Francesca is working as free-lance sculptor creating sculptural- and scenic projects, furthermore collaborating with german and international artists.

You previously studied art in your home country of Italy and sculpture in France. What field do you work in today?
Before studying stage design and scenic design, I studied art in Italy. Today I mainly work as a sculptor for the opera. For me, this is an absolutely wonderful ‘interface’ between the fields I have learnt. I occasionally have commissions as a set and costume designer and exhibit my own installations, sculptures and paintings as an artist. Most recently, my works were on display at the Moabit art festival ‘Ortstermine’ and in the Uferhallen in Wedding.

I enjoy working as a freelancer, especially as a sculptor. I can organise my work myself and have a ‘normal’ evening off. Of course, I sometimes work late into the night on my favourite projects 🙂

What expectations did you have when you started the Master’s degree programme in Stage Design_Scenic Space? Have your goals changed during your studies?
My expectations were to broaden my professional horizons, my skills in related areas and, of course, to deepen my artistic interests. The free approach in the projects suited me very well. However, the realisations have taught me that working as a stage designer also means having to organise a lot, which reduces the really creative concept and work phases by 20 percent.

And what does your working method look like? Is there a difference for you between visual art and scenography? You come from sculpture. Do you approach a piece or a creative task with sculptural means?
When designing a space artistically, I tend to work intuitively and often with abstract means and forms. In scenography, on the other hand, it is important for me to keep the narrative thread alongside the associative. Methodologically, I learnt a lot from the seminar on plot analysis together with the directing students at the Ernst-Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin.

What memories do you associate with your studies?
Getting to know fantastic people!