# Francesco Monico

Francesco Monico (born Venice, February 27, 1968) is a teacher, researcher, pedagogist in Italy.

## Previous activities

Monico worked for ten years as a director, screenwriter and program chief in Italian broadcast, sperimentale and interactive TV, is both a Technoetic researcher and artist. He was director and author for Rai3, Mediaset, Rai2, France 2, and channel manager for Tele+3, SeiMilano. Monico did research at Studium S3, at Fabrica, at the McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology at the University of Toronto. Former member of the Scientific Committee of Milano in Digitale with Antonio Caronia, Paolo Rosa, Pier Luigi Capucci, and Franco Torrani. Former member of the Scientific Committee of the Leonardo da Vinci Science and Technology Museum in Milan, with Giulio Giorello, Emanuele Severino, and Enrico Bellone.In the past in the style of the new left media theorist Raymond Williams he was a regular media commentator for the International Herald Tribune's Italian news section.

## Current activities

Today Monico is Dean at Accademia di Belle Arti Unidee at the Fondazione Pistoletto in Biella and Director of the School of Media Design & Multimedia Arts at the Accademia Costume e Moda in Rome and both working on research and development in education, technology and arts. Former director of the Media Design and Multimedia Arts Department he founded at the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti Milano in Milan. Former professor of Theory and Method of Mass Media at the same institution, as well as founder director of the PhD program M-Node, Planetary Collegium, today known as T-node and a Senior Fellow of the McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology in Toronto, Canada. He is an alumnus of Derrick de Kerckhove. As a Scholar of Marshall McLuhan Monico became more focused on how technology shapes human communication, behaviour, and thought and is currently researching with Roy Ascott as member of the board of the international PhD program Planetary Collegium.Member of the Programme Committee of the Isea 2011. Monico writes in online and print publications, and did New Media art commentary for Wired Italian edition. As Director of the Planetary Collegium's M-Node he was part, with Roy Ascott, of the 2011 World Universities Forum Award for Best Practice in Higher Education. As Director of Research & Development project he settled up in 2013, with IOCOSE, the Transmodal Research between Art & Technology of STMICROELECTRONICS STINNOVATIONCUP 2013. In 2013, he is invited by European Commission President José Barroso to join New Narrative for Europe, a working network of European artists, creators, scientists and intellectuals to strengthen the contours of European unity. He was selected for the 2015 Italian edition of TED, as keen thinker about Higher Education, Cultural Management & Entrepreneurships at TEDxRoncade. Monico was Professor of Social Digital Innovation at the Faculty of Scienze Matematiche, Informatiche, Multimediali of the Università of Udine, and Professor of Archetype of Imagery at Accademia Belle Arti di Milano Brera.Today is Professor of Sociology of Media at the Consorzio Universitario Pordenone ISIA Roma and Professor of Artchetype of Imaginery at the Accademia Costume e Moda in Rome.

## Methodology

After a research stint at the McLuhan Program he changed his expression channel from video to art, with a penchant for interactive installations, telematic art, BioArt, and various art-science combinations. Deeply influenced by Roy Ascott, Monico believes science and art can contribute to expanding global consciousness, but only with the help of alternative systems of knowledge. His modus operandi is based on a combination of science, art, philosophy, and esoteric knowledge in which the artist recognizes the paradoxical nature of knowledge and the contradictions inherent in formal epistemologies, and in his deep speculation his dealing with an hermeneutical approach. His methodology is a syncretic, mixing critical theory and a pragmatic art approach that he applied as founder of the School of Media design & New Media Art at NABA.

## Art career

Monico has changed his expression channel from video to art, with a penchant for interactive installations, telematic art, BioArt, and various art-science combinations.
Among his artworks is The Artist Formerly Known as Vanda (Tafkav - 2007/10) and Is there Love in the Technoetic Narcissus? In 2009 he was curator for the first Italian solo show of bioartist Brandon Ballengée, Monstre Sacré . In fall 2011 Monico presented the tryptic The Hybrid Constitution at the Istanbul International Art Festival Amber.

## Exhibitions

* AMBER07: Body process arts festival. Istanbul, 9–17 November 2007. TAFKAV.
* DARS: Milan, 14–21 October 2008. TAFKAV.
* Premio Libero Ferretti: Ancona, 17–24 January 2009. TAFKAV.
* Festival Feedback Inter-acto Ergo Sum: San Casciano Val di Pesa, Florence, 26–28 June 2009.
* Palazzo della Permanente: Premio Libero Ferretti, Milan, 6–12 July 2009.
* StreamFest 2009, Mostra Wet & Dry Relazioni tra arte e natura nel contemporaneo tecnologico. Galatina, Italy, 2–12 August 2009. TAFKAV.
* Mya Lurgo Gallery - Germinazioni curated by Martina Cavallarin: Lugano, Switzerland, 11 November 2009. TAFKAV.
* PAV Parco d'Arte Vivente - Diverse Forme Bellisme with Piero Gilardi, curated by Claudio Cravero: Turin, Italy, 5 February 2010 to 11 April 2010. Is There Love in The Technoetic Narcissus? and TAFKAV.
* Nowhere Gallery - Il Ciclo Dell'Alterità: The Artist Formerly Known As Vanda, and C'è amore nel Narciso technoetico? ("Is There Love In The Technoetic Narcissus?"), Milan, 11 June to 17 July 2010.
* The Merchant of Venice, - Biennale Vegetale. Doppia con Caroline Bougoreau. Venezia, Italy, 1–12 June 2011. TAFKAV, Studio Monitor.
* AMBER11: NEXT ECOLOGY. Istanbul, 4–13 November 2011. The HYBRID CONSTITUTION.

## Art Curacy

* Monico, F. (2009). Monstre Sacré - Brandon Ballengée, Nowhere Gallery, Via del Caravaggio 12, Milano, 18 September 2009, Special Start Milano.

## Conferences & Symposium Curacy

* PUBLIC!, 30 june 2022, Accademia Unidee - , curated by Francesco Monico, Paolo Naldini, Michele Cerruti But;
* +ETICA +MODA, 22 june 2021, Fondazione Pistoletto - Accademia Unidee Fondazione Pistoletto, curated by Francesco Monico;
* Future Firm, Past Innovation, Present Labour. A Trinamic View On Contemporary Enterprise, 14 may 2021, Accademia Unidee - Fondazione Pistoletto - Polidesign Milano, curated by Francesco Monico, Marina Parente, Michele Cerruti But;
* Most Post Human IV Archived 2014-12-13 at the Wayback Machine April 9, 2014, MUSE, Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3. Trento. Curated by Francesco Monico, Massimiliano Viel, Gianna Angelini;
* Most Post Human II Archived 2014-12-13 at the Wayback Machine July 22, 2013, NABA, Via Carlo darwin 20, Milano. Curated by Francesco Monico, Giovanni Leghissa;
* Most Post Human I Archived 2014-12-13 at the Wayback Machine April 30, 2013, DOMUS ACADEMY, Via Carlo darwin 20, Milano. Curated by Francesco Monico, Giovanni Leghissa;
* New Media Art Education & Research 4: Always Already New - Deep Involvement of Education - Democratic Higher Education Archived 2011-12-03 at the Wayback Machine November 18 – 19, 2011, NABA, Via Carlo darwin 20, Milano. Curated by Francesco Monico, Pier Luigi Capucci;
* Art as Media as Display, Biennals as Platform for Social Change: ISEA 2011 & Biennal of Art Istanbul Archived 2011-09-18 at the Wayback Machine September 17, 2011, Nederlands Consulaat General Archived 2011-02-03 at the Wayback Machine, Istiklal Caddesi 197, 34433 Beyoglu, Istanbul. Curated by Francesco Monico, Maurizio Bortolotti, Marieke Van Hal. Speakers: Hedwig Fijen, Katarina Gregos, Nazim Dikbaş, Martha Rosler, Yongwoo Lee, Lanfranco Aceti;
* New Media Art Education & Research 3: Always Already New - Thinking Media, Subversing Feeling, Scaffolding Knowledge: Art and Education in the Praxis of Transformation Archived 2010-12-16 at the Wayback Machine December 16 – 18, 2010, MEDIATECA SANTA TERESA, Via della Moscova 28, Milano. Curated by Francesco Monico, Pier Luigi Capucci;
* New Media Art Education & Research 2009- 2 Topics Archived 2011-12-11 at the Wayback Machine 14 April 2008 – FONDAZIONE FORMA PER LA FOTOGRAFIA Archived 2011-08-09 at the Wayback Machine, - Sala delle Capriate, Piazza Tito Lucrezio Caro, Milan – ITALY Mercoledì, 4 marzo 2009. Curated by Francesco Monico;
* New Media art Education & Research 2008 Archived 2011-10-06 at the Wayback Machine 14 APRIL 2008 – FONDAZIONE FORMA PER LA FOTOGRAFIA Archived 2011-08-09 at the Wayback Machine – ITALY, Piazza Tito Lucrezio Caro 1, 20136 Milano, curated by Francesco Monico & Luca Galli.
* Researching the Future: aspects of Art and Technoetics 2007 Archived 2012-02-20 at the Wayback Machine, CENTRO PER L'ARTE CONTEMPORANEA LUIGI PECCI Archived 2011-08-09 at the Wayback Machine, PRATO December 7-8-9, 2007, curated by Francesco Monico & Roy Ascott.
* Researching the Future: art and design in transmodal transition 2006 Milano, February 8–9, 2006, curated by Francesco Monico.