Works

Artist & Filmmaker · born in Barletta, Italy · Based in Berlin & Rome

Mario Rizzi works in film and multi-screen video installation, employing long-term research that bridges documentary and constructed narrative. His practice is built on deep immersion within communities shaped by displacement, exclusion, and human rights violations. Resisting conventional documentary forms, his films build meaning directly from his relationships with those portrayed. Through documents, testimonies, and oral narratives, he constructs a counter-archive that makes visible what official records often exclude. His work operates as a precise mediation of lives marked by borders and uprooting, concentrating on the collective memories and individual stories of people caught between places, cultures, and value systems.

His work has been shown at Tate Modern, Van Abbemuseum, MoMA PS1, MAXXI, and major biennials including Sydney, Istanbul, Taipei, and Helsinki, as well as the Berlin Film Festival Competition (2008, 2013). His work is held in collections including MoMA and the Sharjah Art Foundation. He is the recipient of the Best Artist Award at the Sharjah Biennial (2005), the Italian Council Award (2019), and the Ebru Timtik Award (2025). Fluent in English and French; intermediate Spanish.

www.mariorizzi.com   mariorizzi@gmail.com  +49 172 8814001 ·  +39 327 9484830

Coimbra photo

Mario Rizzi — Artist & Filmmaker CV

Selected Awards —

2025
Ebru Timtik Award - Selected Artist Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
2022
Premio Gallarate, XXVI Edizione MAGA Museo d'Arte Gallarate, Italy
2018
Italian Council Award Italian Ministry of Culture & Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, Italy
2012
Production Program Award Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
2005
Best Artist Prize at the 7th Sharjah Biennial Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
2004
The Mulliqi Best Artist Prize Kosova Art Gallery, Pristina, Kosovo/UNMIK

Selected Solo Exhibitions —

2026
La Sedia Vuota Ospedale Santi Cosma e Damiano, Pescia, Italy Permanent installation
2022
Exercices d'empathie Analix Forever, Geneva, Switzerland
2022
Mario Rizzi. A traveler with a camera MAXXI Museo Nazionale Arti del XXI Secolo, Rome, Italy
2022
Bayt - Anni, Kauther, Ekhlas Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, Germany
2019
بيت Bayt Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, Italy
2019
My Dear Lamis Dar El-Nimer for Arts and Culture, Beirut, Lebanon
2017
Bare Lives Galerie Wedding, Berlin, Germany
2015
L'Attesa Galleria Studio Stefania Miscetti, Rome, Italy
2013
Karagöz Galleria Gagliardi, Turin, Italy
2013
The Waiting Villa Romana, Florence, Italy
2011
Partial Truths Podbielski Contemporary, Berlin, Germany
2010
La vie est à nous Analix Forever, Geneva, Switzerland
2008
Murat ve Ismail Kerava Art Museum, Kerava, Finland
2004
The Sofa of Jung MART Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, Italy
2002
Drafting Moods Diana Stigter Galerie, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2001
Seven Finnish Identities Helsinki Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland

