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Simon Olmetti

I’m an artist and researcher based in London, originally from Italy. I've just finished a PhD in Fine Arts at the University for the Creative Arts (in partnership with UAL). I’ve gained an MA in Art Photography from Westminster University and studied painting and performance at various institutions, including Central Saint Martins  and LADA (Live Art Development Agency).

My practice focuses on queering the land, particularly through spirituality. I'm drawn to liminal spaces like forests, stone circles and other places connected to some form of spirituality and mythology. I consider queering as an act of (re)appropriation and transformation, in order to free it from centuries of patriarchal oppression. My research is guided by the use of queer ecology and eco-feminism, together with neomaterialist and post-natural notions of matter as vibration, energy and intrinsically queer. The aim is to reclaim the land, recuperating the past in order to create new possibilities and futures, through video, photography, drawing, sculptural forms and installations.

Education:

PhD in Fine Arts at University for the Creative Arts, Farnham (in partnership with University of the Arts London), Sep. 2019 – Nov. 2023

Master of Fine Arts, Photography at University of Westminster, London,  2011-2013

Solo Exhibition:

Queer Land(s), James Hockey Gallery, UCA Farnham, Jan-Feb. 2023

Commissions:

Queer Stone Circle, commissioned by Surrey Hills Arts and National Trust, Box Hill, Oct. 2023

Queer Stone Circle, commissioned by William Morris Gallery, London, Feb. 2024

Selected Group Exhibitions:

Visions in the Nunnery, Bow Arts, London, Oct.- Dec. 2022

They/Them/Their: Naturally Not Binary, ITM Gallery, London, Aug. 2022

Queer/in/g/Nature, Ledward Centre, Brighton, May-July 2022

Queer Photography, Ledward Centre, Brighton, Nov. 2021

Practice as Research, UCA Foyer, Farnham, Oct. – Nov. 2021

Materiality and Landscape (second instalment), UCA Project Space Tap Brewery, Folkestone, July 2021

Materiality and Landscape (first instalment), UCA Project Space Tap Brewery, Folkestone, Sep. 2020

Fountayne Road Open Warehouse, London, Aug. 2018

Brighton Photo Fringe, King’s House, Brighton, Oct. 2016

Art Residency Final Show, Stiwdio Maelor, Corris, Wales, Aug. 2016

R.U.N. Experimental Performance Collective, Café Cairo, London, Feb 2016

In the Spirit of Place, St. Mary’s Church, Merton, London, Sep. 2015

In Motion, Stiwdio Maelor, Corris, Wales, May 2015

Open Studio, 47-51 Hawks Road, Kingston-upon-Thames, Nov. 2014

Concours Photo Marseille 2013, 2e et 3e Town Hall of Marseille, France, Mar 2014

MA Final Show, Ambika P3 gallery, 35-100 Marylebone Road, London, Mar 2014

 

Residencies and prizes:

awarded the Make It Happen's grant by Waltham Forest Arts and Culture, 2023

art residency at Stiwdio Maelor, Corris, Wales, Aug. 2016

shortlisted for the Athens Photo Festival, Greece, July 2015

Tri-pod art project, Brighton, Apr. 2014 – Apr 2015

Publications/articles:

Queer Land(s), https://www.uca.ac.uk/events/galleries/queer-lands/

Nature is Queer, https://www.seasbrighton.org/post/nature-is-queer

They, Them, Their: 'Naturally Not Binary' at IMT gallery, https://awayfromthegrain.com/2022/08/16/they-them-their-naturally-not-binary-at-imt-gallery/

Being LGBTQ+ is the most natural thing in the world, new exhibition on 'queering nature' shows, https://bit.ly/3PpxOn3

Socially Engaged Art Salon (SEAS), https://www.seasbrighton.org/post/simon-olmetti

Folkestone Is an Art School: Matter of Circulationhttps://bit.ly/3Qxbc5m and video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsJlpoy_vSw

Queer in Exile (2020), https://queerinexileart.wordpress.com/catalogue/

Stiwdio Maelor artist in residence, https://stiwdiomaelor.com/artist-in-residence-2016/simon-olmetti-england/

 

Conferences:

Queer Land (Oct. 2021) at the conference Matter of Circulation, part of Folkestone Triennial

Queer Land (Sep. 2021) at the conference Dreaming of Another Place, University of Brighton

Worlds Within Worlds (Sep. 2021) at UCA Farnham

Research Network UAL (Feb. 2021 and Jun. 2020) at University for the Arts London

Queer Futurity (Mar. 2020) at the student-led conference Futurity, at UCA Farnham.

Academic Published articles:

Land, Spirit and Queerness, MeCCSA vol. 16 No. 1 (2023), https://ojs.meccsa.org.uk/index.php/netknow/article/view/673

Continuous Development and Training:

Painting and personal inspiration, Central Saint Martin College of Art, London, Mar. 2018

Cyanotype workshop at OSE (Open School East), London, Nov. 2016

DIY professional development by LADA (Live Art Development Agency): 342843 DavidBowie: Bowie, Stargazing and Performance Writing, Colchester, Sep. 2016

Performance/live art workshop at deLuxe, London, Jun. 2016

Participatory Learning for Young People, a teaching workshop, Community Programme Department, Photofusion, London, May 2016

Performance workshop with Harold Offeh: Play It Again, ArtsAdmin, Toynbee Studios, London, Feb. 2016

Future Focus, Photofusion, part of LCN-London Creative Network, London, Sep. 2015

Screen printing course, London Print Studio, London, Feb. 2015

Wetplate collodion course, Double Negative Darkroom, London, Feb. 2013

Portrait Photography Course, Central Saint Martin College of Art, London, Jun. 2011

Final Cut Pro 7 course at Alchemea College, London, Apr. 2011

 

Other work:

Visiting Lecturer at UCA and the Royal College of Art

I worked at the Chisenhale Gallery, London as Event Staff and Front of House, Jan. 2017 – Mar. 2019

Contact Me

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