Portfolio
reviews

Chiara Bandino (Rome,1985) began her photographic research in 2010. After studying Marine Biology, she graduated in photography in Rome and then specialized in Milan at the Luz Academy. As an artist, she is mainly interested in using the archive as a narrative tool. While working on her 4-years project "Life is a song" - based on a prison’s diary she founded - she discovered a strong interest in the multiple printing and binding techniques related to the publishing field. After moving to Verona in 2015 she co-founded Fonderia 20.9 where she is producer, curator and head of the editorial line. For the gallery, Chiara is in charge of the catalogues editing and design. As the result of a workshop held by Red Lab in the Bajed Kandala refugee camp in Iraq, she curated the book "This picture is a normal picture", which will be published in 2021. She is the co-founder and curator of the project SÅM Visual Exploration of Lessinia.

Daniele De Luigi is curator at Fondazione Modena Arti Visive, where he deals with contemporary art and photography. First for the Galleria Civica di Modena, then for FMAV he curated group exhibitions (Versus, A cosa serve l’utopia) and solo shows (Stefano Arienti, Marco M. Zanin, Kenro Izu, Quayola, Willie Doherty). Since 2012 he’s been curating the Young Italian Photography award, promoted by the Municipality of Reggio Emilia as part of Fotografia Europea Festival in Reggio Emilia. He teaches Installation practices at Fondazione Studio Marangoni Photography School in Florence.

Emanuele is a Milan-based art director and photography curator. His work features an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural approach merged with contemporary visual culture. Since 2018 he was the photo director of Esquire Italia where he was in charge of the magazine visual strategy in collaboration with the graphic design studio TEMP. In 2021 he was appointed as the magazine Creative Director. He conceives, commissions and art directs a wide range of photography including collaborations with world-renowned artists and emerging talents. He is co-author of Confine (Delicious Editions, 2018).

Francesca Marani is Visual Editor of Global PhotoVogue and co-curator of PhotoVogue Festival (2016-2021), the first conscious fashion photography festival dedicated to the common ground between ethics and aesthetics. In 2018, she curated a series of talks on contemporary photography for the Affordable Art Fair (Milan), co-curated the exhibition "Italian Panorama" at Armani/Silos, and was a juror of the Ooshot Award (Paris). She was a portfolio reviewer of the Blink Portfolio Review (New York, 2018-2019), juror of Photolucida's Critical Mass (2018-2022) and Fresh Eyes (2019-2021). In 2019 she took part in "Scouting for India" (Mumbai), Vogue Talents' project in collaboration with FAD International Academy, co-curated the exhibition "Future Shock" and was guest editor of Personne magazine (ISSUE 02). In 2020 she was a juror of the PHmuseum 2020 Mobile Photo Prize, Photoville FENCE and did portfolio reviews for Eddie Adams Portfolio Review, Perimetro Collective Review and Italy Photo Award. In 2021 she was a member of the jury of LensCulture Portrait Awards. Francesca regularly collaborates with several photography festivals and schools as portfolio reviewer and lecturer.

Co-founder and co-director of Spazio Labo 'together with Roberto Alfano. Within Spazio Labo ’you are responsible and curator of the exhibitions and cultural activities; she teaches at the two-year school, with courses on the languages of contemporary photography, curatorial practices, planning, editing and book making; you are in charge of the educational project Photo Workshop New York and the publishing project Edizioni Labo; she is co-responsible for the communication of the center. She collaborates with international photography festivals, as a portfolio reader and jury member, among others SI Fest, Photo Vogue Festival, Riaperture Festival, Umbria World Fest, Bursa Festival (Turkey), Toronto Festival (Canada).

Matteo Balduzzi (Milan, 1969) is a curator in the field of public art and photography. For over fifteen years he has been collaborating with the MUFOCO (Museum of Contemporary Photography) in Milano-Cinisello Balsamo, Italy, where he has curated numerous projects and been the artistic programme co-ordinator since 2018. MUFOCO is the only public museum in Italy dedicated to contemporary photography and seeks to promote its archival heritage through specific research projects, integrate the works of emerging artists within the museum’s collections, and develop new collaborative projects involving citizens (or public) and artists. In the last years, Matteo has curated numerous exhibitions and projects, among which ABITARE, ATLANTE ARCHITETTURA CONTEMPORANEA and REFOCUS, three different public commissioning programmes promoted by the Italian Ministry of Culture; TRA CIELO E TERRA, a participative work by Claudio Beorchia, IMMAGINI E TESTO. NOTAZIONI VISIVE, an international program involving Armin Linke's work, CHI NON SALTA, about football, culture, identity.

Niccolò Fano (Rome, 1985) - founder and director of Matèria. Based in the neighborhood of San Lorenzo in Rome, Matèria opened its doors to the public in 2015. The gallery represents seven artists and proposes an exhibition program that touches upon all aspects of Contemporary Art, with a particular focus on the role and use of the photographic medium. He holds a BA in Photography from the University for the Creative Arts, a Masters degree in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins and Creative Ventures MBA scholarship at London Business School. Niccolò is currently program director at ISFCI in Rome and has taught at Sotheby's Institute of Art in London, University for the Creative Arts, Rome University of Fine Arts and Officine Fotografiche Roma.

Journalist, she is currently director of photography of iO Donna, women's weekly magazine of Il Corriere della Sera. Until 2018 she was also the chief picture editor of Amica, the monthly magazine of Rcs Mediagroup. From 1991 to 2005 she was the director of projects at Contrasto agency. She teaches in specialized schools and university courses and follows several authors' photographic projects on a regular basis. She has been a member of many juries and photographic awards including the editions of World Press Photo (2011 and 2012). From 2010 to 2015 she had a blog about photography on ilPost.it She has edited several photographic books and numerous solo and group exhibitions.

Sara Occhipinti gained a PhD in Regional Planning and Urbanism after studying engineering and architecture. Together with Marco Faganel, she is the co-founder of the Studiofaganel art gallery in Gorizia (Italy). Studiofaganel currently represents 13 photographers and is responsible for promoting their contemporary artistic research. Since 2018 Studiofaganel is also an independent publisher and a bookstore specializing in photography. Within this context, Sara constantly works on exhibition and editorial projects together with the artists. She deals with the texts, the editing, the exhibit settings and the press office.