World Bodypainting Festival Italy – WBF Italy

A world bodypainting championship in South Tyrol

The World Bodypainting Festival Italy (WBF Italy) is the Italian leg of the most important international event dedicated to the art of bodypainting, which has been bringing the global body art community together for nearly thirty years. Since 2025, the event has chosen Vipiteno/Sterzing, in the Autonomous Province of Bolzano (South Tyrol), as the home of the prestigious World Award Camouflage, the world championship for camouflage bodypainting.

The art of camouflage within medieval walls

The discipline of camouflage celebrates optical illusion: artists paint their models until they vanish into the surrounding environment, blending them with the stones, towers, and historic facades of the city. The historic center of Vipiteno, with its famous 46-meter-high Twelve Tower (Zwölferturm), arcades, narrow alleys, and town hall, transforms into a spectacular open-air art gallery where thousands of visitors hunt for painted bodies hidden within the urban landscape.

Program and categories

The World Award competitions take place in the main square (Stadtplatz): artist registration in the morning, camouflage trials throughout the day, and the awards ceremony in the evening. The 2026 edition introduced the World Award Facepainting category, dedicated to face art. Alongside the competitions, the program includes:

• the Creative Bodypainting Jam Session, a free-form event where artists paint and exchange ideas without the pressure of judging;
• workshops, demonstrations, and a Photo Day for photographers and enthusiasts;
• live music and entertainment throughout the historic center.

An international jury

The works are evaluated by a jury of world-renowned artists. The jurors include Johannes Stötter, the famous camouflage artist originally from Vipiteno, who helped bring the festival to South Tyrol and select the competition locations among the city's monuments.

Vipiteno, the festival's backdrop

Located at the entrance to the Isarco Valley, near the Brenner Pass, Vipiteno is one of the most charming medieval towns in the region and the entire South Tyrol. Its bilingual historic center, rich in history, offers an ideal setting for an event that combines contemporary art, performance, and alpine tradition, attracting artists and visitors from all over Europe and the world.