Email: F.Cologna@sms.ed.ac.uk

Programme: History of Art - MPhil/PhD/MSc by Research

Start date: 09/2021

Mode of study: Full time

Research title: ART AS COLLECTIVE ACTION: Towards an Alternative Future for Democracy

I am an artist researcher working at the intersection of socially engaged artistic practice and feminist theory. I am currently doing a doctorate as a College Research Award holder at the University of Edinburgh.

My project, titled ART AS COLLECTIVE ACTION: Towards an Alternative Future for Democracy, explores through feminist practice-led research how socially engaged, community-embedded art practices enable dialogue, expand public imagination, create solidarity and re-imagine civic engagement. Since March 2022, I am a member of the Community Wellbeing Collective (C.W.C.), a group of people from, and connected to, Wester Hailes working together to practice communal wellbeing and question how to create spaces for it.

I previously studied design and art at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (UNIBZ) completing a trilingual (English, Italian, German) bachelor’s degree, and I hold a master's degree in Modern and Contemporary Art: History, Curating and Criticism from The University of Edinburgh. In addition, while completing my bachelor’s degree programme I studied for one academic year (in Spanish) at the Barcelona School of Design (ELISAVA) with the Erasmus+ mobility scholarship. 

Examples of my work include editorial projects, installations, workshops, live choreographies, scores and collective exercises that I shared at community centres, art spaces, museums and for festivals and public programmes. Alongside my doctoral research I am also active as a movement artist and dancer, community facilitator, and workshops organiser in the Community Wellbeing Collective and in the Edinburgh University Tango Society. 

What does feminism mean to you? - An invitation to meet in joy and struggle for a day of workshops and conversations exploring why feminism matters, and what kind of world we want to build together. Community Wellbeing Collective Anchor Event conceived, organised and facilitated by CWC members Chantal Auguste, Federica Cologna, JJ Fadaka, Maryanne Jacobs and Keisha. Saturday, 29 July 2023, 12-7pm.

Exploring Feminism - Welcoming collective conversations, readings and theatre games to unlearn and deconstruct sexism.  Every Thursday during July and August 2023, 3-4pm at the Community Wellbeing Space.

Listening/movement session - Movement, dance and deep listening activities to connect with yourself and with one another. From January to June 2023, 5-6pm at the Community Wellbeing Space.

Mutual Self-Care Exercise - Score for a collective exercise of care, 2022.

Welcome to Barcelona - The City and Mass Tourism - Artist book, 2017.

Mai Così Vicini - How do you imagine the city you would like to live in? - Workshop for kids, 2015.

Hälhouse - Installation, 2016.

Tutor in History of Art for the pre-honours course ‘History of Art 2B From Modernism and the Avant Gardes to Postmodernism and Globalisation’ at the Edinburgh College of Art - College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences - The University of Edinburgh. Second Semester, Academic Year 2022-23.

Guest Lecturer for Dr Lucy Weir's Honours course ‘The Performative Turn: Performance and Live Art since 1945’. Class title: 'Socially Engaged Art Practice as Collective Action'. 23 November 2022, Edinburgh College of Art - The University of Edinburgh.

I am researching how socially-engaged, community-embedded art practices enact processes for the reimagination, renegotiations and reconfigurations of care, creative wellbeing, public dialogue, collective action and communal futures.

In my doctoral project I am carrying out feminist artistic research that entails collective learning and action, field-based research, participatory performative exercises and which is developed in dialogue with the Community Wellbeing Collective (C.W.C.), contextual research and with theoretical discourses analysis.