Alessandra Cianetti (she/her) is a London-based curator, co-carer, co-director, researcher, and creative producer. Her practice within contemporary art and performance art explores systemic socio-political issues with a focus on notions and lived experiences of intersectional borders, social justice, and politics of labour.
She is the co-director, co-carer, and founder of the collectively-run platform performingborders (London/Porto) which focuses on creating and commissioning practice-based knowledge around live art and borders by UK-based and international performance artists, thinkers, organisers, and art workers. Currently, Alessandra is a PhD student Supervisor at the Transart Institute for Creative Research where she has served as PhD Co-Programme Leader Consultant from October 2023 until July 2024.
From January 2020 until July 2023, Alessandra was curator and project manager for the Bagri Foundation. This London-based charity supports national and international projects which centre multidisciplinary artists from Asia and its diaspora. From 2013 to 2017, she was curator and co-director of the migrant-led arts organisation Something Human which presented experimental live and visual art practices across borders.
Over the years, Alessandra has conceived, curated, produced, researched, written about, presented talks, and facilitated workshops about multi-disciplinary and transnational art projects, programmes, and collective organising within the arts sector across the UK, Europe, and internationally. Alessandra’s collaborative work has been built with co-conspirators, museums, arts institutions, community centres, independent spaces, and universities. Her activities have been supported, among others, by the Arts Council England, the European Cultural Foundation, the National Arts Council Singapore, and Necessity Fund.
Alessandra is a mentor for MA students for the “Coltiviamoci” project run by the Ca’ Foscari University, Venice (Italy). Over the years, she has been part of various steering groups such, for example, Artists Direct Change, an equal platform for emerging visual artists with learning disabilities created by Intoart, London.
In 2022, Alessandra was part of the Culture and Diversity Advisory Forum of the Lewisham Borough of Culture (London), and from 2018 until 2021 she was an organiser of the UK-based Migrants in Culture.
She owns three postgraduate degrees obtained with distinction: an MRes in Art Theory and Philosophy (Central Saint Martins, London, UK), an MA in Economics and Management of Cultural Activities and Tourism (Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy), and an MA in Economics and Management of Arts and Cultural Activities (Ca’ Foscari University, Venice, Italy).
CV below [please scroll down and up if you cannot see it]: