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Bibi Manavi (France/Iran, 1991) is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Paris. She graduated from Central Saint Martins – University of the Arts London, with a degree in Fine Arts in 20215. Her practice explores the thematics of memory, ecology, and cultural heritage through the medium of mirrored sculptures and photography. Rooted in the Persian craft of Aineh-Kari, her work reinterprets traditional mirror mosaic techniques through biomorphic patterns inspired by microscopic plant structures. By combining sculpture and photography, she archives disappearing flora, using reflective surfaces to dissolve the boundary between viewer and environment. Her installations engage with the fragility of ecosystems and the shifting landscapes of the Anthropocene.
Manavi’s work has been exhibited internationally in institutions. In 2023, she participated in Imprints of Iran at Cromwell Place in London and her series Memory of Walnut Trees was exhibited at MIA Fair in Milan, exploring photography as a means of ecological storytelling. She has also participated in institutional exhibitions such as Le Mont Analogue, FRAC Cham- pagne-Ardenne (FR, 2021) and Critical Zones, ZKM Karlsruhe (DE, 2020), both addressing the intersection of art, landscape, and environmental change. Alongside her artistic practice, Manavi has led curatorial projects focused on Iranian textile traditions, including Textile as Art and Stitching Baluchestan, presented at London Craft Week 2023, London.
Borgolavezzaro is a village nestled in the countryside of Novara, surrounded by rice fields and waterways that shape its landscape. Marked by the presence of water and the rhythm of the seasons, this territory offers nature trails that lead visitors through a silent landscape, rich in biodiversity.
Mentioned in documents as early as the eleventh century, the village experienced the rule of noble families such as the Visconti and the Sforza, playing a key role in the agricultural system of the Po Valley. The cultivation of rice, introduced in the fifteenth century, remained the main economic activity for centuries, with the work of the mondine (rice field workers) profoundly shaping the social life of the community.
Today, the area is enriched by green spaces of notable natural interest, such as the Campo della Ghina, the Campo della Sciura, and the Agogna Morta area—spaces regenerated through environmental protection projects that narrate a renewed bond between the community and its landscape.
The historic center preserves the Church of Santi Bartolomeo e Gaudenzio, designed by the renowned architect Alessandro Antonelli, author of the Mole Antonelliana in Turin, as well as ancient farmsteads and historic buildings that testify to the area's agricultural past.
Popular traditions and religious festivals still mark the rhythm of village life. Among the most heartfelt are the Patronal Festival of Madonna del Carmelo and the celebration of Santa Giuliana, commemorated with religious ceremonies, folkloric events, and gastronomic festivities.
Veronica Botta (Treviso, Italy, 1990) is a researcher and project manager in the field of contemporary art. Since 2024, she has led the curatorial coordination of Panorama at ITALICS and, since 2023, she has been Head of Archive and Research at Archivio Franco Mazzucchelli. Previously, she was Exhibition and Production Coordinator at MACRO – Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome and Gallery Manager at Galerie Emanuel Layr. She has collaborated with numerous public and private institutions and has been a lecturer at Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma and NABA – Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti.