Former minister Gennaro Sangiuliano is the most memed person of the year

Former culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano is the most “memed” character of the year, that is, the most subject to memes, cartoons and caricatures. The curious recognition was celebrated at the final evening of Memissima 2024, the festival of “memetic” culture that annually awards the Oscar of memes to pages and creators from all over Italy. The former Minister of Culture was awarded the prize of “most memed character of the year,” thanks to the recent media attention linked to the Sangiuliano-Boccia case, which has produced endless memes and cartoons(here is a review of some of the funniest ones dedicated to him), in addition to the numerous gaffes the minister has made.

During the event, held at OFF TOPIC in Turin, Sangiuliano virtually “accepted” the award through a video meme made with artificial intelligence, giving the audience a hilarious moment.

“Memes,” says artistic director Max Magaldi at the end of the event, “are the most powerful contemporary medium because no one thinks memes are the most powerful contemporary medium. Memissima was created to create critical mass by aggregating people who produce, consume, share and study these images that we all see hundreds of times a day and that influence contemporary aesthetics and public debate much more than we think.”

The Oscar of Memes

The 2024 edition awarded 13 categories, recognizing the creative work and originality of Italy’s best memers. Among the winners were Marco Ballarini Sindaco for Tik Tok, Everything is Italian for the 7 Reels category, Relatable Roma Memes for the 4 IGP category, Cat splaining in the School University and Work, Liskokopulos Cliiffiao for the TrashDankNonsense category, Mematic Corrector in Music, Arts and Entertainment, Er Club La Riserva for Sports, The Silmemillion for Current Affairs, Memopoli Capopalestra in the Nerd category, Produci Consuma Mema in the Too Much Me category.

A special prize was awarded by the jury of URMET, sponsor of the event, to Giulio Armeni and his page Filosofia Coatta, winner of a contest dedicated to “memevertising,” the meeting of memes and advertising. Armeni won a cash prize of 500 euros for the best brand-related creative content.

Four days of memetic culture

The event, produced by The Goodness Factory, was held Dec. 4-7 with the support of the Turin Chamber of Commerce and the CRT Foundation. In addition to the awards ceremony, Memissima offered a full program of events, including lectio magistralis, meetings with experts and stand-up comedy performances.

Among this year’s novelties was the “Meme for Shopping” workshop, an incubator dedicated to memevertising that featured some of Italy’s leading communication agencies, such as UNA, ten04 and ti:mbro agency. This dialogue space explored the relationship between memes and advertising strategies, offering memers the opportunity to engage with professionals in the field.

Creativity, satire and reflection

Memetic writing has been the focus of several meetings organized in collaboration with the Holden School. Sessions explored how memes influence contemporary public debate and how they can be integrated into communication strategies, balancing risks and opportunities.

One of the highlights of the festival was the dual role of Fabio Celenza, famous for his hilarious voiceovers. Prominent among his speeches were imitations of figures such as Giorgia Meloni, the Dalai Lama and Mick Jagger, who entertained the audience by offering a creative look at the art of reinterpretation.

Activism, algorithms, artificial intelligence and dialects were also discussed, demonstrating how memes are now a versatile tool for telling stories, traditions and local identities. Among the participants of this edition were some of the most followed pages of the Italian memetic scene, including madonnafreeeda, cyaomamma, Filosofia Coatta and Hipster Democratici. Their presence helped to create a lively and close-knit community capable of reflecting on contemporary digital culture.

Former minister Gennaro Sangiuliano is the most memed person of the year

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