Forestry England Dalby Forest, North Yorkshire
Dalby Forest Residency, Forestry England
Photoworks and Giovane Fotografia Italiana | Premio Luigi Ghirri (Young Italian Photography | Luigi Ghirri Award) are delighted to announce our selection of Camilla Marrese and Alessandro Truffa as the photographers who will undertake a one-week artists’ residency at Forestry England Dalby Forest, North Yorkshire.
Alessandro Truffa (Cuorgnè, Turin, 1996)
Alessandro is a photographer and visual artist based in Turin. The primary focus of his research revolves around the themes of care relationships and ritual traditions exploring potential correlations between photographic language and various disciplinary fields, including history and anthropology. His work has been published and shown nationally and internationally in exhibitions and fairs such as Sprint, Polycopies and Enter Enter. In 2023, he completed his studies at the ISIA of Urbino (IT) and was awarded a scholarship to publish his thesis titled “Boja Fauss” with Corraini Edizioni. In 2022 Giostre Edizioni chose to publish his series ‘Fuoco contro Fuoco’. Truffa took part in the Archivio Atena residency project in 2021 and subsequently published the outcome of the residency through Altana Club.
Camilla Marrese (Bologna, 1998)
Camilla is an Italian photographer and designer with an MA in Information Design from Design Academy Eindhoven after completing a BA in Graphic Design and Visual Communication at ISIA Urbino. Her practice combines documentary photography, design for publishing, and writing, with the goal of expressing and visualizing complex issues. Her work has been shown in group exhibitions at Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven, Fotografia Europea, Reggio Emilia, Espaço Alto, San Paolo, PhMuseum Lab, Bologna, Spazio MAD Magadino, Locarno, and Kranj Foto Fest, Slovenia. She was the recipient of the PhMuseum Criticae Prize 2022.
Camilla will undertake this Dalby residency as an artist duo with photographer and film director Gabriele Chiapparini (b. 1980, Italy). Bringing together their diverse backgrounds, they believe in collaboration as a path to transform and process individual thinking into matter for collective elaboration. Their book Thinking like an island was published in 2024 by Overlapse.
Dalby Forest has a rich history of working with artists who have used the unique past, context and landscape of the forest as creative inspiration for residencies, installations, workshops and sculpture. In the heart of 8,500 acres of woodland the artists will live and undertake research with an ecological focus amongst the breath-taking views by day, and beneath the designated as Dark Skies Discovery Site at night. The intention is that the artists will reflect upon their time in the forest and develop new work on return to Italy that can eventually be presented in an exhibition at the Courtyard Exhibition Space in the future.
This residency is proudly produced in partnership with Forestry England Dalby Forest and with support of the Italian Cultural Institute of London (ICI London). Alongside their artistic research, the artists will undertake visits and networking with national/local arts organisations and curators as well as a weekend of professional development in London, visiting key organisations and curators and networking them within the UK photography sector, and sharing their work at a public talk event at the ICI London presented by Photoworks.
About GFI | Premio Luigi Ghirri (Young Italian Photography | Luigi Ghirri Award)
GFI | Premio Luigi Ghirri is a free-of-charge opportunity for artists under 35 that promotes and showcases emerging photography talents in Italy. An international commission selects the works produced and shown in a group exhibition at Palazzo dei Musei in Reggio Emilia as part of the European Photography Festival. Artists should submit a project fitting the theme of each edition, including images with descriptions and install proposals.
Promoted by the Municipality of Reggio Emilia, in partnership with the Italian Cultural Institute of Stockholm (ICI Stockholm), supported by Reire srl and Giovani Imprenditori, Unindustria Reggio Emilia. In collaboration with GAI – Italian Young Artists Association; Fotografia Europea, Reggio Emilia; Fotofestiwal Lodz; Photoworks, Brighton; Fotodok, Utrecht.
About Forestry England, Dalby Forest
Forestry England is an executive agency, sponsored by the Forestry Commission. Forestry England manages more land and trees than any other organisation in England. We provide hundreds of car parks, maintain thousands of miles of trails, and plant millions of trees. We reinvest into the woodlands that Forestry England cares for to be able to grow more forests, create more habitats for wildlife and extend our visitor offer to improve people’s wellbeing. Our woodlands provide inspiration for contemporary artists who respond to these environments in different ways. Forestry England Arts offers up new ways to interact with our forests through sculpture, music, photography and digital art.
Dalby Forest, in the heart of the North York Moors National Park offers the perfect place to escape, relax and adventure. Home to over 8,500 acres of breath-taking views, endless walking, running and cycle trails and an ever-evolving selection of artworks. Dalby Forest is home to an abundance of internationally important wildlife species and is also a designated Dark Sky Discovery Site, where you can experience the magic of seeing the Milky Way with the naked eye. Dalby Forest has hosted artists for many years, providing a place to create unique pieces, inspired by the stories of the forest and its naturally distinctive qualities and landscape. The arts are dotted throughout the forest, to tell each story in a purposefully selected location, bringing the forest and the art to life.
Our contemporary arts offer includes workshops, exhibitions and installations all year round
About the Italian Cultural Institute of London (ICI London)
The Italian Cultural Institute of London is the official Italian governmental body dedicated to promoting the Italian language and culture in England and Wales.
