English | Naima Morelli

Video! Technotown for TeenPress

01-02-2016

Who would ever expect to find a technology wonderland right in the heart of the Villa Torlonia, Rome? Learning through play is the motto of Technotown, a building dedicated to children and teenagers to experiment with technology, nature and creativity.

Technotown consists in nine rooms equipped with different technologies, from Lego Mindstorms to the first plant ever to have a twitter profile. In this place children are no longer approaching technology in a mindless and lazy way. They are rather using it to imagine a sustainable future and developing new ideas.

I visited the place for a video report for the news agency Teenpress, guided by Technotown’s manager Gabriele Catanzaro. It has been a blast of energy and excitement. Technotown is the sort of place which reinforces my hopes for a better future. In their own little world, Technotown is forging a new generation of lateral thinkers and innovators. It’s a thing of beauty! And now for the video…

Robert Zhao Renhui Studio Visit, Goodman Arts Centre, Singapore

By: Naima Morelli

29-01-2016

English, Reportage, Research, Singapore, Visit

Welcome to another installment of my series on artist studio visits. This time we are peeking into the working space of Singapore artist Robert Zhao Renhui at Goodman Arts Centre. In the course of my reportage in Singapore I became familiar with this studio cluster, as many of the most prominent local artists are operating from here.

I find Robert’s studio pretty amazing. It is filled with the most strange objects and books related to science, biology and animals – included cushions shaped like kittens. If you are familiar with Robert Zhao artist practice, you will know he operates under the name of the fictional The Institute of Critical Zoologist. His work is all about developing a critical approach to the zoological gaze. This involves playing around with the believes of the viewer and acceptance of truths. Robert’s recent projects consider the increasingly ill-defined boundaries between the natural and the man-made.

Robert’s studio shows that zoology for the artist is not merely the subject of his work, but a real obsession. He demonstrates the theory of my friend curator Donato: “At the end of the day artist are people with single-minded obsession.”

Published! Australian arts professionals in Singapore for ArtsHub

By: Naima Morelli

19-01-2016

Australia, English, Interview, Published, Reportage, Research, Singapore, Visit

artshub13

Australian magazine ArtsHub has just published my latest piece where I profile three Australian art professionals who are leaving their mark on the Singapore art scene. These are Ben Hampe, co-founder of Chan Hampe Galleries, Bala Starr from the Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore at LASALLE and artist Belinda Fox. This piece is part of my reportage on contemporary art in Singapore.

Here’s the link to the piece

Singapore book: From the preliminary research to the first draft

By: Naima Morelli

14-01-2016

English, Essay, News, Reportage, Research, Singapore, Visit

book
I’m a big fan of reading how writers organize their research and how they put their books together. I figured it would be interesting to detail the way I’m working at my new book on young artists in Singapore. In this post I’ll walk you through the first few stages from the preliminary research to the first draft.

First phase: preliminary research. I read articles about Singapore art scene and books on Singapore urbanism, political and economical situation. I interviewed Lee Wen when he was in Rome, I met up with Italian artists who went to Singapore on a residency, and talked to a couple of Singaporean curators visiting Italy, included Paul Khoo. I stayed two weeks in Paris for the Singapour en France event, composed by the Paris Art Fair and the exhibition “Secret Archipelago”. In both case I interviewed artists, curators and gallery owners. Back home, I talked with via skype to other Singaporean artists, mainly for magazine articles. Finally, I went to Milan to visit the exhibition “Bright S’pore” at Primo Marella gallery and saw some works in person.

Giada Tagliamonte Studio Visit, Joo Chiat, Singapore

By: Naima Morelli

10-01-2016

English, Italy, Research, Singapore, Visit

My series on studio visits is finally back! During my reportage in Singapore I had the chance to snoop around the working and sometimes also living space of local artists. First up is a wonderful Italian artist who now calls the Lion City home: Giada Tagliamonte aka Zada Tagli. Her work is delicate and poetic, and although she’s inspired by eminent figures of Italian culture, such as Giotto and Umberto Eco, the imaginary she evokes is really universal. You will soon read my interview to her, which I realized in November – but for now I’ll let the images speak for themselves.

I’m working on a new book + lessons learned

By: Naima Morelli

03-01-2016

Australia, English, Indonesia, News, Reportage, Research, Singapore

pascal_martin_tajou
This is a public service announcement (with guitar! As the Clash would say); I’m working on a new book. It will revolve around my research on contemporary art in Singapore and will explore some concepts I started looking at in my previous book, Arte Contemporanea in Indonesia, un’introduzione.

Of course, having a second “baby” might look easier if you already had that kind of experience. But a second book comes with its new challenges. On top of that, I also had an aborted book which still is very much a looming presence. (Should we stop once and for all with these stupid baby metaphors when talking about book projects?)

