Cecilia Alemani

Cecilia Alemani is an Italian curator based in New York City. She is the Donald R. Mullen, Jr. Director & Chief Curator of High Line Art and the Artistic Director of the 59th Venice Biennale in 2021.[1][2] She previously curated the 2017 Biennale's Italian pavilion[3] and served as Artistic Director of the inaugural edition of the 2018 Art Basel Cities in Buenos Aires, held in 2018.[4]

Image courtesy the High Line, photo by Liz Ligon

Cecilia Alemani
NationalityItalian
OccupationCurator

Life and Work

Born in Italy, Alemani received her BA in Philosophy from the Università degli Studi in Milan and her MA in Curatorial Studies from Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.[5]

From 2012 to 2017, she curated Frieze Projects, the nonprofit platform of the Frieze Art Fair, which has presented new productions by emerging artists and reconstructions of historical exhibitions. From 2009 to 2010, she was Curatorial Director of the year-long X Initiative, New York, an experimental nonprofit for which she oversaw numerous exhibitions and events.[6] Alemani is a co-founder of No Soul For Sale, a festival of independent spaces, nonprofit organizations, and artists’ collectives.[7] As an independent curator, she organized many exhibitions in museums, nonprofit spaces, and galleries, including Gió Marconi Gallery, Milan;[8][9] Blum and Poe, Los Angeles;[10] MoMA/PS1, New York;[11] and the Whitney Museum, New York.[12]

In 2017, Alemani curated the Italian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, 57th International Art Exhibition.[13] Titled Il Mondo Magico (The Magical World), the exhibition featured new large-scale, site-specific commissions by Giorgio Andreotta Calò, Roberto Cuoghi, and Adelita Husni-Bey.[14] Harnessing the transformative power of the imagination, each artist referenced magic and fable to build fantastical worlds that left visitors with a richer, deeper appreciation of their own.

In 2018, Alemani was Artistic Director of the first edition of Art Basel Cities, a new initiative in partnership with Buenos Aires to celebrate the city’s thriving cultural ecosystem.[15] Alemani curated a city-wide exhibition titled Hopscotch (Rayuela) that featured 18 works in close dialogue with their venues, shaping a multilayered experience that connected visual art, urban spaces, and the city’s histories in unexpected ways.[16] Among the participating artists were Eduardo Basualdo, Pia Camil, Maurizio Cattelan, Gabriel Chaile, and Luciana Lamothe.[17]

For Art Basel 2019, Alemani commissioned Alexandra Pirici to stage a new iteration of Aggregate for the city’s Messeplatz.[18] The immersive work is a performative environment featuring more than 60 performers who move around the visitors, enacting gestures and sounds that reference disparate forms of cultural heritage, creating something like a time capsule.

Since 2011, she has overseen the High Line Art Program, developing an expertise in commissioning and producing ambitious artworks for public and unusual spaces. During her tenure at the High Line, she has commissioned major projects by El Anatsui,[19] Carol Bove,[20] Rashid Johnson,[21] Barbara Kruger,[22] Faith Ringgold,[23] Ed Ruscha,[24] and Adrián Villar Rojas,[25] among other artists.[26] She has also organized group exhibitions featuring works by young and emerging artists, including Firelei Báez,[27] Jon Rafman,[28] Max Hooper Schneider,[29] and Andra Ursuta.[30] Recently, Alemani spearheaded the High Line Plinth, a new program featuring monumental artworks that commenced in June 2019 with Brick House, a sculpture by artist Simone Leigh.[31][32] Through these public initiatives, Alemani has sought meaningful civic engagement by galvanizing dialogue, awareness, and a sense of possibility.

In response to her appointment as the Curator and Artistic Director of the 59th Venice Biennale in 2021, Alemani commented that “as the first Italian woman to hold this position, I understand and appreciate the responsibility and also the opportunity offered to me,” adding, “I intend to give voice to artists to create unique projects that reflect their visions and our society."[33]

Writing

Alemani has written extensively for various publications, including Artforum.com[34] and Mousse Magazine,[35][36][37] and has a weekly column in D, Repubblica as of October 2019.[38] She has authored, co-authored, edited or contributed entries to a number of books.