Selected Group Exhibitions & Film Festivals —

2026
Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg Hamburg, Germany
2025
The Library of Palimpsests Sankt Studio, Berlin, Germany
2024
Luce sulla Città Piazza Tasso, Florence, Italy
2024
Unhealed Moderna Museet, Malmö, Sweden
2024
an ecology of images Analix Forever, Geneva, Switzerland
2024
In the eyes of our present, we hear Palestine Sheikh Khalid Bin Mohammed Arts Palace, Al Dhaid, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
2023
Fuori Tutto MAXXI Museo Nazionale Arti del XXI Secolo, Rome, Italy
2023
Ce que la Palestine apporte au monde Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France
2023
6th Berlin Herbstsalon - GEZI TEN YEARS AFTER Gorki Theater, Berlin, Germany
2023
Palestinian Nakba 75 P21 Gallery, London, UK
2023
Rainbow Analix Forever, Geneva, Switzerland
2022
Sunbird Documentary Film Award Competition - 9th Palestine Cinema Days Ramallah, Palestine
2022
14th Manifesta Centre of Narrative Practice Screening Space, Prishtina, Kosovo/UNMIK
2022
Screens. Culture dello schermo e immagini in movimento MAGA Museo d'Arte Gallarate, Italy
2022
8th Festival Ciné-Palestine Paris, France
2022
Reinvention and Restlessness: Fashion in the Nineties The Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, USA
2021
39th EVA International - Ireland's Biennial of Contemporary Art City Gallery of Art, Limerick, Ireland
2021
1st Helsinki Biennial Helsinki Art Museum & Vallisaari Island, Helsinki, Finland
2021
Blocks Real Albergo delle Povere - Museo d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Palermo, Italy
2021
Babies are knocking Galleria Studio Stefania Miscetti, Rome, Italy
2021
30 + 30 ... IS THE NEW PUNK Analix Forever, Geneva, Switzerland
2020
Art is always public Villa Romana, Florence, Italy
2019
Territorium: Tijuana Instituto Municipal de Arte y Cultura, Tijuana, Mexico
2019
Moving Women Magda Danysz Galerie, Paris, France
2018
VIDEOART AT MIDNIGHT Festival 2018 BABYLON Film Theatre, Berlin, Germany
2018
Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture Residents 2017-2018 Tokyo Arts and Space, Tokyo, Japan
2017
Beautiful Distress Nieuw Dakota, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2017
#resist Goethe Gallery, Hong Kong, China
2017
Images du monde laborieux HEC Paris, Jouy-en-Josas, France
2017
The Absence of Paths Tunisian Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale, Italy
2017
Artapes #1. Walking Around the Clock MAXXI Museo Nazionale Arti XXI Secolo, Rome, Italy
2017
IN SITU Palazzina Reale, Florence, Italy
2017
Deconstructing Borders Tonala, Tijuana, Mexico
2016
Zehn Positionen aus der Türkei Pasinger Fabrik, Munich, Germany
2016
When Home Won't Let You Stay Heiligenkreuzer Hof, University of Applied Arts, Vienna, Austria
2016
27th Ankara International Film Festival Ankara, Turkey
2016
We Refugees - Of the Right to Have Rights Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe, Germany
2015
Istanbul. Passion, Joy, Fury MAXXI Museo Nazionale Arti del XXI Secolo, Rome, Italy
2015
Where are the Arabs? Al Riwaq Art Space, Manama, Bahrain
2015
The World of Shadow Theatre Linden-Museum, Stuttgart, Germany
2015
Sublime de Voyage - Biennale Art Nomad Arnac-la-Poste, France + Hauterives, France + Marseille, France + Venice, Italy
2015
26th Ankara International Film Festival Ankara, Turkey
2015
Layalina Festival Cinéma Spoutnik, Geneva, Switzerland
2015
Too Early Too Late Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna, Italy
2014
17th Randevu Istanbul French Cultural Institute, Istanbul, Turkey
2014
Open Museum Open City MAXXI Museo Nazionale Arti del XXI Secolo, Rome, Italy
2014
Open Memory: Echoing Borders Amman Lab, Amman, Jordan
2014
Refugees and Borders Film Series Studio-X, Istanbul, Turkey + GSAPP Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University, New York, USA
2014
Water is on the house Polistar, Istanbul, Turkey
2014
Video Forever Galerie Vanessa Quang, Paris, France
2014
24th Festival del Cinema Africano, d'Asia e America Latina Milan, Italy
2014
Open Systems GPL Contemporary, Vienna, Austria
2014
Where are the Arabs? VW Dome, MoMA PS1, New York, USA
2013
Giornata del Cortometraggio Museo del Cinema, Cinema Massimo, Turin, Italy
2013
Arabian Nights - 10th Dubai International Film Festival Dubai, United Arab Emirates
2013
Villa Romana 1905 – 2013 Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn, Germany
2013
Iskele 2 TANAS, Berlin, Germany + Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin, Germany
2013
Süden DB KunstHalle, Berlin, Germany
2013
Summer Shorts Strelka Institute, Moscow, Russia
2013
Off Side - Locarno Film Festival Parallel Event La Rada Space for Contemporary Art, Locarno, Switzerland
2013
15th Festival Internacional de Cine de Derechos Humanos Buenos Aires, Argentina
2013
10th El Espejo Film Festival Bogotá, Colombia
2013
5th Cinéma Arabe Rialto, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2013
4th Middle East Now Film Festival Cinema Odeon, Florence, Italy
2013
63rd Berlinale Shorts Official Competition Berlinale, Berlin, Germany
2013
Signs Taken in Wonder MAK Österreichisches Museum für angewandte Kunst, Vienna, Austria + Kunstverein Hannover, Germany
2012
In Spite of it All Collections Building, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
2012
Parco Nomade Padiglione Italia, 13th International Architecture Biennale, Venice, Italy
2012
The Road not Taken Chung Hwa Centenary Arts Festival, Muar, Malaysia
2012
State of Transit Open Space, Vienna, Austria
2011
Videoforma National Center for Contemporary Art, Saint Petersburg, Russia
2011
(Dis)assembled Röda Sten, Göteborg, Sweden
2010
29th International Istanbul Film Festival Akbank Sanat, Istanbul, Turkey
2009
Rotte Metropolitane Villa Romana, Florence, Italy
2008
6th Doclisboa Culturgest, Lisboa, Portugal
2008
6th Taipei Biennial Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan
2008
13th International Carrara Biennial Centro Internazionale Arti Plastiche, Carrara, Italy
2008
Be(com)ing Dutch Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
2008
Working Men Analix Forever, Geneva, Switzerland
2008
58th Berlinale Shorts Official Competition Berlinale, Berlin, Germany
2008
Something from Nothing CACNO Contemporary Art Center, New Orleans, USA
2007
Résidents Espace Electra, Paris, France
2007
4th Göteborg International Biennial Röda Sten, Göteborg, Sweden
2007
This Day Tate Modern, London, UK
2007
World Factory Walter & McBean Galleries, SFAI Art Institute, San Francisco, USA
2006
We are what we are Rotor, Graz, Austria + 2B Galéria, Budapest, Hungary
2006
Art, Life & Confusion 47th October Salon, Museum Yugoslav History, Belgrade, Serbia
2006
Padiglione Italia Out of Biennale Trevi Flash Art Museum, Trevi, Italy
2006
5 Tage bis zum Ende der Kunst Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany
2006
6th EVA International - Ireland’s Biennial of Contemporary Art City Gallery of Art, Limerick, Ireland
2005
3rd Bienalja e Tiranës Kompleksi Goldi, Tirana, Albania
2005
9th Istanbul Biennial Antrepo Warehouse no. 5, Istanbul, Turkey
2005
Padiglione Italia Out of Biennale Trevi Flash Art Museum, Trevi, Italy
2005
Identità & Nomadismo Palazzo delle Papesse, Siena, Italy
2005
7th Sharjah Biennial Sharjah Art Foundation, United Arab Emirates
2004
14th Sydney Biennale Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia
2003
Anomalie - Fuori Uso Ferrotel, Pescara, Italy
2003
2nd Bienalja e Tiranës National Gallery of Arts, Tirana, Albania
2003
1st Prague Biennial National Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic
2002
Exit Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, Italy
2001
The Gift Palazzo delle Papesse, Siena, Italy

