FUTURES | European Photography Platform

CAMERA is pleased to announce the five emerging artists featured in the 2021 edition of the European programme FUTURES (EPP – European Photography Platform), a research platform on contemporary photography supported by the European Union and focused on mapping and supporting emerging artists beyond national borders.

The artists who will take part in the fifth year of FUTURES were chosen by Walter Guadagnini, director of CAMERA, and Giangavino Pazzola, curator of the photography centre and program coordinator.

The FUTURES 2022 participants:

Martina Dendi (Livorno, 1994)
She trained in photography at the LABA — Libera Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan and at the Moholy-Nagy Müv.szeti Egyetem in Budapest. Her works start from an anthropological study and from a love for the grotesque and ironic side of life. Martina Dendi creates her images —where she is often the main character— activating a necessary and therapeutic process of self-definition and awareness of her presence in the world. In 2017 she presented the photobook “Caducità” at the Tethys Gallery in Florence. Thanks to a scholarship, she attended Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU) in Texas, Nacogdoches, where she will also exhibit her photographic project Assenza. She took part in various collective exhibitions in different cities, including CAREOF in Milan. Her work is among the finalists of the Combat Prize 2021.

Karim El Maktafi (Desenzano del Garda, 1992)
In 2013 he graduated at the Italian Institute of Photography in Milan. In 2016 he obtained a scholarship at Fabrica, Benetton’s communication research centre in Treviso. During his residency Karim created the project “Hayati”, winner of the PHMuseum 2017 Grant — New Generation Prize, finalist of the CAP Prize 2017 (Contemporary African Photography Prize) and second prize at the Kassel Dummy Award 2018. In 2018 he was awarded the Magnum Photos fellowship with Alex Majoli. Karim works on long-term projects between Italy and Morocco and his photographic research explores the concept of identity and belonging through documentary and portrait photography. His work has been exhibited in various institutional venues such as Milano, Museum in Der Kulturbrauerei in Berlin, Pavillon Populaire in Montpellier, Macro Testaccio Museum in Rome and other photography festivals in Europe. He also works with international newspapers and magazines such as The Washington Post Magazine, National Geographic USA, Internazionale, Vice, GEO.

Mara Palena (Milan, 1988)
Her research focuses on themes such as memory, remembrance and identity. The artist’s aesthetic, clearly influenced by the field of fashion where she worked for several years, is combined with an intimate and poetic vision. Using photography, video and sound, her work aims to involve the viewer in sensory experiences. Using and reworking archival material, she seeks a link between personal and collective, between introspection and connection. Her work, represented by the Twenty14 gallery, has been exhibited in various international festivals, spaces and galleries such as: Art Society, London; Marsèll Paradise, Milan; MOPLA, Los Angeles; Nowhere Gallery, Milan; Pananti Atelier, Milan; Etherea Gallery, Genova; Recontemporary, Turin. Between 2021 and 2022 she was a finalist at Etherea Art Prize, Combat Prize, We Art Open and Arte Laguna Prize. Her work is included in Exibart’s publication “222 emerging artists to invest on in 2021”.

Riccardo Svelto (Bagno a Ripoli, 1989)
He graduated in Photography at the LABA — Libera Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, where he teaches the class “Developing a Photographic Project”. His work mainly focuses on the relationship between empathy and social dynamics, seeking to understand the emotional interaction and mental forms we face in different ages and circumstances of life. “The Cathedral”, published by Witty Books (2021) is his first photography book. His work appears in print and online publications such as Ignant, i-D, Booooooom, VOSTOK magazine and others. His work was selected among the finalists of the Ghirri Prize — Young Italian Photography in Reggio Emilia.

Jacopo Valentini (Modena, 1990)
In 2017 he graduated in photography at the IUAV in Venice and in architecture at the Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio. In the same year he won the 101st Young Artists Collective at the Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation. In 2019 he was selected for Giovane Fotografia Italiana #07 in Reggio Emilia, and won the Nocivelli Prize. In 2020, he won the Refocus call, announced by MiC in collaboration with Triennale Milano and MUfoco. In 2021 he won the ministerial grant Cantica21, set up by MiC and MAECI, with the research Concerning Dante — Autonomus Cell, later published by Humboldt Books. His work was presented by institutions and private spaces including: Triennale di Milano, Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Museo Fattori, Royal Institute of British Architects, Fondazione Fabbri, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Fondazione Ragghianti, Galleria Civica di Modena. His works are present in both public and private collections such as Regione Emilia Romagna — IBC Emilia Romagna, Galleria Civica di Modena — FMAV, Fondazione Ragghianti in Lucca, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa in Venice.

The activities devised by CAMERA for FUTURES Photography 2022 will explore new approaches in the attempt to bring together the various functions that characterise the project: the conception, promotion, training and circulation of the selected artists and the projects they produce.

Besides CAMERA, the partners of FUTURES are FOMU Fotomuseum (Antwerp), PhotoEspaña (Madrid), The British Journal of Photography (London), the Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center (Budapest), the Foundation of Visual Education (Lodz), the Photo Romania Festival (Cluj), the Photo Ireland Foundation (Dublin), Festival d’Hyeres (Hyeres), Triennale der Photographie (Hamburg), The Calvert Journal (London), Copenhagen Photo Festival (Copenhagen), Tbilisi Photo Festival (Tbilisi) and Void (Athens).

FUTURES is co-financed by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.