Biography

Dr. Emilia Telese is an artist and academic based in Iceland, and working internationally. Born in Italy, she graduated with in Painting from the Fine Arts Academy in Florence in 1996. Moved to the UK in 1997, where she subsequently furthered her studies at the University of Brighton (Printmaking), University of Sussex (Arts Management), University of Warwick (Cultural Policy), and University of Loughborough (PhD in Communication and Media). She has exhibited worldwide since 1994, including the Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair (2023, 2025), the Louvre (Paris, 2012), the New Forest Pavilion at the 51st Venice Biennale (Venice, 2005), Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria, 2002-2003), ZKM (Karlsruhe, Germany, 2007), Chashama (New York City, USA, 2008), Centro Cultural Telemar (Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, 2010), Manege (St. Petersburg, Russia, 2000), Leeds City Gallery, Artsway (New Forest, UK) and the Freud Museum (London, UK). She has presented her work at major events at Tate Britain, The Royal Festival Hall, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Oxford, Manchester Contemporary, Merchant City Festival, Glasgow, the Brighton Festival, and more.

She was awarded an AHRC Arts And Humanities Research Council bursary to write her PhD doctorate in Communication and Media from the University of Loughborough, UK, completed in 2022. Her doctorate focused on the social value and the individualization of artists in the UK between 1980 and 2010.

Her practice crosses traditional media with time-based practice, including immersive, sensorial, interactive, and body-responsive technology, lens-based practice, performance, installation, and public art, as well as classic media such as painting, printmaking, and drawing.

Emilia Telese is Michelangelo Pistoletto's Ambassador for his Third Paradise worldwide project, supported by the Fondazione Pistoletto, Biella, Italy.

She is a lecturer specializing in the relationship between art, society, economics, and artists' professional practice. She has taught at many UK and international institutions, such as The University of the Arts London, Royal College of Art, London; Manchester Metropolitan University; University of Brighton; University for the Creative Arts, Farnham; Sheffield Hallam University; Sir John Cass School of Art, Architecture and Design, London; the Iceland University of the Arts, Reykjavík; University of Maastricht, the Netherlands; University of Munich, Germany; the Pistoletto Foundation, Biella, Italy; the Fine Art Academy of Palermo; and Florence, Italy. She has directed practice-based teaching at UK and European events since 2001. She has led UK and European-wide debates about artists’ livelihoods, political art, and social engagement.

Emilia Telese is represented in the UK by The Artists’ Agency.

She has received awards by several funding bodies since 1999, such as Arts Council England, AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) UK, and Awards for All, British Council, and others.

Her work is in private and public collections in the UK, USA, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Japan and Italy.