Film Screenings —

2025
Kauther International Fair Trial Day, Bruxelles, Belgium
2023
The Little Lantern Al Ma'mal Foundation, Jerusalem, Palestine
2023
Anni, Kauther, Ekhlas Fondazione Fulvio Croce, Turin, Italy
2017
Videoart at Midnight #88 BABYLON Film Theatre, Berlin, Germany
2017
Limina @ Tunnel below / Skyjacking above NGBK, Berlin, Germany
2014
Al Intithar SALT Beyoğlu, Istanbul, Turkey
2014
Al riparo dalla tempesta Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, Italy
2013
L'attente Palais des Arts, Marseille, France
2013
Murat ve Ismail SALT Ulus, Ankara, Turkey
2011
Kazın Ayağı Öyle Değil SALT Beyoğlu, Istanbul, Turkey
2007
Modern Mondays: Mario Rizzi Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA

Curated Exhibitions —

2025
OLTRE Aula Colleoni, Academy of Fine Arts of Rome, Italy With brochure
2004
PLUG IN Futura Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic With catalogue

Art Collections —

MoMA Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA (The Fund for the 21st Century - Permanent Collection) MAXXI Museo Nazionale Arti del XXI Secolo, Rome, Italy Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea Pecci, Prato, Italy Helsinki Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland Sharjah Art Foundation, United Arab Emirates Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, The Netherlands Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France Musée Réattu, Arles, France Musée de l'Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland

Academic Appointments—

2025
"Il viaggio come percorso artistico e introspettivo" Academy of Fine Arts of Rome, Italy - Department of Contemporary Art History, Spring Semester
2012
Course on Contemporary Art Chung Hwa International Art School, Muar, Malaysia - Spring Semester

Theses on my Artwork—

2021
Angelica Zucconi, "The trilogy BAYT by Mario Rizzi: analysis of the films and of the language of the artist" B.A. Thesis, University of Pisa, Italy
2005
Elena Keidan, "Mario Rizzi e l'estetica relazionale" B.A. Thesis, Brera Academy of Fine Art, Milan, Italy

Selected Residencies—

2017
Tokyo Arts and Space - Residency Program Tokyo, Japan
2016
Artist Residency & Jury Member at 4th Duhok International Film Festival Duhok, Iraqi Kurdistan
2015
Fondazione Jorio Vivarelli - Artist Residency Pistoia, Italy
2011
Project Residency - Villa Romana Florence, Italy
2009
Künstlerhaus Bethanien Internationales Atelierprogramm Berlin, Germany
2006
Al Ma'mal Foundation - Studio Program Jerusalem, Palestine
2005
Cité Internationale des Arts - Studio Program Paris, France
2002
Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst - Artist Residency Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2001
Künstlerhaus Bethanien Internationales Atelierprogramm Berlin, Germany
2001
HIAP International Artist in Residence Program at Cable Factory Helsinki, Finland
2000
Artist Residency Program Taivalkoski, Finland
2000
Jerusalem Center for the Visual Arts - Residency Program Jerusalem, Israel

Selected Bibliography —

Emanuele Cutsodontis, L’ospedale a misura di paziente. La Nazione, 12.04.26

Hamid Dabashi, Ghassan Kanafani: Palestine as Fact and Phenomenon. The Fertile Memory of Palestine. The Idea of a Palestinian. In: "After Savagery", 2025, Haymarket Books, USA, pp. 14-30

Manuela De Leonardis, Viaggi straordinari. Mario Rizzi in Giappone. exibart, 5.08.24

Neema Vitali, «une écologie des images» au cœur de l’Histoire. Art Critique, 3.04.24

Luisa Franzini, “Stories make us”: Raccontare la Palestina attraverso pratiche di storytelling. In: "Deportate, Esuli, Profughe", Università Ca’ Foscari Venice, Italy, September 2024

Yasmin Khan, 75 Years After the Palestinian Nakba. HYPERALLERGIC, 15.05.2023

Elena Bordignon, FOCUS sulla mostra Screens. Culture dello schermo e immagini in movimento. ATP DIARY, 21.09.2022

Jean-Paul Gavard-Perret, Mario Rizzi le féministe. Les Blogs de l’art helvétique contemporain, 20.09.2022

Hamid Dabashi, Anni Kanafani Lives Here. In: "BAYT", 2022, NERO Editions, Italy, pp 56-62

Stephanie Bailey, Portraits Of Bayt: On The Conviction Of Making Homes. In: "BAYT", 2022, NERO Editions, Italy, pp 74-81

Isin Õnol, Conditions Of Objection. In: "BAYT", 2022, NERO Editions, Italy, pp 102-109

Simone Frangi, (Un)Certain Assessment: Unravelling The Documentary Form, Going On Strike At The History-Making Factory, Listening To Anni. Notes On Mario Rizzi’s The Little Lantern. In: "BAYT", 2022, NERO Editions, Italy, pp 116-121

Roger Atta, Anni Høver Kanafani’s Lanterns. Almodon, 04.06.2022

Chiara Bontacchio, Con le mie opere cerco di dare voce alla marginalità. Berlino Magazine, Jan-Feb 2022

Hanno Rehlinger, Die Andere. Der Tagesspiegel, 9.01.2022

Sabrina Vedovotto, Racconti da lontano. Telescope - Quidmagazine, 15.03.2020

Manuela De Leonardis, Fiabe a Burj el Barajneh. Alias - Il Manifesto, 13.4.2019

Jonas Tinius, The privilege of life itself: sovereignty, power, and the figure of the refugee. In: "Bare Lives", 2017, Archive Books, Germany, pp 68-75

Charlotte Bank, Wandering Witness. In: "Bare Lives", 2017, Archive Books, Germany, pp 56-59

Solvej Helweg Ovesen, Giving shape to Life, Society and Oneself. In: "Bare Lives", 2017, Archive Books, Germany, pp 24-31

Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, On Scars and Scarifications. In: "Bare Lives", 2017, Archive Books, Germany, pp 20-23

Hamid Dabashi, Sacred Souls, Bare Lives. In: "Bare Lives", 2017, Archive Books, Germany, pp 5-11

Cristiana Perrella, Altre voci, nuovi miti. Zero.eu, 18.10.2016

Isabel Mehl, Landkarten von Flucht und Ankommen. Artline.org, 24.5.2016

Sabine Weier, Migrant Identities After the Global Crisis. Camera Austria, #134/2016, pp 84-85

Cristiana Perrella, The Outsider. Ibraaz.org, 30.6.2016

Pia Lauro, Io e il Medio Oriente. Exibart.com, 25.2.2016

Manuela De Leonardis, L'arte sbocciata tra i rifugiati. Il Manifesto, 29.1.2016

Valentina Bruschi, Una mostra per scoprire Istanbul. Il Messaggero, 22.1.2016

Cristiana Perrella, La Primavera araba in un film. Artribune.com, 9.12.2015

Ida Panicelli, Mario Rizzi at Studio Stefania Miscetti. Critics' Picks, Artforum.com, December 2015

Ludovico Pratesi, La crisi siriana vista con gli occhi dell'arte. Exibart, 14.12.2015

Tilman Spreckelsen, Der dunkle Lord ist so flach wie nie. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 16.11.2015

Rüdiger Otto von Brocken, Warten als Weg, um zu überleben. Husumer Nachrichten, 29.9.2015

Barbara Polla, L'humanisme envers et contre tout. L'Extension Suisse Mag, Printemps 2015, p 60

Dorothea Schoene, À la recherche d'une redéfinition de la condition humaine. In: "Penser la Méditerranée au XXI siècle", 2014, Éditions Parenthèses, France, pp 205-215

Stefania Crobe, L'attesa del ritorno. Il Giornale dell'Arte, 18.6.2013

Hamid Dabashi, Syrians, Camps and a New Cosmopolis. In: "The Waiting", 2013, argobooks, Germany, pp 5-15

Angelika Stepken, Al Intithar. In: "The Waiting", 2013, argobooks, Germany, pp 3-4

Dorothea Schoene, A State of Exception. Ibraaz.org, 8.5.2013

Dorothea Schoene, An Unconventional Angle. Ibraaz.org, 22.4.2013

Igal Avidan, Das lange Warten auf den Frieden. Zeit.de, 11.2.2013

Simon Rees, Murat ve Ismail. In: "Signs Taken in Wonder", 2013, Hatje Cantz, Germany, p 154

Dmitry Golynko, The Ethics of Human Biographies. Arterritory.com, January 2012

Sabine Vogel, "Biennials – Art on a Global Scale", 2010, Springer-Verlag, Wien, Austria

November Paynter, Taipei Biennial. Bidoun, #16, pp 161-162

Özge Ersoy, Hybrid Models in Art Infrastructure. RES, #4, pp 146-153

Simon Rees, 6th Taipei Biennial. Frieze, #120, pp 147-148

Vasif Kortun, The Chicken Soup. In: "Taipei Biennial 08", 2008, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, pp 68-69

Domeniek Ruyters, Harteloos Nederland. De Volkskrant, 29.5.2008, pp 14-15

Bruno Latour, "Résidents". 2007, Editions du Panama, France, pp 192-195

Katerina Gregos, Mario Rizzi. Contemporary, #86, pp 54-55

Michele Robecchi, Mario Rizzi. Flash Art Italy, Vol. XXXIX, #255, pp 68-71

Grant Watson, EV+A. Flash Art Italy, Vol. XXXIX, #248, p 1

Sabine Vogel, International Istanbul Biennial. Critics’ Picks, Artforum.com, October 2005

Charles Esche, Murat ve Ismail. In: "9th International Istanbul Biennial", 2005, Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, Turkey, pp 141-144

Jamie Robinson, Sharjah International Biennial 7. Contemporary, #76, pp 56-57

Kaelen Wilson-Goldie, Sharjah Biennial. Flash Art Italy, Vol. XXXVIII, #242, pp 71 & 90

Darren Tofts, The Odour Of A Rose: Media Arts At The Sydney Biennale. In: Journal of Media Arts Culture, July 2004

Isabel Carlos, Beyond Self-Expression. In: "Mario Rizzi 96_04", 2004, Skira, Italy, pp 25-32

Lilly Wei, South by Southeast. Art in America, #11, pp 58-65

Christian Rattemeyer, Biennale of Sydney. Artforum, Vol.43, #3, pp 238-239