Announcement of Artist Residency Winners 2021 in Villa Romana, Florence

International Guest Artists 2021: L’uboš Kotlar and Norbert Oláh

A cooperation between the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) and Villa Romana, Florence

Villa Romana is a site of contemporary artistic production and of international exchange. Founded in 1905 by artists and patrons, it continues to operate as a non-profit association. Every year, it hosts the current Villa Romana award winners, as well as international guest artists. With exhibitions and a wide range of events, Villa Romana strives to promote interaction between artists and the public, to expand its international network, and to provide insight and communication with the cultures of the Mediterranean region.
For more information, please see: www.villaromana.org

Villa Romana and ERIAC are pleased to announce the winners of their joint artist-in-residency programme for 2021, following a successful collaboration in 2020.

The European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) has joined forces with the Villa Romana residency programme to offer two residencies to contemporary artists of Roma heritage. This exciting initiative draws upon the ground-breaking work, expertise, and vision of both institutions to realise a unique opportunity for Roma artists and marks a significant step in recognition of the importance of Roma contemporary art practice today. Through this cooperation, Villa Romana and ERIAC offer each artist a guest room in the Villa Romana for a period of two months. ERIAC and Villa Romana received 11 eligible applications.

The jury meeting took place online via the Zoom platform on 9 April 2021 with the presence of:
– Daniel Baker (artist, Curator of FUTUROMA at Biennale Arte Venezia 2019)
– Timea Junghaus (curator, art historian, Executive Director of ERIAC)
– Maria Lind (curator, writer, educator, Cultural Counsellor at the Embassy of Sweden in Moscow)
– Angelika Stepken (curator, author, Director of Villa Romana)

The jury established the rationale that the decision on the residency awardees is based upon the following criteria:
– the chosen artists can – at this stage of their artistic carrier – benefit best from the residency in Florence
– they submitted portfolios that demonstrate outstanding and mature artistic oeuvres;
– they apply current, timely and relevant research methodologies;
– they have a solid commitment to further enhancement in technique;
– their application suggests a capacity for development of their artistic expression.

The jury made the following decision:
The jury decided unanimously that the two residencies in 2021 shall go to L’uboš Kotlár and Norbert Oláh.

Norbert Oláh: BRICKWALLS (View from the corridor of the studio), 2018, 150×300 cm, graphic marker on paper

L’uboš Kotlár, born 1991 in Slovakia, studied Photography and New Media at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, and the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture in Helsinki (2012 – 2018). Since 2012, he has had several solo shows in Slovakia and also worked as a curator. In 2018 he was awarded the Grand Prix by the Biennial of Theatre Photography in Slovakia.

Norbert Oláh, born 1990, studied at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts (2010 – 2016) and completed one year with the Erasmus programme at the Faculdade de Belas-Artes da Universidade de Lisboa. Since 2015, he has received several awards and scholarships, and had exhibitions in Hungary and Austria. His recent artistic work focuses on a kind of painterly cartography of one of Budapest’s rapidly changing urban districts, where he also lives and works.

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