Doctoral students in Visual Arts Culture, Practices and Communication, 41st cycle

Academy of Fine Arts in Rome

 

Curriculum A Tools, methods and new technologies for artistic production

Federico Stolfi

The Imperial Fora in the contemporary world
Perspectives and enhancement strategies for the central archaeological area of Rome

The research project investigates the relationship between the ancient and the contemporary in Rome’s central archaeological area, taking the Imperial Fora as a key case study. Starting from a historical reconstruction of the urban and symbolic transformations of the area, the study explores three interconnected strands: the dialogue between the visual arts and monumental contexts, new technologies and the enjoyment of cultural heritage, and communication practices to bridge the gap between citizens and heritage by stimulating processes of reappropriation. The methodology combines the analysis of sources and field research, with a particular focus on curatorial compatibility, sustainability and the inclusion of audiences. The expected outcome of the research is the definition of an operational proposal: an integrated and implementable strategy that combines conservation, artistic creativity and participation to restore to the Fora – and by extension to the entire Monumental Archaeological Centre – a position of civic centrality in Rome today as well.

Federico Stolfi was born in 1995 in Rome. He graduated with honours in History, Anthropology, Religions and Historical Sciences from La Sapienza University of Rome, where he also completed a Level II Master’s degree in Law and New Technologies for the Protection and Enhancement of Cultural Heritage. Since 2021, he has been working at the Department of Culture of Roma Capitale, where he collaborates with the city’s cultural institutions on the development of numerous projects ranging from events to permanent investments, both in the historic centre and in suburban areas. These include the CArMe project, various activities as part of the Estate Romana (Roman Summer) programme, the regeneration of disused public spaces (Arco di Travertino, Fornace Veschi and other projects) and initiatives to promote cultural heritage.
He also conceived the project for the Rome Study Rooms Network, overseeing its implementation with the opening of new public reading spaces that are freely accessible throughout the city and in museum settings, including the Museo di Roma, the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, MACRO, the Casina del Salvi at the Archaeological Park of the Celian Hill, the Mattatoio, etc. The professional experience she gained at the City of Rome Administration forms the basis of her research project on the central archaeological area of Rome.

 

Margherita Caselli

Collectives of artist mothers and practices of visibility in the European contemporary art system

The project analyses the status of motherhood in the European contemporary art system, focusing on the processes by which artist-mothers come together in artistic collectives. The research examines collectives that have emerged over the past ten years in various European countries, investigating how they use posters, websites, digital archives and social media platforms to denounce systemic discrimination and promote more inclusive models. Through an interdisciplinary approach that integrates qualitative content analysis, interviews and digital humanities tools, the study aims to assess the impact of these practices on the public and institutional perception of motherhood in the field of art. The project also involves the creation of an open digital archive, aimed at collecting and showcasing testimonies and materials, promoting remembrance, accessibility and shared recognition.

Margherita Caselli (Ferrara, 1999) is a curator, researcher and museum mediator. She studied Cultural Heritage at the University of Padua and History of Art and Conservation of Artistic Heritage – contemporary curriculum – at Ca’ Foscari University in Venice, with a period of study at Charles University in Prague. She has worked as an assistant at the DSC Gallery (Prague) and collaborated with Ferrara Arte and Zuecca Projects (Venice). She attended the NICE course for curators in Turin, winning the “Nice and Fair” award in 2024 as the best curator on the course. She is a contributor to exibart and ATP Diary. Since 2024, she has been working with the social enterprise Arteco as a museum mediator at various museums in Turin. Since 2025, she has coordinated the Antro – Visual Arts group for the curation of exhibitions and exhibition projects within ANTRO, a cultural venue in Turin.

 

Matteo Mazzonetto

From sketch to monument: public sculpture in 19th-century Rome.
A digital atlas spanning art, architecture and civic space.

The project explores public sculpture in Rome between 1825 and 1925, a period of decisive historical and urban transformations. Through the analysis of monuments, sketches and models, the research reconstructs the patronage, artistic practices and civic meanings of the works under study. The research combines historical-artistic methods, drawing philology and advanced digital tools (GIS, 3D modelling, augmented reality) to reconstruct the relationship between the works and the urban context. The initiative aims to promote lesser-known artists and craftsmen who worked in Rome between the 19th and 20th centuries, rethinking public sculpture as a tool for identity-building and urban dialogue.

