The Italian Cultural Institute in London, Photoworks, and the Royal Geographical Society are pleased to announce that artist Erdiola Kanda Mustafaj has been selected as the recipient of the Hidden Narratives Residency, where she will spend a year immersing herself in the historic Collections of the Royal Geographical Society and engaging with materials in relation to the environment and the humanitarian.
Throughout the course of the residency, Erdiola will have 3 separate research and presentation visits to the UK, to spend time at the Royal Geographical Society archive, working with the archive team, including mentoring from Photoworks. She will give a talk to share work and research in progress at Summit Photo 2026 (17-19 July), with the final presentations taking place during Summit Photo 2027.
Photography, Photo Rag Baryta Hahnemühle – 145x100cm
Exhibited at Giovane Fotografia Italiana (Reggio Emilia) 2025
Erdiola Kanda Mustafaj is an Albanian/Italian multi-disciplinary artist based in Paris, working across photography, video installation and sound. Her research lies at the intersection of memory, displacement and the politics of image-making. In this residency, Erdiola will bring the archive into conversation with her project Pasqyra e Lendes, Albanian for sommarium or literally mirror of matter.
The Hidden Narratives Residency is a partnership between Photoworks, The Royal Geographical Society and the Italian Cultural Institute in London, focussed on developing archive residencies and programmes for Italian photographers to access career-defining opportunities.
