about

Elisabetta Cociani was born in Spilimbergo (Italy) in 1972. She lived in Peschiera del Garda until 1991 and then moved to Milan, where she graduated in Architecture at
the Politecnico. During her university years, she began to be passionate about photography. In 1995, after seeing an August Sander retrospective in Germany, she realized that her future would be as a photographer and not as an architect.
She graduated in photography at CFB Bauer (Milan) and began working as an iconographic researcher for Panorama (a weekly magazine of Mondadori) and the De Bellis and Contrasto photo agencies. She is co-curator of the books ” L’emozione del grigio. Fotografia nella periferia nord di Milano” and “Milano Sud. Sei fotografi raccontano.” She was an assistant to photojournalist Mauro Galligani for five years. She is a freelance photographer, mainly in the editorial field. In 2009 she co-founded the collective MICRO. Their first project, “Voices from Italy”, involved 20 photographers from all Italian regions. She was involved both as a curator and a photographer for the Veneto region. Since 2003 she has been carrying on long-term projects.
After the birth of her two daughters, she devoted herself to personal photographic projects, focusing on family history, family relationships and motherhood.
She teaches photography and organizes photography courses and workshops for children and young people. Together with Lisa Ghezzi and Tiziana Piras, she is the creator of the Strabilia project that consists of urban explorations for children, teens and adults in the neighbourhoods of Dergano and Bovisa (Milan) using the democratic and inclusive language of photography for collecting and valuing the stories of places and people.
She participated in several photography workshops with Roberto Salbitani, Machiel Botman, Arthur Herrman, Hannes Wanderer and Michael Ackerman.
In 2017 she attended the masterclass “Seeing is believing” conducted by Joakim Eskildsen at Micamera, Milan.
She lives and works in Milan.

EDUCATION and TRAINING
2021 – Workshop with Michael Ackerman, Milan, Italy
2020 – Photoshop Masterclass with Giulia Bianchi, Ida Fotografia, Milan, Italy
2018 – Workshop with Michael Ackerman, Milan, Italy
2017 – Masterclass “Seeing is Believing” with Joakim Eskildsen, Hannes Wanderer, Giulia Zorzi, Micamera, Milan, Italy
2016 – Photoshop CC Course, CFP Bauer, Milan, Italy
2015 – Workshop “Common Ground” with Arthur Herrman, Micamera, Milan, Italy
2013 – Summer Camp “The Photographic Bookdummy” with Machiel Botman, Micamera, Trebbia Valley, Italy
2002 – Diploma Photo Assistant, CFP Bauer, Milan
2001 – Workshop “Il Viaggio, l’Album personale” with Roberto Salbitani, Spilimbergo (PN), Italy
2001 – Workshop with Roberto Salbitani, Vercelli
2000 – Master’s Degree Architecture, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
1991 – Classical High School Diploma, Liceo Classico Scipione Maffei, Verona, Italy

WORK EXPERIENCE
2006-ongoing – freelance photographer
2019-ongoing – photography workshops for children and teenagers
2017-ongoing – photography teacher
2010-2011 – Co-curator of the Voices From Italy project
2009 – Co-founder of MICRO Collective
2006-2011 – Assistant for Mauro Galligani, Milan, Italy
2004 – Co-curator of the book “Milano Sud. Sei fotografi raccontano”, Ed. Obiettivo Città
2002-2005 – Photo Editing and Research, Contrasto Photographic Agency, Milan, Italy
2002 – Co-curator of the book “L’emozione del grigio. Fotografia nella periferia nord di Milano”, Ed. Obiettivo Città
2001-2001 – Photo Editing and Research, De Bellis Photographic Agency, Milan, Italy
2000-2001 – Photo Editing and Research for Panorama magazine, Mondadori, Segrate, Milan, Italy

EXHIBITIONS

2024 – April – “El Pinela de Derghen”, Strabilia project in collaboration with Anpi “Martiri di Dergano”, Rifugio Antiaereo 87 Vilea Bodio, Milano, Italy
2022 – June – “El Pinela de Derghen”, Strabilia project in collaboration with Anpi “Martiri di Dergano”, Nuovo Armenia, Milano, Italy
2017 – June – “Svetlana” at Milano Photo Week, “Fotografare Storie. 5 mostre d’autore”, Collective screening, Galleria “Il Vicolo”, Milan, Italy
2016 – June-July – “My name was Kocijančič” – Galleria SP3, Treviso, Italy
2014 – October – “My Siblings” at Atlante.it, SIFEST, Collective exhibition – Savignano sul Rubicone (RM), Italy
2012 – May – “Svetlana” at PICS&PLOT, IC Visual Lab, , Collective screening  – Bristol, UK,
2011 – October – “Voices from Italy”, Collective exhibition at Fotoleggendo – ISA, Rome Italy
2011 – March – “Voices from Italy”, Collective exhibition – Area Pergolesi, Milan, Italy
2003 – April – “L’emozione del grigio. Fotografia nella periferia nord di Milano”, Collective exhibition – Foyer of Teatro Parenti, Milan, Italy
2002 –  September – “Elementi di un territorio”, Collective exhibition – Biblioteca Dergano-Bovisa, Milan, Italy
2002 – July – “Milano vissuta, Milano immaginata”, Collective exhibition – C.S. Leoncavallo, Milan, Italy

FEATURES, INTERVIEWS
Life Framer
Kiosk der Demokratie – Kiosk of Democracy
Square Magazine
Don’t Smile – Cullare
Underexposed Magazine
BrowniE
Don’t Smile: Year Two
kwerfeldein
Kiosk der Demokratie – Kiosk of Democracy
Icon
Fototazo
Voices from Italy Blog