Dr Elena Cologni

Elena Cologni For media enquiries please contact the Press Team
Associate Professor
Faculty:
Faculty of Arts, Humanities, Education and Social Sciences
School:
Cambridge School of Art
Location:
Cambridge
Research Supervision:
Yes
Courses taught:

Elena is Associate Professor of Contemporary Art and Critical Practice and Course Director for the MA Art, Health and Wellbeing. She develops dialogic sculptural and situated artistic strategies for observing, recording and stimulating an awareness of experiences of the everyday.

Within this context she creates instruments to facilitate the sharing of insights, the location of situated knowledges and arising of new questions from within our relations with one another, place and the environment.

This is done through an interdisciplinary approach where artistic research intersects with environmental psychology, care ethics, philosophy, and gender studies, resulting in dialogic sculptures, public interventions, performance scores, and drawings.

See Elena's publications on ORCID

Current positions:

External Positions:

Previous Positions


Visit Elena's website

[email protected]

Background

Elena’s work consistently advanced academic research and artistic practice and contributed to shaping different debates in society and new contexts of knowledge. Since the late 90’s her work has impacted younger generations of artists, curators and academics in areas such as, including art practice as research methodologies; epistemological problems around the document of live performance and of dialogic approaches; power dynamics in the artist/participants relationship; processes of perception and memorisation in relation to place and technologies; (un)monumentality; dialogic approaches as caring practices; care feminist aesthetics, and more.

These have been developed through many projects and collaborations, with fellow artists, curators and institutions alike, including: Getty Research Institute; MLAC Museum, Sapienza Università di Roma; University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Mathias Botanical Garden; Drew University, US); Venice Biennale; Università di Pisa (Italy), Heliopolis 21 Architects; Homerton College (University of Cambridge); University of Lincoln; Centre for Family Research (University of Cambridge); Women Art Collection at Edward Murray College (University of Cambridge); Freud Museum in London; Faculty of Education, and Faculty of Experimental Psychology (University of Cambridge); Wysing Arts Centre; Colchester Arts Centre; GAMeC Museum, Bergamo, Italy; GAM and neon, Bologna; Galleria Artra Milan; MK Gallery Milton Keynes; Bergamo Scienza; National Portrait Gallery, London; Tate Modern, London; Glasgow international Biennale; Yorkshire Sculpture Park; University of the Arts London, and more.

Spoken Languages
  • Italian
  • English
Research interests
  • Dialogic sculpture
  • research as art practice methodologies and within interdisciplinary approaches
  • relational, participatory and dialogic art approaches
  • place attachment, place making and site responsive practices
  • eco feminism and female environmental art practices
  • art in relation to visual perception and cognition, and processes of memorisation
  • feminist care aesthetics, art and well-being
Teaching

Elena leads on the module 'Care Ethics and Art: Place, Environment, and Community' within the MA Art, Health and Wellbeing course.

She supervises PhD students in the Cambridge School of Art and contributes to the program of PGR research training with her art practice research expertise.

Qualifications

Elena gained a BA in Fine Art from Accademia di Belle Arti Brera in Milan, an MA in Sculpture from Bretton Hall College, Leeds University and a PhD in Fine Art and Philosophy (The Artist’s Performative Practice within the Anti-Ocularcentric Discourse) from University of the Arts London, Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design, 2004.

