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THE JURY OF THE 17TH ARTE LAGUNA PRIZE

Mohamed Benhadj | Arte Laguna Prize

MOHAMED BENHADJ
NORTH AFRICA AND SPAIN – CURATOR AND FOUNDER OF ALTIBA9

He is the most influential curator and ambassador of the international cultural exchange in the field of contemporary art in Algeria. Mohamed Benhadj has been the unique icon of performance art in the Algerian art scene, known with his audacious and avant-garde movement. He emerged possibilities of change and growth for Algerian and international artists by strengthening the importance of exchange and art promotion. His vision of a connected world through bridges of possibilities and collaborations leads him to establish Al-Tiba9 in 2013, an international exhibition of contemporary art, performance, and fashion design, promoting the exchange between art institutions and artists gathering in a new Arab social-cultural environment. In 2017, Mohamed extended his philosophy to Barcelona, Spain. In 2019 he became a member of Algero-Espagnol cultural association. He collaborates with the Ministry of culture, museums, art institutions, embassies, and art centers. He aims to create a new pole of contemporary art in North Africa, offering to the world a unique experience of creativity, possibility, and growth like no other around the planet.

Rapael Chikukwa | Arte Laguna Prize

RAPHAEL CHIKUKWA
ZIMBABWE – EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ZIMBABWE

Born in Zimbabwe, Chikukwa holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Arts and Culture Management from the University of the Witwatersrand Business School and an MA in Curating Contemporary Design from Kingston University, which he attained as a Chevening Scholar. Chikukwa is a Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)/ International Curatorial Institute Centre for Curatorial Leadership (CCL) 2021 Fellow. Chikukwa joined the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in 2010 as its Chief Curator and is now the Executive Director and Chief Curator of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. Before joining the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Chikukwa worked for over ten years as an independent curator. Raphael Chikukwa is the

founding Curator of the Pavilion of Zimbabwe at the Venice Biennale, starting from the 54th, up to the 58th Edition. He is committed to a multitude of Committees, among them, High Line Plinth in New York 2020, DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service), the Delfina Foundation London UK, the Future Generation Art Prize, and served as juror for the Dakar

Biennale in 2018.

Chikukwa has been on various international panels that includes, Art Basel Hong Kong Conversations in 2019, Art Basel Miami USA 2008, and the Joburg Art Fair. He has contributed to a number of Publications that include, a newly published African Art Reframed: Reflections and Dialogue on Museum Culture by University of Illinois Press USA, Mawonero/Umbono: Insights in Zimbabwean Contemporary Art, Zimbabwe Pavilion Catalogues (Seeing Ourselves 2011, Dudziro 2013, Pixels of Ubuntu/Unhu 2015, Deconstructing Boundaries 2017 and Soko Risina Musoro – A Tale Without a Head 2019)

Kabbo Ka Muwala: Migration and Mobility Exhibition 2016 etc. His qualifications and international experience earned his position at the national institution, which he hopes to change the visual arts landscape of Zimbabwe. The 2nd Johannesburg Biennale in 1997 provided an impetus to Raphael Chikukwa’s curatorial career after working as a volunteer guide for the Biennale under the watchful eye of the late Okwui Enwezor. He later moved back to his home country Zimbabwe as a process of relocation to his motherland. Some of the major exhibitions he curated include HIFA (Harare International Festival of the Arts) 2000 up to 2004, Lime Transmission Commonwealth Exhibition in Manchester, 2004 Visions of Zimbabwe at the Manchester City Art Gallery and African Heroes in 2006 at the Imperial War Museum North. Chikukwa is a founding Staff member of the PUMA funded Creative Africa Network as an editor and advisor of the project from 2008 – 2009.

Giulia Colletti | Arte Laguna Prize

GIULIA COLLETTI
ITALY – PUBLIC PROGRAMS AND DIGITAL SPHERE’S CURATOR AT CASTELLO DI RIVOLI MUSEO D’ARTE CONTEMPORANEA, TURIN

Giulia Colletti (1993) is an art historian and curator. She is in charge of the Public Programs and Digital Sphere at Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea as well as being Lecturer in the Master Curatorial Practice and Contemporary Philosophy of the Mediterranean at Abadir Academy. She is a Forbes Under 30 Europe 2021 honoree, an iCI (Cape Town) and Curators Lab (12th Shanghai Biennale) alumna.
From 2018 to 2021, she has been Co-Curator of 19th Biennale des Jeunes Créateurs d’Europe et de la Méditerranée. She has independently curated an array of exhibitions with artists including Elisabetta Benassi; Maeve Brennan; Sarah Browne; Marcel Broodthaers; Núria Güell; Adelita Husni-Bey; Hanne Lippard; Wolfgang Tillmans; Sue Tompkins; amongst others.
She has lectured at art and educational institutions and universities including Columbia University (CAMS), NYC; La Sapienza, Rome; Gallerie d’Italia Academy, Milan; IUAV, Venice; NABA, Milan; Tec de Monterrey, Mexico City; University of Glasgow; among others. In 2019, she has been Visiting Lecturer at The Glasgow School of Art, UK Young Artists Research Fellow, and 2019 inaugural Curatorial Fellow at The Glasgow School of Art. Her reviews, essays, and compiled readers have been respectively published by Flash Art, OnCurating, and e-flux, amongst others. She is currently in charge of the New Media Special Projects for CURA.