Reflections on my 2015

By: Naima Morelli

27-12-2015

English, Essay, France, Italy, Singapore

Twenty-fifteen has been an intense year full of cheerfulness, discovery and adventure – I feel I learned so much! For starters I reconquered Rome, which I re-elected as my base (I keep on saying “for the time being”, but truth is, I’m in love with this city). Since I installed in my bedroom in San Lorenzo – the left-leaning, working-class neighborhood of Rome – I felt a new chapter of my life had started.

Published! Becoming Location Independent on ArtsHub

By: Naima Morelli

18-12-2015

Australia, English, Essay, Published, United States

artshub12
When I chose to become a freelance journalist, the possibility of working from everywhere was extremely luring. And I experimented a little with it, especially that couple of years that I was based first in Melbourne, Australia, and then going back and forth between Rome and Sorrento every two weeks. I quickly found out that what I pictured as total freedom, actually required an unusual amount of discipline.

In this piece for ArtsHub I interviewed absolute experts on location independency: writers Shannon O’Donnel of A Little Adrift, Jeannie Mark of Nomadic Chick and artist Veronica Kent. In this sense writing for ArtsHub is fantastic because it gives me the chance to go around and ask questions on matters that I feel pressing. And being a full-time digital nomad is still something I give a lot of thought to.

Here’s the link to the piece

Seminar on Indonesian Art at Università L’Orientale, Naples

By: Naima Morelli

16-12-2015

English, Indonesia, Italy, News, Visit

Naples in December is possibly even more stunning and lively than normal, and walking from the train station to the Università degli Studi di Napoli L’Orientale in the winter sun has been truly a gift. Likewise, it has been a gift to have the chance to introduce contemporary art in Indonesia to the students in a seminar organized by Prof. Antonia Soriente. Prof. Soriente is a wonderful and inspiring women who is having a fundamental role in introducing Indonesian literature and culture to Italy, both with her work in the university and projects like translation of books. I was really honoured to be invited to her course.

The audience was great and there have been a lot of interesting questions popping up at the end of the lecture. Students were asking about the relationship of Indonesia with western art and eastern art, landscape painting and Mooi Indie, what role Islam is having in the contemporary art scene and also inquiring about the best way to approach contemporary art in general – as many of them are new to it. I deeply enjoyed engaging with students, as for me it’s always a chance to share and reflect, and most importantly being part of someone’s experience. With every single thing you do, you’re able to have an impact, however small it is – and you can learn so much through discussion! And now a few pics from the presentation…

Video! Interview with Cristiano Quagliozzi for TeenPress

By: Naima Morelli

14-12-2015

English, Interview, Italiano, Italy, video

I have to admit the video reports with the TeenPress guys was something I was missing from my life. We are finally back with a new micro-series with the self-explanatory name “Giovani Creativi”. For these installments creatives of all stripes join us in our studio in Pietralata, Rome. We chat about their artistic practice, creative process, everyday life and day-to-day struggles. We have started with Cristiano Quagliozzi, painter, sculptor, installation and performance artist, who opens up about his upcoming project and gives us his definition of artist. Enjoy the video!

Published! Review of Fotografia Festival Rome on Escape

By: Naima Morelli

23-11-2015

English, Italy, Published, Review, Visit

Times of Malta’s Sunday magazine Escape has published my review on Fotografia, the international photography festival of Rome. It was good fun to write it – and if you are wondering how the selfie mentioned in the article actually looks like, look no further.

Here’s the link to the piece

Published! Singapore National Gallery repositions SEA art on ArtsHub

By: Naima Morelli

20-11-2015

English, Indonesia, News, Published, Reportage, Research, Singapore, Visit

First signs of my research here in Singapore. Australian webmagazine ArtsHub has just published my article on the National Gallery of Singapore, which will open to public on the 24th of November.

Here’s the link to the piece

Naima Morelli

Video! Technotown for TeenPress

Robert Zhao Renhui Studio Visit, Goodman Arts Centre, Singapore

Published! Australian arts professionals in Singapore for ArtsHub

Singapore book: From the preliminary research to the first draft

Giada Tagliamonte Studio Visit, Joo Chiat, Singapore

I’m working on a new book + lessons learned

Reflections on my 2015

Published! Becoming Location Independent on ArtsHub

Seminar on Indonesian Art at Università L’Orientale, Naples

Video! Interview with Cristiano Quagliozzi for TeenPress

Published! Review of Fotografia Festival Rome on Escape

Published! Singapore National Gallery repositions SEA art on ArtsHub

About

MY BOOKS

Categories

Archives