ANNOUNCEMENT OF ARTIST RESIDENCY WINNERS 2022 IN VILLA ROMANA, FLORENCE

International Guest Artists 2022: Dariya Kanti and Luna De Rosa

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 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 2022, following successful collaborations in 2020 and 2021.

Luna De Rosa: The Drowned World, installation / performance, 2019, mixed media, Bregenz, Austria

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 offer a unique opportunity for Roma artists and marks a significant step in the 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 one month. ERIAC and Villa Romana received 15 eligible applications for 2022.

The jury meeting took place online via the Zoom platform on 21 January 2022 with the participation of:
– Daniel Baker (artist, Curator of FUTUROMA at the 2019 Venice Biennale)
– 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 protocol for the decision on the residency awardees as based upon the following criteria:
– the selected artists can – at this stage of their artistic career – attain the most benefit from the residency in Florence;
– they have 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 has made the following decision:
The jury decided unanimously that the two residencies in 2022 shall go to Luna De Rosa and Dariya Kanti.

Dariya Kanti: Nightingale, 2019, 70×80 cm, graphite on paper

Dariya Kanti: L.U.N.G.S., 2021, 60×90 cm, mixed media

Luna De Rosa (1991, Italy) is an activist and conceptual artist who works and lives between Berlin and Milan. She received her Masters in Visual Arts from the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera in Milan. She has collaborated with various foundations and galleries, and with other international artists. She began to write for the Italian art magazine Segno in 2019, and to collaborate as a member of the platform UCRI (Union of Romanes Communities in Italy), where she continues to contribute as both artist and writer. De Rosa was part of the production team of the II Roma Biennale in Berlin in 2021, curated by Delaine La Bas and Hamze Bytyci, and organised by Roma Trial. 

Dariya Kanti (1991, Uzbekistan) studied at the National Institute of Arts and Design K. Behzod (Tashkent) in the Faculty of Fine Arts, at the Department of Easel and Book Graphics, and then at the St. Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design in the Faculty of Monumental – Decorative Art, at the Department of Art Textiles (2012-18), where she received the red diploma and certificate for Best Senior Project of 2018. Kanti has participated in municipal, regional and international exhibitions. Since 2018, her work has been published in such international art publications as Voice of Artists (Issue 10, Artit Publisher & Online Art Gallery, London), and Negromundo magazine (Spain), among others.

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