Matteo Mazzonetto (Treviso, 2000) is a doctoral student in Visual Arts Culture, Practices and Communication (41st cycle) at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome and a postgraduate student at the School of Specialisation in Historical and Artistic Heritage at the Sapienza University of Rome. He obtained a three-year degree in Conservation and Management of Cultural Heritage, specialising in art history, from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (2022) and a Master’s degree in Art History from Sapienza (2024), both with honours. His research focuses on painting and sculpture between the 19th and 20th centuries, with a particular emphasis on 19th-century museology, the formation of collections and the practices of cataloguing and promoting cultural heritage. He has established and continues scientific collaborations with leading museum institutions, including the Vatican Museums, the Museo di Roma Palazzo Braschi and the Civic Museums of Rome, Venice and Treviso, contributing to research, cataloguing and exhibition projects.

 

Nikla Cetra

Between art and fashion: identity, culture and innovation.
Fashion curating as a cultural mechanism in Italy.

The proposed project aims to explore fashion curating in Italy, analysing the complex transition from a simple fashion product to an artistic and phenomenological object, with the aim of moving beyond the view of clothing as a static artefact. Despite the buzz surrounding the subject, the Italian scene appears fragmented, often confined to an almost archaeological celebration of craftsmanship or the most established symbols of Made in Italy.

Through the examination of outstanding case studies, research and interviews, the proposal aims to define a new dedicated, multidisciplinary and widespread curatorial system. The aim is to establish a national network capable of connecting historical heritage with contemporary research, elevating fashion to a critical and synesthetic expression of the zeitgeist.

Nikla Cetra (Campobasso, 1993) – PhD student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome.
Her education began at the Academy of Fine Arts in Macerata, where she completed the three-year Fashion Design course, and she subsequently obtained a Second-Level Diploma in Fashion Culture and Technology from the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome (2022). During her studies, she explored the profound connection between art and fashion, actively participating in events and exhibitions and consolidating a multifaceted profile capable of combining creative design and critical analysis.

She has recently worked in fashion communication and teaching, holding the position of lecturer in Fashion Concept Development and Design. At the same time, she works as a freelance fashion designer, with a particular focus on contemporary jewellery and the creation of collections for niche brands, including her recent collaboration with Saturnino Eyewear. A journey that explores fashion as a cultural and artistic phenomenon.

 

 

Curriculum B Tools, methods and new technologies for the communication of the visual arts

Başak Tuna

This practice-based research explores the hidden contributions of craftswomen within the shared cultural history of Italy and Türkiye. Starting from the question “What kind of story can an object tell?”, the project uses the unmaking and reworking of materials to build a counter-archive of speculative objects. Making thus becomes a form of storytelling, revealing marginalised stories and their relevance in our contemporary context.

Eng: This practice-based research explores the hidden contributions of craftswomen within the shared cultural history of Italy and Turkey. Starting from the question what kind of story can an object tell?, it uses the dismantling and reworking of materials to create a counter-archive of speculative objects. Making becomes a form of storytelling, revealing marginalised histories and their relevance to our contemporary context.

Başak Tuna (b. 1992, Bursa, Turkey) is an interdisciplinary designer and artist based in Rome.
With a background in industrial design and a Master’s degree in Contextual Design from the Design Academy Eindhoven, her practice combines spatial design, material research and a hands-on approach. She explores how everyday materials – often found objects – can be reimagined to reveal new narratives and shape the relationships between human beings and the environment.

Eng: Başak Tuna (b. 1992, Bursa, Turkey) is an interdisciplinary designer and artist based in Rome. With a background in industrial design and an MA in Contextual Design from the Design Academy Eindhoven, her practice combines spatial design, material research, and a hands-on approach. She explores how everyday materials – often found objects – can be reimagined to reveal new narratives and shape human–environment relationships.

