Nicolò Degiorgis (1985, Bolzano/Bozen) is a photographer, editor and visual artist who grew up between the border lands of Trentino-South Tyrol (I) and Ticino (CH).
Academically trained in Sinology and Political Science, his work tackles phenomena and concepts related to minority communities through photography, books, videos, exhibitions and workshops.
He runs Rorhof (2014-ongoing), an independent publishing house based in Bolzano (IT) that works as a cooperative centred around solidarity and sustainability, and teaches at the Penitential Institute of Bolzano and at Fondazione Modena Arti Visive.
His works are present in numerous private and public collections and have been exhibited internationally, including at MAXXI and Macro in Rome, the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation in Turin, Mambo in Bologna and Museion in Bolzano/Bozen. His books have received various international awards including the Author Book of the Year, Rencontres d' Arles (2014) and the Aperture Paris Photo First Book Award (2014).
Nicolò Degiorgis (1985, Bolzano/Bozen) grew up between the border lands of Trentino-South Tyrol (I) and Ticino (CH) before taking refuge in the arts to escape from identity and linguistic constraints. His works comprise books, photos, collages, videos, maps and documents that chart conceptually the territory and the communities where he lives.
He runs Rorhof, an independent publishing house based in Bolzano (IT), and teaches at the Penitential Institute of Bolzano and at Fondazione Modena Arti Visive.
He has guest-lectured in art institutions in Vienna (2020), Budapest (2020), Singapore (2019), Milan (2019), Bolzano (2014-2018), Dubai (2017), The Hague (2016), Amsterdam (2016), Urbino (2016), Venice (2016), Plymouth (2016), Newport (2015) and Leeds (2014).
His works were exhibited at Maxxi, Macro and at the XVI Quadriennale d’arte in Rome, at the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin, the Mambo in Bologna and at Museion in Bolzano/Bozen.
His books are to be found in private and public libraries, including the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library at Yale University and the Library of Harvard University, Tate Modern in London, the Kandinsky Library at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the Albertina Museum in Vienna.
They were awarded the Author Book of the Year at the Rencontres d’Arles (2014), the Aperture Paris Photo First Book Award (2014), Gold at the German Photobook Awards (2014), the Italian Photobook Award – Premio Bastianelli (2018) and the Historical Book Award at the Rencontres d’Arles (2018).
He graduated from the Department of Asian and North African Studies at Ca’ Foscari University in Venice (2008).
He was the recipient of a Fabrica scholarship in Treviso (2008-09) and a research fellowship from the Faculty of Political and Social Science at the University of Trieste (2009-10).
He was an artist in residence at the Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation in Venice (2009-10), at the Italian Cultural Institute in Paris (2017), at Pratiques d'hospitalité in Grenoble (2017-18) and at the Kunsthalle Exnergasse in Vienna (2019-20).
Since 2013, he has been sitting on the curatorial board of foto-forum, for which he has curated exhibitions and catalogues.
(b.1985, Bolzano/Bozen)
Education
- Faculty of Political Science, University of Leiden (NL), study semester, 2019
- Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (I): BA in ‘Languages and economical and juridical institutions of East Asia (Chinese/Korean)’, 2008
- Capital Normal University of Beijing (PRC), 2007
- German Scientific High school of Bolzano (I), 2005
Scholarships and residencies
- Kunsthistorischen Institut Florenz, Florence (IT), 2023, artist-
Awards
- Premio Piero Siena, Bolzano-Bozen (IT), 2022
- Premio Bastianelli - Italian Photobook Award special mention, Rome (IT), 2022
- Historical Book Award, Rencontres d’Arles (FR), 2018
- Premio Bastianelli, Rome (IT), 2018
- Professor Hilde Goldschmidt Preis, Kitzbühel (AT), 2017
- Italian Council, Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism, Rome (I), 2017
- Foam Talent, Foam, Amsterdam (NL), 2016
- Aperture Paris Photo First Book Award, 2014
- Gold at the German Photobook Awards, 2014
- Author Book of the Year, Rencontres d’Arles, 2014
- PDN30, Photo District News, New York (US), 2011
Collections
- Museion - (Bolzano, IT)
- Maxxi (Rome, IT)
- The Library of the Metropolitan Museum in New York
- The Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library at Yale University