Memberships, editorial boards

Memberships

Editorial Boards

Research grants, consultancy, knowledge exchange

Awards

  • Practicing Feminist Care Aesthetics, The Getty Research Institute (LA) grant (2023/2025), in collaboration with MLAC Museum, Sapienza Università di Roma, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Mathias Botanical Garden
  • Co-I with HoS Observatory for a better future: Wysing Arts Centre and Cambridge School of Art, the Collaboration Fund, Arts Humanities and Social Science Faculty, ARU Higher Education Innovation Fund 2022/23
  • PI Social Innovation Fund Arts Humanities and Social Science Faculty, ARU. British Council, Venice Biennale fellowship scheme 2022, 2021, 2020
  • PI Social Innovation Fund Arts Humanities and Social Science Faculty, ARU. Uncovered: How do you do Research Through Art? (Cambridge Festival)
  • PI DYP grant - Arts Council England (2022) The Places of Memory, Develop Your Artistic Practice - Arts Council England, 2022 (Universita’ di Pisa, Heliopolis21 Architects, NY Institute of Technology) resulting in public art commissioned, in collaboration with local communities, and supported by CSA (ARU) (ongoing).
  • Placing Interconnectivity, IKT- International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art, Harald Szeeman prize, 2021, curator Gabi Scardi
  • Emergency grants for individuals - Arts Council England, 2020, (Wysing Arts Centre)
  • Seeds of Attachment - The Shape of the Public’s Health award - first prize - Royal Society for Public Health in collaboration with the Royal Society of Sculptors 2019
  • PI Practices of care as ecofeminist and spatialized art - Artist International Development Fund - British Council and Arts Council England, 2018 Quality Research funding AHSS Faculty ARU on women's labour and architecture resulting in The Body of/at Work at the Venice Biennale 2021/ongoing.
  • Artist Bursaries - Artists Newsletter, 2018, as above.
  • PI Seeds of Attachment Grants for the Arts - Arts Council England, 2016 in collaboration with the Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge and exhibited at the Women Art Collection at Edward Murray College of the University of Cambridge and the Freud Museum in London (Research Excellence Framework 2021 submission).
  • PI Gropius' Impington. Art and Rural Communities Grants for the Arts - Arts Council England, 2014
  • PI Rockfluid. Shaping memory in transit, Escalator program Visual art, and Live art - Grants for the Arts - Arts Council England, 2011 (Faculty of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge, in collaboration with Colchester Arts Centre and Wysing Arts Centre)
  • PI Geomemos, Grants for the Arts - Arts Council England, 2009 (Yorkshire Sculpture Park)
  • PI Present Memory and Liveness in Delivery and Reception of Video Documentation during Performance Art Events - Award for the Creative and Performing Arts - Arts and Humanities Research Council, 2004 (Central Saint Martins College, University of the Arts London)
  • Research Scholarship - University of the Arts, London, 1999

Residencies including:

  • Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Venice, Italy 2020/21
  • Margaret Lowenfeld Library, Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge 2016
  • Frei_Raum Q21, MuseumsQuartier, Vienna, Austria, 2016
  • UNESCO/European Funding - IArts Residency, 2015
  • Radio Materiality, Vessel, Bari, Italy, 2013
  • Faculty of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge, 2011
  • GEOMEMOS, Yorkshire Sculpture Park 2009
  • Creative Lab Residency - Centre for Contemporary Art, Glasgow, 2006
Selected recent publications

Cologni, E. (2026) Art Practice as Research as Art. From Performance to Dialogic Sculptures: Practicing an Impactful Feminist Care Aesthetics. In Theories And Practices Of Contemporary Artistic Research: A Multidisciplinary Approach International Seminar, Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera Milan. (Conference Proceedings).

From The Home To The Planet. A Dialogue Between Elena Cologni And Mother Art Collective, (2025) MLAC Museum, Sapienza Università di Roma, in collaboration with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Mathias Botanical Garden (exhibition).

Cologni, E. (2025) (Un)Monuments of the Everyday: The Body of/at Work. In City, Public Space, and Body. The Embodied Experience of Urban Life. Routledge (Chapter)

Practicing Care through Art. A new Care Aesthetics, Cambridge Festival 2025. Anglia Ruskin University, 19 Mar 2025 - 04 Apr 2025 (Virtual Exhibition)

Visse, M.A., Cologni, E. (2024). Art for the sake of care. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 25 (edited special issue)

Cologni, E. (2024) Percipience, Embodiment, Contamination(s). Practicing a Feminist Care Aesthetics. International Journal of Education and the Arts 25(1. Art for the Sake of Care: Learning from Artistic Practice and Inquiry) (Journal article)

Cologni, E. (2024) Art for the Sake of Care: Editorial Introduction International Journal of Education and the Arts 25(1. Art for the Sake of Care.) (Journal article)