Paul Di Felice | Arte Laguna Prize

PAUL DI FELICE
LUXEMBOURG – ART CURATOR, CRITIC AND ART HISTORIAN

Paul di Felice (1953, Differdange, Luxembourg) is Doctor in Visual Arts, art curator, critic and artist. He has been a Senior Lecturer in Art History and Art Pedagogy at the University of Luxembourg from 2003- 2018. His field of research is representation and deconstruction in contemporary photography. He has been a workshop leader of the annual Art Workshop organized by Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’art contemporain in collaboration with University of Luxembourg, from 1998-2011.He is a founding member of the online magazine lacritique.org and an active member of AICA Luxembourg. He is member of the board of IACCCA (International association of corporate collections of contemporary art). He is the president of EMOP (European Month of Photography ) network, an independent curator of international contemporary photography exhibitions and he co-organizes the European Month of Photography in Luxembourg. Since 1984, he is co-editor and co-publisher of Café-Crème édition, an international art and photography publisher and co-director of Café Crème art association. He is co-founder of Lët’z Arles association, partner of Les Rencontres d’Arles.
He has been frequently invited as a theorist and curator to international photography meetings and as a jury member for exhibitions and contemporary art biennials.

Chloe Hodge | Arte Laguna Prize

CHLOE HODGE
UNITED KINGDOM – PROJECT MANAGER AT THE TATE BRITAIN, CURATOR AND PRODUCER

Chloe Hodge is a London-based curator and producer with ten years’ experience working with international artists and institutions. Currently, Chloe is managing the new display of 500 years of British art at Tate Britain, and curating a series of digital and design commissions to be exhibited at Serpentine in London and Foundation Beyeler in Basel. Chloe has produced contemporary commissions for institutions including Venice Biennale, Biennale of Sydney, Taipei Biennial, Folkestone Triennial and the Rolls Royce Art Programme, and developed exhibitions for Yale University in the USA, Belvedere and Albertina museums in Vienna, The State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg and UBS Art Collection.
Chloe maintains an interest in developing early artist practice and has carried out development programmes for emerging artists at UP Projects in London and for international organisation, Platform Asia.
Chloe writes for Eazel online exhibitions platform and V-A-C Museum, Venice which champions new media art. Chloe holds a Masters in Curating from the Royal College of Art.

Dick Spierenburg | Arte Laguna Prize

DICK SPIERENBURG
NETHERLANDS – DESIGNER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF IMM COLOGNE – THE INTERNATIONAL FORNITURE AND INTERIORS FAIR

Dick Spierenburg studied Architecture in Delft and Interior & Product Design in The Hague. His furniture and lighting designs are in the collections of premium interior brands, most of them since recently, some for over 25 years. Work in architecture is realized in pavilions for exhibitions and hospitality. Design for private houses is functioning as laboratory for interior and product visions.
The engagement in interior design events originated in the realization of group exhibitions and permanent brand collectives like design centers in Amsterdam and Cologne. Involvement in imm cologne started as creative consultant. Concepts and events were initiated like Pure Village and Pure Editions. The format Das Haus was introduced in 2012 and implemented 10 times. It became the highlight of communication. Contemporary design sector Pure was developed into a strong brand. In 2011 Dick Spierenburg was appointed creative director by Koelnmesse, and in this role also created concepts for the workplace focused interior design show Orgatec.
Jury participation includes Dutch Design Awards, German Design Graduates and Red Dot.

xiaoyu-weng

XIAOYU WENG
NEW YORK AND TORONTO – CURATOR AND HEAD OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART AT THE ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO

Xiaoyu Weng is a curator and writer based in New York and Toronto. She is currently the Carol and Morton Rapp Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). Her curatorial and writing practices focus on the impact of globalization, identity, and decolonization, as well as the intersection of art, science, and technology. Prior to joining the AGO, she held positions as The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Associate Curator at The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York and Director of Asia Programs at the Kadist Art Foundation, San Francisco and Paris, and in 2018-19, she served as the Curator of the 5th Ural Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art in Yekaterinburg, Russia. 

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