- The Library of Harvard University, Tate Modern in London
- the Kandinsky Library at the Centre Pompidou in Paris
- the Albertina Museum in Vienna
Solo Exhibitions
- Galleria Eugenia Delfini, Rome (IT); E se l’orizzonte non fosse il confine?, 2023
- Gibellina Photoroad, Fondazione Orestiadi, Gibellina Sicily (IT); Alibaba e il rifiuto dell'oro, 2023
- MAD - Murate Art District, Firenze (IT); 102 metri, 2023
- Lumen Museum, Brunico (IT); Farms, Flakes & Peaks, 2022
- Kunsthalle Exnergasse, Vienna (AT); Am Rand, 2020
- LE CAP - Centre d'arts plastiques de Saint-Fons (France): Nicolò Degiorgis, September 2018
- École Supérieure d’Art et Design (Grenoble, France): La Villeneuve, March 2018
- Museum Kitzbühl (Austria): Nicolò Degiorgis, January 2018
- Museion (Bolzano, Italy): Nicolò Degiorgis, January 2017-January 2018
- Casa Circondariale (Bolzano, Italy): Work in progress, September 2017
- Plessi Museum (Brennero, Italy): Il ponte, July 2017
- Seminario Maggiore (Bressanone, Italy): Hidden Islam, May 2017
- Villaggio Eni - Dolomiti Contemporanee (Borca di Cadore, Italy): Peak, March 2017
- Istituto Italiano di Cultura (Paris, Italy): Le Tunnell, February 2017
- Scuola Langer Schule (Bolzano, Italy): Heimatkunde, January 2017
- Prisma Gallery (Bolzano, Italy): Oasis Hotel, May 2014
- Cubo Garutti/Museion (Bolzano, Italy): Camera Cubica, April 2013
- Centro Trevi (Bolzano, Italy): Alpini, April 2012
- ar/ge kunst (Bolzano, Italy): Selma Alacam & Nicoló Degiorgis, June 2011
- Italian Institute of Culture (Copenhagen, Denmark): Transitando, October 2010
- Gallery foto-forum (Bolzano, Italy): The Forgotten Islam, October 2009
- Comune di Egna (Egna, Italy): Alpini, April 2012
- Centro per la Cultura (Merano, Italy): Alpini, April 2012
- Circolo Ufficiali della Brigata Tridentina (Bressanone, Italy): Alpini, May 2012
Group Exhibitions
- Fondazione Memmo, Rome (IT); Conversation Piece, 2023 (upcoming)
- Kunst Merano Arte (IT); Vielheit [Multiplicity]: Stories from the postmigrant society, 2023
- Maxxi, Rome (IT); Fuori Tutto, 2023
- Maxxi, Rome (IT); Blue as Gold - Premio Piero Siena, 2022
- Centro Trevi, Bolzano-Bozen (I); Premio Piero Siena, 2022
- Museion, Bolzano-Bozen (I); TECHNO, 2021
- Stadtgallerie Brixen-Galleria Civica Bressanone (I); Empatizzanti-Empathisanten, 2020
- Maxxi, Rome (IT); Real_Italy, 2020
- Kunsthalle Exnergasse, Wien (AT), 2020
- Hofburg, Brixen-Bressanone (IT); Beauty Case, 2019
- Mart, Galleria Civica Trento (IT); Everyday Life. Economia globale e immagine contemporanea, 2019
- Contemporanea in Magnifica, Pieve di Cadore (IT), Degiorgis/Fliri/Tomè, 2019
- Mambo, Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna (IT), That’s IT!, 2018
- Museion, Hämatli & Patriæ, Bolzano-Bozen (IT), 2017
- Fotografia Europea, Up To Now. Fabrica Photography, Reggio Emilia (I), May 2017
- Beaconsfield Gallery Vauxhall, Foam Talent, London (UK), May 2017
- Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, A House, halfway, Torino (IT), May 2017
- Pinacoteca Comunale di Castello, Violenti confini, Città di Castello (IT), April 2017
- Kunst Meran/o Arte, Wer ist noch österreichisch?, Merano (IT), April 2017
- Red Hook Labs, Foam Talent, New York (US), March 2017
- 3rd Nanjing International Art Festival, Historicode: Scarcity and supply, Nanjing (PRC), November 2016
- Palazzo delle Esposizioni, 16a Quadriennale d’arte, Roma (IT), October 2016
- Fotodok, Belief On The Move, Utrecht (NL), September 2016
- Ragusa Fotofestival, Ragusa (IT), July 2016
- Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Passo dopo passo, Torino (I), May 2016
- Observing the Ritual, Dubai, May 2016
- Finnish Museum of Photography (Helsinki, Finnland): Festival of Political Photography, February 2016
- Architekturzentrum (Wien, Austria): Zoom, Januray 2016
- Franzensfeste (Fortezza, Italy): Modes of Democracy, November 2015
- Macro (Rome, Italy): Festival Internazionale di Fotografia, October 2015
- Forma Meravigli (Milan, Italy): Il racconto onesto, April 2015
- Architekturmuseum - Pinakothek der Moderne (Munich, Germany): Zoom, April 2015
- Format Festival - Pearson Building (Derby, UK): Evidence, March 2015
- Dox - Center for contemporary art (Prague, Czech Republic): Modes of Democracy, November 2014
- Macro (Rome, Italy): Festival Internazionale di Fotografia, September 2014
- Altes Kraftwerk (Bad Gastein, Austria): Sommerfrische Kunst, July 2013
- Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo (Torino, Italy): The 338 Hour Cineclub, May 2013