Cologni, E (2024) Mother(ings): From the Home to the Planet. A Dialogue between Mother Art Collective and Elena Cologni International Journal of Education and the Arts 25 (Art for the Sake of Care.) (Journal article)

Cologni, E. (2024) 416_SR1938. The presence of memory in the perceptual experience In The Architecture of Exhibitions. Experiential Design. Routledge (Chapter)

Cologni, E, (2023) 416_SR1938, Universita’ di Pisa, Italy (permanent public art commission installed, design approved in 2022)

Elena Cologni: Pratiche di Cura o Del Cur(v)are, (2021) curator Gabi Scardi, at Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Venice (solo exhibition accompanied by catalogue)

Cologni, E. (2022) ‘Curare (con) nello spazio pubblico’. In Menichini, D. And Medas, B. (eds) Sofferenze urbane. L’abitare in tempo di crisi. Edizioni ETS, Pisa (chapter)

Cologni, E. (2022) ‘lo scarto (touch), in Bradfield, M., Cremona, C., McDonnell, A., Sajovic, E (Eds) Transacting as Art, Design and Architecture. A Non-Commercial Market. Intellect. P 126/127 (chapter)

Cologni, E. (2022) 'To Handle Detachment (in action and at rest)’ in “Here. Between Not-yet and No-more”, Galleria Milano (9 May-30 June 2022), Italy (participatory installation)

Cologni, E. and Scardi, G. (2022) ‘Cura: Spazi, Collocazioni, Connettivita’, Care: Spacings, Collocations, Connectivity’. In Melis, A. Comunita’ Resilienti. Resilient Communities. Contributi Transdisciplinari Volume 02. Catalogo del Padiglione Italia Comunita’ Resilienti alla Biennale Architettura 2021. D Editore. Pp. 230/237)

Cologni, E., (2022) ‘(Un)Monuments of the Everyday. Marking the Journey from Home to Work through the Experience of Venetian Weaving Factory’s Workers’. In Representing Pasts – Visioning Futures Conference 01-03 December 2022 AMPS, Queen’s University Belfast, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, National University of Singapore. (conference Proceedings)

Cologni, E. (2021) ‘Care, Space, Relations’. Creative Resilience. Moleskine notebook special edition (section in notebook)

Cologni, Elena (2021) Figura/Sfondo. Un dialogo | Foreground/Background. A dialogue. In: Università di Pisa : Obiettivo 5 : il Polo della Memoria SR1938. Pisa University Press, pp. 33-36. ISBN 978-88-3339-613-2 (chapter)

Cologni, Elena (2021) Pilastri invisibili. Il ruolo delle donne ebree nella storia dell'emancipazione della condizione della donna italia | Invisible pillars. The role of jewish women in the history of the women emancipation of Italy. In: Università di Pisa: Obiettivo 5 : il Polo della Memoria SR1938. Pisa University Press, pp. 137-143. (chapter)

Cologni, E. (2021/ongoing), The Body of/at Work series, Resilient Communities, Italian Pavilion, curator Alessandro Melis, 17th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, various contexts including 2021 Placing Interconnectivity, Parco Sempione, Milan, curator Gabi Scardi, and in conversation with Elke Krasny and Francesca Picchi. (public art performance series)

Cologni, E. (2020) ‘Affordances of spaces’, remote experiential exercises, Ars Electronica, Garden of … Knowledge for Humanity, Austria

Keene, Melanie and Held, Virginia and Cunningham, Peter and Scardi, Gabi and Cologni, Elena (2020) CARE: from periphery to centre. Homerton College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

Cologni, E (2018/) CARE: from periphery to centre, Homerton College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK (solo exhibition and permanent commission)

Cologni, E. (2020). Caring-With Dialogic Sculptures. A Post-Disciplinary Investigation into Forms of Attachment. PsicoArt – Rivista Di Arte E Psicologia, 10(10), 19–64. (article)

Cologni, E. (2020) Eidotypes of difference as cure. From the series of experiential exercises: a) measurement of attachment to a place, in autoprogettazione, Curators: Merola, T., Pellegrini, N., Trevisan, B. Galleria Milano, Italy (virtual exhibition)

