Hello, I am Cristiana Bottigella.
I decided to become a mentor during the first months of Covid lockdown, when the art space I run had to shut and I realised I could still find ways to be helpful to artists by sharing my knowledge and 20 year long experience as an art professional. I applied to ACE for a DYCP grant and I used that time to explore this new path. I took training courses, I worked with a mentor myself and I started to provide & evaluate mentoring sessions to visual artists.
Since then, I continued mentoring artists on a 1 to 1 basis and in 2022 I was one of Artquest guest mentors. I also work with the Working Class Creative Network and as Access Support for artists who apply to ACE for funding.
Having started my journey in the arts as an artist in residency manager, I’ve developed a passion for helping artists develop their work as well as their practice and careers. I covered many different positions in my career but I always felt more interested in creating a relationship with artists than with the artworks. I believe artists play a unique role in our society and I want to help them fulfil their potential, particularly in current times. I can do that because I think I have complementary skills and knowledge to those artists normally have and I find it very rewarding when I can help someone plan their next steps and achieve what they wanted.
A few notes about me:
- I’m co-founder & director of hARTslane Gallery
- I’m director at Artmongers / London School of Muralism (LSOM)
- I’m co-founder of Bait al Karama, Nablus, Palestine
- I’m the author of this article & interviews on Artquest website about Self-organised Artist Residences and of this one about the PassaggiAtina Residency
- I teach short courses on sustainability and funding application writing at LSOM and at the HA! Hartslane Alternative school
- I wrote a research-paper for Artquest on The Future of International (Art) Work
- During Covid lockdown I wrote the Lockdown Chronicles and I interviewed artists with a social practice about how they sustain their creative lives.
The long version…
After a degree in contemporary art history and an MA in art management for the visual arts in Milan, I started working at the Cittadellarte – Pistoletto Foundation, where I established and headed the UNIDEE Artists in Residence programme between 2000 and 2009. Working with Michelangelo Pistoletto broadened my vision of the artist’s role in society and expanded my understanding of what art is and can do.
After moving to London in 2009 and completing an MA in cultural policy with a dissertation on social enterprises in the cultural sector, in 2011 I co-founded Bait al Karama with Fatima Kaddumy (local activist) and Beatrice Catanzaro (artist): a women-led Palestinian cookery school in the heart of the Old City of Nablus, Palestine. Travelling back and forth between London and Nablus for a few years was a fantastic opportunity to explore the region, its cultural heritage and food history and traditions. I was in charge of international fundraising and marketing as well as raising awareness about this under-represented area of gastronomy. The project sits somewhere between art and international development and has been featured in many exhibitions, awards and press.
In 2012, I co-founded and became director of hARTslane, an independent art organisation and project space focusing on community and participation. We create and produce meaningful art projects that bring people together and we strive for a more democratic and transparent art system.
Since December 2019, I have also been a director at Artmongers, an art enterprise that creates change-making murals through participatory practice and is the founder of the London School of Muralism. My role includes strategic planning, development and fundraising, although I am not involved in the day-to-day running of the organisation or painting!
I teach short courses on sustainability and funding application writing at LSOM and at the HA! Hartslane Alternative school.