- Triennale (Milan, Italy): Altagamma, December 2013
- Academy Cassa di Risparmio (Bolzano, Italy), December 2012
- Fo.Ku.S. (Innsbruck, Austria): Ansichten an sich, December 2012
- Museo della Permanente (Milano, Italy): Premio Cairo, December 2012
- Franzensfeste (Fortezza, Italy): Panorama, June 2012
- Kunst Meran|o Arte (Merano, Italy): La stalla in disuso - Der nicht mehr gebrauchte Stall, September 2011
- Fondazione Forma per la Fotografia (Milano, Italy): Milano, un minuto prima, June 2011
- Fondazione Spinola Banna (Poirino, Italy): Opera 2010, February 2010
- Palazzo Ducale (Genova, Italy): Persona in meno, Septmeber 2010
- Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa (Venice, Italy): Open Studios, November 2010
- Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo (Guarene, Torino): Persona in meno, April 2010
- Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa (Venice, Italy): Workshow, March 2010
- New Museum (New York, US): Imaginares, May 2009
- Prisma Gallery (Bolzano, Italy): Start II, Septmeber 2009
Curatorial Projects
- The Long 19th Century Digested Vol.1 & Vol. 2, Rorhof, Bolzano-Bozen (I), 2019
- The Pigeon Photographer, German Museum of Technology, Berlin (DE), 2018
- Chapter 3: The Control of Images, with Sabine Gamper, Foto-forum, Bolzano-Bozen (I), 2017
- German Museum of Technology, The Pigeon Photographer, March 2018
- Museion, Hämatli & Patriæ, January 2017 - January 2018
- Foto-Forum, Floating Worlds, Max Pinckers & Daisuke Yokota, May 2016
- Foto-Forum, The Encyclopedia of Kurt Caviezel, May 2015
- Foto-Forum, Chapter 2: The conflict of Images, December 2015
- Foto-Forum, Chapter 1: The Hierarchy of Images (Mishka Henner, Joachim Schmid, Tobias Zielony), December 2014
Residency
- Kunsthalle Exnergasse - WUK, Wien (AT), 2019-2020, artist-residency
- Rijksakademie, Amsterdam (NL), 2018, publisher in residence
- Italian cultural Institute, Paris (FR), 2017, artist-residency
- Sommerfrische Kunst, Bad Gastein (AT), 2013, artist-residency
- University of Trieste, Faculty of Political Science, Trieste (I), 2010-11, research scholarship
- Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation, Venice (I), 2009-10, residency
- Fabrica, Benetton's Communication Research Center, Treviso (I), 2008-09, research scholarship
Teaching
- Fondazione Arti Visive di Modena (IT), 2017-ongoing: Photography teacher
- MOME - Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Budapest (HU), 2020, workshop
- RM - Istituto di Mode e Design, Milano (IT), 2019: Photography teacher
- Free University of Bolzano/Bozen (I), 2014 - 2018: Faculty of Arts and Design, Professor of “Artistic Photography”
- Penitential Institute of Bolzano/Bozen (I), 2013 - 2018: Photography teacher
- Royal Academy of Art, The Hague (NL), 2016, Lecture and workshop
- Academy of Art and Design St. Joost (NL), 2016, Lecture
- Istituto Superiore per le Industrie Artistiche, Urbino (I), 2016, Lecture and workshop
- Università IUAV, Università IUAV di Venezia (I), 2016, Lecture
- Plymouth University (UK), March 2016, Lecture and portfolio reviews
- University of South Wales, Newport (UK), 2015, Lecture and portfolio reviews
- University of Leeds, Leeds (UK) 2014, Lecture
- University of Triest, Triest (I) 2014, Lecture
Publications
- The Long 19th Century Digested Vol.1 & Vol. 2, Rorhof, Bolzano-Bozen (I), 2019, editor
- The Pigeon Photographer, Rorhof, Bolzano (I), 2017, editor
- Hämatli & Patriæ, Humbolt Books, Milan (I), 2017, curator
- Prison Photography, Rorhof, Bolzano (I), 2017, editor
- Blue as gold, Rorhof, Bolzano (I), 2017, author
- Lo sceriffo e la moschea itinerante, Rorhof, Bolzano (I), 2016, author
- Heimatkunde, Rorhof, Bolzano (I), 2016, ISBN 9788894881004, author
- Floating Worlds - Max Pinckers & Daisuke Yokota, Rorhof, Bolzano (I), 2016, ISBN 9788890981791, curator
- Transart, Rorhof, Bolzano (I), 2015, ISBN: 978-88-909817-8-4, editor
- Chapter 2: The Conflict of Images, Rorhof, Bolzano (I), 2015, ISBN 978-88-909817-7-7, editor
- Peak, Rorhof, Bolzano (I), 2015, ISBN 978-88-909817-6-0, author
- The Encyclopedia of Kurt Caviezel, Rorhof, Bolzano (I), 2015, ISBN 978-88-909817-5-3, editor
- Chapter 1: The Hierarchy of Images, Rorhof, Bolzano (I), 2014, ISBN 978-88-909817-4-6, editor
- Hidden Islam - 479 Comments, Rorhof, Bolzano (I), 2014, ISBN 978-88-909817-3-9, author
- La Laguna di Venezia, Rorhof, Bolzano (I), 2014, ISBN 9788890981722, author
- Oasis Hotel, Rorhof, Bolzano (I), 2014, ISBN 9788890981718, author
- Hidden Islam, Rorhof, Bolzano (I), 2014, ISBN 9788890981708, author
Selected Artworks