Cologni, E., (2019) On Care, and Finding the Cur(v)e. A Geometry of Difference Through Caring, The Paradox European Fine Art biennial forum Art Future / Future Signs The future of contemporary fine art research and education 2019 in Riga, Latvia (Conference Proceedings)

Cologni, E. (2018). 'Locating Oneself', in Capucci, Copolletta (Eds) The New and History – art*science 2017/Leonardo 50 Proceedings.Noema Media and Publishing (ISBN 978-88-909189-7-1) (chapter)

Cologni, E. (2017/18) '...And Encounter', Women’s Art Collection, Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge, Elisa Gluckman (solo exhibition)

Cologni, E. (2016) 'Lived Dialectics Movement And Rest', Q21/museumsquartier, Vienna, Austria (Gulsen Bal, Walter Seidl) (public art performance)

Cologni, E. (2016). 'A Dialogic Approach For The Artist As An Interface In An Intercultural Society'. In Burnard, Mackinlay, Powell, The Routledge International Handbook of Intercultural Arts Research New York, London: Routledge (chapter)

Cologni, E. (2016) 'Structures of Support', the Nunnery, London (curators Tessa Garland, Cinzia Cremona) (public art performance)

Cologni, E., Jones, R., 'Seeds of Attachment' in Indialogue Biannual conference 2016, Nottingham Contemporary (invited speaker) proceedings

Recent presentations and conferences

Cologni, E. Artists’ collaboration contributing to an aesthetic of care in Per un’estetica della cura. Riflessioni sull’opera di Mother Art Collective ed Elena Cologni. (2025) contributions from Raffaella Perna, Caterina Iaquinta, Gabi Scardi, Elisabetta Garletti, Ashley McNelis. At MLAC Museum, Sapienza Università di Roma, in collaboration the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Mathias Botanical Garden (exhibition), accompanying the exhibition From The Home To The Planet. A Dialogue Between Elena Cologni And Mother Art Collective.

Cologni, E. (2025) Percipience, Embodiment, Contamination(s). Practicing a Feminist Care Aesthetics 3rd International Care Ethics Research Consortium Conference: Care, Aesthetics, and Repair, University of Humanistic Studies, Department of Care Ethics, Utrecht, The Netherlands, 23 Jan 2025 - 25 Jan 2025. (Conference paper)

Cologni, E. (2025) From Performance to Dialogic Sculptures: Practicing An Impactful Feminist Care Aesthetics (at 5:22:00 in video) in Theories And Practices Of Contemporary Artistic Research: A Transdisciplinary Approach International Seminar, Accademia di Breara, Milan 18 Mar 2025 (invited speaker)

Cologni E. (2023) Towards a Feminist Care Aesthetics in Maternity & Care, a Medical and Health Humanities colloquium, Drew University US, including Van Nistelrooij, I., Miller, M., chaired by Visse, M.

Cologni, E., and Wilson, E. (2023) Art Place and Wellbeing Fora, The Culture Capital Exchange – Art and Wellbeing strand. Invited as their Art and Heath 2022/23 Academic Lead

Bungay, H., Cologni, E., Kersey, T., Odell-Miller, H. (2022) Re-mapping the state of arts, health, and wellbeing research at ARU.

Cologni, E., Visse., M (2022) Art & Care, study day (resumed). Cambridge School of Art ARU, Drew University (US) Cambridge Festival (including 15 presenters)

Cologni, E., (2022) ‘(Un)Monuments of the Everyday. Marking the Journey from Home to Work through the Experience of Venetian Weaving Factory’s Workers’. In ‘Lived Space, Past and Present’ (art and design) strand of Representing Pasts – Visioning Futures Conference 01-03 December 2022 AMPS, Queen’s University Belfast, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, National University of Singapore.