 

Eva Sauer

Eva Sauer was born in 1973 and lives and works between Düsseldorf and Florence.
Co-founder and member of the FAMA art collective (Four Artists for a Metastable Art, active since 2016) and the IMBOSCATA curatorial collective (active since 2022).
She has participated in numerous projects, both individually and in collaboration with other artists, with group and solo exhibitions in institutions and research spaces, including Palazzo Poggi, Bologna; Villa Romana, Florence; L’Ilot Sauvage, Niort; Die Grosse – Museum Kunst Palast NRW, Düsseldorf; Centro Arti Visive Pietrasanta; Museo Arte Contemporanea e Novecento, Monsummano; La Deviation, Marseille; MOM Art Space, Hamburg; Museo GAMC, Viareggio; Villa Bertelli, Forte dei Marmi; Villa La Magia in Quarrata, IT; Palazzo delle Esposizioni and Palazzo Valentini in Rome, L’Entrepot Gallery, Monaco; and she participated in the Senseo Ding Dong! art initiative in Hamburg, the 3rd International Triennial of Contemporary Graphic Arts in Novosibirsk, RU, the Tashkent Biennale for Contemporary Art, Tashkent, the ULUS Triennial of Extended Media in Belgrade and the Venice Architecture Biennale (with Avatar Architettura).

 

Fabrizio Sartori

A certain idea of landscape. Hybrid practices of representing places. The Land-ship attitude.

The project addresses the topic of landscape in relation to painting, technology and community relations.
What do we mean when we talk about landscape today? How do new views of landscapes, particularly those offered by virtual realities, change our relationship with the world around us? If what is created through new technologies corresponds to the contemporary idea of landscape, then it is necessary to address the contradiction underlying technological development: on the one hand, immersion in virtual worlds with their specific aesthetic characteristics, and on the other, the exploitation and destruction of places and communities through the processes of extracting the raw materials that underpin technological development itself.
Starting with the case studies of the 12 UNESCO Geoparks in Italy, where the work of old mines or quarry sites has been replaced by the promotion of slow, eco-friendly tourism that also addresses the history of the places and their relationships with the local area, I intend to analyse the crisis in our idea of landscape through a multidisciplinary artistic approach that seeks to reconcile matter, digital worlds and people.

Fabrizio Sartori is a visual artist. He was born in Rome, where he studied architecture and painting. In 2010, he graduated in Visual Arts from IUAV in Venice and, in the same year, attended the Advanced Course in Visual Arts at the Antonio Ratti Foundation in Como, with Visiting Professor Hans Haacke.
He has exhibited his work in various contexts, in Italy and abroad, including: Fondazione Bevilacqua la Masa, Viafarini DOCVA, Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, Stedelijk Museum in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands, and Porte des Allemands in Metz, France. In 2020, he took part in the online exhibition “Taci. Anzi, parla. Io dico io” for the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome.
He has collaborated with public and private institutions, including schools, psychiatric hospitals and prisons. He focuses on painting and new technologies, organises group workshops and performances, and looks after a garden on Lake Bolsena.

 

Marco Eusepi

The Aesthetics of the Fragment: Pictorial Practices and Interdisciplinary Perspectives is a practice-based research project aimed at producing a series of works and exhibition projects based on an investigation into the fragment as a procedural, aesthetic and poetic device. This endeavour aims to argue for a possible “aesthetics of fragmentation” based on the relationship between pictorial language and visual experience from other media and devices, complementing this reflection with interdisciplinary theoretical research that encompasses, among others, the fields of philosophy, literature and new media.

Marco Eusepi (Anzio, 1991) is a visual artist based in Rome. His works have been exhibited, among others, at: Litografia Bulla, Rome; Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Lissone; Albert Van Dyck Museum, Schilde, Antwerp; Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao, Noto (curated by Pier Paolo Pancotto); Tang Contemporary Art, Hong Kong; Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, Rome; Galleria Batagianni, Athens (curated by Panos Giannikopoulos). He was co-founder of the artist-run space SPAZIOMENSA (2020-2021). In 2023, he was the winner of the Lissone Prize, New Visions category. He is represented by the ADA Project gallery, Rome.

 

Marianna Panagiotoudi

Necrovisions. Counter-visual practices in contemporary art This work analyses the intersection between necropolitics, visuality and contemporary artistic practices, viewing the image not as a neutral surface of representation, but as an epistemological and critical field in which power relations are produced, legitimised and challenged. The research starts from the hypothesis that necropolitical regimes operate not only through material forms of violence, exclusion and control, but also through visual devices that establish the conditions for the appearance, recognition or removal of bodies, lives and memories from public space. The project therefore explores how contemporary art can intervene critically in these regimes of visibility, developing counter-visual practices capable of disrupting the dominant modes of the gaze. From this perspective, painting, archives, installation, performance, video and digital media are considered tools of knowledge through which to analyse the forms of visualisation, concealment, aestheticisation and critical reinterpretation of violence, vulnerability, death, memory and survival.

Marianna Panagiotoudi (Athens, 1988) is a visual artist who lives and works in Rome. She graduated in Art History and Theory from the University of Ioannina, Greece, and obtained Level I and II academic diplomas in Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. Her research unfolds through painting, printmaking, installation, archival practices and digital media, questioning the relationships between memory, vulnerability, the materiality of the image and regimes of visibility. Her work explores the image as a space of sedimentation, tension and knowledge, in which individual and collective traces enter into a relationship with forms of presence, absence and repression. Her work has been exhibited in Italy, Greece, Germany and Belgium.

 

Riccardo Ajossa

The Way of Paper. Paper has always been one of the main vehicles for the dissemination of culture, accelerating its transmission through words and drawings.
Paper archives still preserve its integrity today and bear witness to the fundamental role that this material has played in the history of knowledge.
This research project aims to celebrate the production of paper by retracing the key stages of its historical evolution and updating its significance in the contemporary artistic context, focusing in particular on artists and the expressive needs associated with it.
“The Way of Paper” addresses the topic of the production of Oriental plant fibre paper in contemporary Japanese and Korean paper mills. The project invites artists to observe and understand the ancient production methodology in order to rediscover the profound meaning of the creative act and its connection with the evolution of artistic tools and practices.
The research therefore places artists at the centre of the process, encouraging them to develop greater critical awareness when choosing paper in relation to their expressive needs, through knowledge of production methods.
The extraordinary versatility of natural fibre paper and its ability to endure over time highlight the need for these materials to be more widely disseminated and integrated into Western artistic practice. Even today, in fact, the knowledge and use of these papers remain limited among many artists, and certain issues linked to this lack of familiarity highlight the reduced durability over time of numerous works created on Western paper media.
It is therefore essential to prevent the deterioration of works through a conscious choice of substrate, even before embarking on the artistic process.
The production method used by Japanese and Korean paper mills also highlights the profound relationship between paper and nature. According to tradition, the original idea for paper production came from the observation of intertwined plant fibres deposited on the bed of a dry basin.
This principle is further developed in the research through the use of natural pigments employed for durability tests on the selected papers. The aim is to produce extensive experimental documentation that, taken as a whole, will form the reference work for the entire research project.

Riccardo Ajossa. A land artist and Senior Lecturer in Paper Technologies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, he has dedicated his artistic career to studying and teaching the production of natural fibre paper. He has curated seven editions of the “Hanji Paper” exhibition at the Korean Cultural Institute in Rome, in collaboration with the Korean Government, which in 2024 awarded him the Commendation of the Minister of Culture. In 2011, he curated the closing event of the Venice Biennale, “Segni d’Acqua”, installing a traditional paper mill at the Ca’ Giustinian site; the video documenting the event was produced by the Venice Biennale Foundation. He is currently carrying out research activities in Japan with the support of the Embassy of Japan in Rome. He has exhibited internationally through the galleries that represent him.
His works in paper and natural pigments are included in the collections of the Brescia Musei Foundation (Fondazione Carme), the Pontifical Council for Culture (Vatican), the Benaki Museum in Athens, the collection of the São Paulo Biennale (Brazil), the Museo Blotti in Rome, the Fondazione del Mediterraneo in Milan, the collection of the Italian Embassy in Doha (Qatar) and the Video Archive of the Venice Biennale.