numismatists, Fiat 500 enthusiasts and anyone wishing to have in their pocket a genuine Italian masterpiece, always up to date yet constantly true to itself.
 
FIAT Brand
FIAT brand celebrates 125 years as an automaker and some things haven’t changed. Iconic Italian design and refinement, plus a fun-to-drive factor, come standard with every Fiat.        
 
In early 2024, FIAT brand will launch the Fiat 500e, the first Stellantis retail battery-electric vehicle offering in North America and the best-selling city EV in Europe.  
 
FIAT is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.com

Follow FIAT and company news and video on:
Company blog: http://blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com
Media website: http://media.stellantisnorthamerica.com
Fiat brand: www.fiatusa.com
Fiat blog: blog.fiatusa.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/fiatusa
Instagram: www.instagram.com/fiatusa
Twitter: www.twitter.com/fiatusa or @StellantisNA
YouTube: www.youtube.com/fiatusa or https://www.youtube.com/StellantisNA

Contact Information

Diane Morgan
Office: (248) 512-0023
Cell: (248) 881-5742
Antonella Galasco
Office: (248) 512-6480
Download Video Embed