Lo staff
Photo courtesy Stefano Lanzardo
FEDERICA FORTI
Art Director
federica@database-carrara.com
My classical training and college education at the University of Florence – where I achieved a degree in Art History – have directed my approach to the field of Contemporary Art towards a diagonal crosscut that creates constant connections between the past and the present, resulting in projects that provide current interpretations to the local heritage of specific areas.
I follow the international art market with full awareness that its economic logic does not often coincide with conceptual research. The two complementary aspects of my work – scientific and financial – are constantly being updated.
My family’s origins tie me to the world of Carrara marble, to which I have returned after living and working in Rome (Academy of Spain), Seville (University), and London (Italian Institute of Culture). My commitment to Carrara is due in part to the joint work I have carried out with the City, starting with the collaboration for the 14th Biennale of Sculpture, during which I curated the exhibition “Destini Svelati – Fates revealed” by Mario Sasso. Since then, my collaboration with the City of Carrara intensified, finally leading to the creation of DATABASE, a calendar of art residencies and productions specifically targeting the heritage of the area of Carrara, which I designed in 2012 and have managed since with the support of a work team in which I hold the position of Art Director.
Recently I have also had the opportunity to gain experience in reclamation through contemporary art by repurposing a building belonging to my family – which housed the Fine Arts Academy of Carrara for twenty years before falling into disuse – for artistic purposes. The interior classrooms of Palazzo Forti have become private studios for artists, who also have the option of residing in the building. The other multipurpose rooms are used as locations for an array of cultural events. The building also houses the new DATABASE showroom I have inaugurated, which showcases a collection of artworks produced by the artists who have been invited to collaborate with the program. The sale of these pieces – through private donations or within international fairs attended in collaboration with local Galleries (Singapore, Dubai) – are enabling us to provide support to Carrara’s public institutions, and to cover a part of the budget for the 2015 edition of DATABASE.
Photo courtesy Stefano Lanzardo
ELEONORA LOMBARDI
Project manager
eleonora@database-carrara.com
Born in Carrara, I achieved a degree in Communication from the University of Bologna in 2005, and a Masters degree in Communication for Cultural Heritage promoted by the Department of Political Science of the University of Florence. I gained experience in publishing at FMR Publishing House in Bologna (2006-2010), and in marketing at Maria Pacini Fazzi Publishing House in Lucca, where I worked as a press agent. Since 2012 I have established my residence in Carrara, where I began my work with DATABASE, managing the programme’s organizational aspects with the objective of providing a concrete contribution to the city and the community I was born into and live in through the knowledge and experience acquired during my years of training. Since 2013 I have also collaborated with the Duomo Gallery in Carrara, a new player in the Carrara contemporary art scene.
Photo courtesy Alessandro Vannoni
LORENZO MAZZA
Comunicazione
lorenzo@database-carrara.com
I received my degree in Scienze della Comunicazione at the University of Bologna with a thesis titled ‘Creazione, mediazione e territorio sociale. Materiali per un’indagine sull’arte partecipata in Toscana’, in which I analysed the educational capacity of the art workshops and initiatives hosted by local institutions in the Region throughout the 2005-2006 period. In 2007 I received a Master’s degree in Impresa Culturale e Sostenibile at Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto, Biella. Since 2008 I have been focusing on organizational and curatorial practices, specifically applying my training in communication and writing to projects and exhibitions connected with street art, video art, sculpture, participatory platforms and creative systems in public areas. I am also a contributor to Urbanpainting (Milan), Laboratorio 21 (Viareggio), Officina TodoModo (Pietrasanta). In parallel, I work as an independent consultant for galleries, associations, local agencies and small and medium businesses from the fields of event planning, advertising and reception for tourism, as well as local wine and food culture.
Database
Presso Palazzo Forti
Via M.Buonarroti, 1
54033 Carrara MS
e-mail: info@database-carrara.com
Tel. 349-7252647
Ars Gratia Artis
Associazione culturale
Via Carriona, 430/A
54033 Carrara (Ms)
e-mail: info@database-carrara.com
VAT code 01275240115