The Venturoli Artistic College is a cultural space founded in Bologna 1826 according to the will of the architect Angelo Venturoli, who gave residence and teaching to young students in Visual Arts and Architecture. The Foundation continues its mission today by supporting young artists with the award of scholarships and spaces for artist studies.
To give us access to this beautiful Collegio, the artist and director Daniela Olivieri. Born in Bologna, she weaves scientific research together with ancestral knowledge to construct tales about the human body and the natural world. Through a diverse artistic practice, which encompasses ceramics, textiles, performance, writing, and drawing, the works are invitations to fearlessly navigate the nuances of personal growth and renovation.
We have asked her a bit more about her story and the history of the Collegio.
Which is your role in the College and how long have you been working here?
I entered the Collegio Venturoli winning a scholarship and an atelier to carry out my artistic activity in 1998. At the end of the artist’s residency, I made small collaborations with the Foundation becoming a tutor of scholarship holders. Today I am also a member of the board and I act as artistic director on the content.
What is the most rewarding/interesting aspect about collaborating with the college?
The FoundationCollegio Artistico Venturoli hosts artist residences from 1825 to today, and has an important archive that allows you to connect the past with the present. It’s a privilege to study and see from within the growth of artistic talent over time, so it’s important to make it known by opening the Foundation to the public with specific projects.
Tell us about an interesting or curious detail of the college you discovered during the restoration
During the excavations carried out in the internal garden, the president of the Dante Mazza Foundation found a small object wrapped in plastic with care. It was the spark plug of the moped of the caretaker wrapped in a note, which explained how it was a joke of a student at the expense of the guardian of the College. The joke could go back to the 1950s.
A secret spot in Bologna that gives you special inspiration for your artistic works?
My favorite place is the Anatomical Theatre of the Archiginnasio, but I would also like to mention the wonderful collection and Wunderkammer of Ulisse Aldrovandi in the Museum of Palazzo Poggi.
Favorite city of Italy (after Bologna) and why?
I love Palermo because it is a "skinned" city, it reveals itself in all its fragility but full of glory and monumental discoveries.