Cologni, E., Visse., M (2021) Art & Care, study day. Cambridge School of Art ARU, Drew University (US) Cambridge Festival

Cologni, E., Scardi, G., Krasny, E., Reckitt, H. Rudd, N., Facchin. V., Vanore, M., Melis. A., Visse, M. (2021) Elena Cologni. The Body of/at Work, 9 November 2021, in Resilient Communities, Italian Pavilion, La Biennale di Venezia (symposium)

Meschini, E.R., Meli, C., Cologni, E., (2021) Spazio singolare plurale. Ricerche e pratiche artistiche tra spazio pubblico e privato, (Singular plural space. Research and artistic practices between public and private space), Connecting Cultures

Cologni, E., (2021) “The journey from home to work through the experience of the Venice Weaving Factory’s workers”, City, Public Space & Body conference, Goldsmiths, University of London

Cologni, Bal, Pinchbeck (2020) ‘Talk #39: Dr Gulsen Bal and Dr Michael Pinchbeck in conversation with Dr Elena Cologni about dialogic and situated artistic strategies’ in Bunker Talks series, Manchester School of Art, Manchester Metropolitan University

Cologni, E., (2021) ‘Distance and Social Engaged Art: What’s Next?’ in Oh Brave New World Research Conference, 24 June 2021 Anglia Ruskin University

Cologni, E., Scardi, G., Krasny, E., Picchi, F., (2021) ‘Placing Interconnectivity’ IKT- International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art Congress

Cologni, E. (2020). ‘Prendersi cura (con) e distanziamento fisico’ (‘Caring (with) and Physical Dinstancing). In ‘Diversità Equità Inclusione-Strumenti Di Resilienza Urbana La Prospettiva Femminile’ (Difference Fairness Inclusion – tools for urban resilience from the woman Perspective) Scali Urbani conference, Livorno, Italy

Cologni, E., (2020) ‘On Care, And Finding the Cur(v)e. A Geography of Difference Through Caring’, in ‘Ecologies of Care: Feminist Activism’ panel curator Basia Sliwinska, 108TH CAA Annual Conference, Chicago (performance)

Cologni, E., (2019) ‘Intraplaces, Ecofeminism, Care and Spatialized Art’, 107TH CAA Annual Conference, New York.

Cologni, E., (2019) ‘Gropius' Off-Cuts’ in Thinking Through... Design: Between Urban and Rural, De La Warr Pavilion Bexhill on Sea, convened by UCL Urban Laboratory (invited speaker)

Cologni, E., Keene, M, (2018) CARE: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives, Homerton College, University of Cambridge, including CARE in the early 20th century, and CARE today. Speakers: Peter Cunningham (Homerton College), Francesca Moore (Homerton College), Jessica Meyer (Leeds University), Melanie Keene (Homerton College), Philip Stephenson (Homerton College), Elena Cologni, Gabi Scardi (Università Cattolica di Milano), Peggy Watson (Homerton College) ollege). This accompanied Cologni E 250th anniversary art exhibition and commission

Cologni, E., (2018), Attachment & Intraplaces: Discussing a Nomadic and Dialogic Approach in Spatialized Art Practice, introduced by Curator Jamie Reurs, Freud Museum, London, 21 January, 2018, Freud Museum, London, London (artist talk and exhibition)

Cologni, E., Buckingham, S. (2018), Intraplaces: Dialogues Without Words, Freud Museum, London, London (participatory presentation)

Cologni, E., Buckingham, S., Bavidge J., chaired by Gluckman, (2017) E., Nomadic and Diologic: Art and Ecofeminism, The Women Art Collection, Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge. This accompanied Cologni E solo exhibition …and encounter, at the women art collection, Cambridge University (symposium)

Cologni, E. (2016) Indisciplined, London LASER (a project of Leonardo® /ISAST, the International Society for Art, Science and Technology), organised by Heather Barnett, University of the Arts London, Central Saint Martins and University of Westminster (CREAM)

Cologni, E., Connerton, P., (2016) Lo Scarto (touch) in Building Interdisciplinary Bridges Across Cultures, Conference, Cambridge University (action and paper)

Cologni, E. (2015) Artistic Research: Practice and Research redefining each other, University of Cambridge, Faculty of Education, Graduate School