Selected Books and Contributions
  • Alemani, Cecilia, ed. Il mondo magico: Padiglione Italia, Biennale Arte 2017. Venice: Marsilio, 2017. ISBN 9788831727204
  • Alemani, Cecilia, ed. High Art: Public Art on the High Line. New York: NY, Skira Rizzoli, 2015. ISBN 0847845192
  • Alemani, Cecilia. “The Solar Anus.” In Jakub Ziółkowski: 2000 words. Athens, DESTE Foundation, 2014. ISBN 6185039052
  • Alemani, Cecilia, ed. The X Initiative Yearbook. Milan: Mousse Publishing, 2010. ISBN 9788896501290
  • Alemani, Cecilia, Maurizio Cattelan, and Massimiliano Gioni. Charley Independents. Athens: Deste Foundation, 2010. ISBN 9781935202318
  • Alemani, Cecilia and Massimiliano Gioni, ed. I’m Not There. Gwangju: Gwangju Biennale Foundation, 2010. ISBN 9788987719115
  • Alemani, Cecilia, Andrea Bellini, and Lillian Davies, ed. Collecting Contemporary Art. Zürich: JRP Ringier, 2008. ISBN 3037640154
  • Alemani, Cecilia. Arte Contemporanea 7: Ambiente. Milan: Mondadori Electa, 2008.
  • Alemani, Cecilia. William Kentridge. Milan: Mondadori Electa, 2006. ISBN 8837043635

References
  1. "Leadership". The High Line. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  2. Cascone, Sarah (January 10, 2020). "The Venice Biennale Has Appointed Cecilia Alemani, the Artistic Force Behind New York's High Line, as the Curator of Its 2021 Edition". Artnet News. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  3. "Cecilia Alemani to Curate Italian Pavilion at 2017 Venice Biennale". Artforum. April 25, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  4. Muñoz-Alonso, Lorena (September 13, 2017). "Cecilia Alemani Named Artistic Director of Art Basel Cities Buenos Aires". Artnet News. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  5. "Cecilia Alemani". GEI. November 1, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  6. "Cecilia Alemani Appointed Artistic Director of Fifty-Ninth Venice Biennale". www.artforum.com. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  7. "No Soul For Sale: A Festival of Independents". www.nosoulforsale.com. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  8. Gió Marconi Gallery. "I campi magnetici". Gió Marconi Gallery. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  9. Gió Marconi Gallery. "Solaris". Gió Marconi Gallery. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  10. "Glee « Exhibitions « Blum & Poe". www.blumandpoe.com. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  11. "GNY: Rotating Gallery 3 | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  12. "Down by Law". Desde Foundation for Contemporary Art. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  13. "Cecilia Alemani to Curate Italian Pavilion at 2017 Venice Biennale". www.artforum.com. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  14. "Biennale Arte 2017 | Italian Pavilion". La Biennale di Venezia. May 26, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  15. "Cecilia Alemani Named Artistic Director of Art Basel Cities Buenos Aires". artnet News. September 13, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  16. "For seven days, see Buenos Aires through the eyes of 18 artists". Art Basel. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  17. "For seven days, see Buenos Aires through the eyes of 18 artists". Art Basel. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  18. "A guide to Alexandra Pirici's Aggregate - Art Basel's public art project". Art Basel. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  19. "The First Five Years of High Line Art". The High Line. June 14, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  20. Rosenberg, Karen (July 25, 2013). "At Home in Two Places". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  21. "Blocks". The High Line. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  22. "Untitled (Blind Idealism Is...)". The High Line. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  23. "Groovin High". The High Line. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  24. "Cecilia Alemani on Ed Ruscha's High Line Commission". The High Line. May 23, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  25. "The Evolution of God". The High Line. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  26. "The First Five Years of High Line Art". The High Line. June 14, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  27. "En Plein Air". The High Line. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  28. "Mutations". The High Line. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  29. "Mutations". The High Line. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  30. "Busted". The High Line. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  31. "Plinth". The High Line. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  32. "Brick House". The High Line. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  33. Farago, Jason (January 10, 2020). "Cecilia Alemani Named Curator of Next Venice Biennale". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  34. "Artforum.com". www.artforum.com. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  35. "Living Symbols of New Epochs: Lorraine O'Grady •". Mousse Magazine (in Italian). June 1, 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  36. "Permanent Judd: Donald Judd •". Mousse Magazine (in Italian). April 1, 2007. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  37. "Relations de Traduction: Camille Henrot •". Mousse Magazine (in Italian). October 1, 2012. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  38. "Konstnärsnämnden - Cecilia Alemani". www.konstnarsnamnden.se. Retrieved April 23, 2020.

Further reading
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