Emilio Isgrò (Italy)
Painter, Poet & Novelist
Playwright and Director
One of the most highly acclaimed figures of Italian art on an international level
Adépo Yapo (Ivory Coast)
Composer & Musicologist
Knight of the Order of Cultural Merit of the Ministry of Culture and Francophonie;
Director of Development and Research at the Regional Center for Cultural Action (CRAC) in Lomé, Togo;
Member of French Society of Ethnomusicology;
Member of International Music Council (CIM) at UNESCO.
Marie-Claude Pietragalla (France)
Dancer & Choreographer
Star Dancer and Choreographer
Jean Nouvel (France)
Famous Architect
Received a number of prestigious awards: Aka Khan Award, the Wolff Award for Art in 2005, and the Pritzker Prize in 2008
Lang Lang（China）
pianist, educator and philanthropist
UN Peace Ambassador
Honorary Fellowship at St. Peter's College at Oxford University
GRAMMY Cultural Ambassador to China
Ambassador to Château de Versailles
Cultural Ambassador for New York
Tadao Ando (Japan)
Famous Architect
Founded the Tadao Ando Institute of Architecture in 1969
Appointed Professor at the University of Tokyo in 1997
Marlos Nobre de Almeida (Brazil)
Composer & Conductor
Conductor of Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London;
President of the International Music Council of UNESCO;
Director of Brasilia Foundation for Culture;
Marlos Nobre de Almeida (Brazil).
Kimmo Pasanen (Finland)
World-famous Painter
Doctor of Philosophy in art
"Pioneer" of Abstract Art
Former Director of the Finnish Cultural Institute
Alain Nonat (Canada)
Tenor
International Singing Competition Judge;
French Ministry of Culture Chevalier dans l'ordre des Arts et Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters recipient);
“Linden of Friendship” civil medal recipient, Slovak International Club;
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal recipient.
Carolyn Carlson (USA)
Dancer & Choreographer
1974-1980, Etoile-Choreographer at the Paris Opera Ballet (GRTOP);
1980-1984, Artistic director of Teatrodanza La Fenice, Venice;
1985-1991, Residence at the Théâtre de la Ville, Paris;
1991-1992, Residency at the Finnish National Ballet and at the Helsinki City Theater;
1994-1995, Artistic Director of Ballet Cullberg, Stockholm;
1999-2002, Artistic Director of the dance section of the Venice Biennale;
Philippe Torreton (France)
Actor
He received the César 1997 for best actor for his performance in Captain Conan;
Since leaving the Comédie-Française in 1999, he has pursued a rich career in theater, but also in cinema and television;
He was again nominated for the César for best actor in 2012 for his performance in Presumed Guilty;
In 2018, he published a collection of short stories We who have become the bad weather;
Philippe Torreton is a knight in the Order of Arts and Letters.
Seiji Ozawa (Japan)
Conductor
He was the Guest Conductor for major operas and symphony orchestras around the world;
For an extraordinarily long period (1973–2002), Ozawa served as a music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra;
He was the principal conductor of the Vienna State Opera from 2002 to 2010;
He was nominated for several Grammy Awards, winning for Best Opera Recording for Ravel: L’Enfant et les sortilèges;
In 2011, Ozawa received the Japan Art Association’s Praemium Imperiale prize for music;
He was named a Kennedy Center honoree in 2015.
Steven Holl (USA)
Architect
In 1986, he won the Best Architectural Design Award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA);
In 1998, he won the prestigious Alvar Aalto Prize;
In July 2001, "Time" magazine named him the "Best Architect in America";
In 2003, he was awarded an honorary member of the Royal Institute of British Architects;
2008 BBVA Foundation Frontier Award Art Award;
In 2012, he won the Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects;
In 2014, he won the Architectural Award of the Commemorative World Culture Award under the Takamatsu Palace.
Igor Livant (Russia)
Artist & Poet
Producer of films, festivals and shows in France and Russia;
Organization of the artistic youth festival in Irkutsk and Paris;
Organization of the “Cultural Caravan” festival in Irkutsk;
Organization of the shooting of perestroika subjects for French television;
Organization of the international conference "East-West , the search for the development of Russia ";
Creation of the House of Europe in Irkutsk with the support of the Council of Europe.
Benoit + Bo
Benoit (France) & Bo (China), Visual Designer
Their work is autobiographic, about their experiences, feelings and thoughts as an artist duo in an intercultural relationship. Using their combined heritage, knowledge and world-views they create hybrid, contemporary visions, a mix of Asia and Europe, China and France. Benoit+Bo have previously exhibited in museums and galleries in France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Korea, China, Hong Kong and Australia.
Eduard Kazarian (Kazakhstan)
Sculpture Artist
In 2000, the first national prize "Tarlan";
In 2011, awarded the "Gold Medal" of the Ministry of Culture of Armenia;
A member of the Artists' Union of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
He held more than forty solos and was a participant in more than 130 collective exhibitions;
Works are exhibited in private and public collections of Kazakhstan and abroad.
Enzo Migneco (Italy)
Painter & Sculpture Artist
1980, He inaugurates his first graphic exhibition which is hosted at Palazzo Sormani in Milan;
April 1999, he was awarded the Santhià National Painting Prize;
April 2000, he was awarded the Antonello da Messina prize for the Figurative Arts in Rome.
Federico José Matus Vega (Nicaragua)
Architect
Specialist in Management and Environmental Impact Assessment, UNI;
He currently works as an Academic Advisor in the Extension Directorate of the National University of Engineering;
He directed with architecture students, the design of the Master Plan of the Cuapa Sanctuary, 2009;
Organizer of the third meeting of the Union of School and Faculties of Architecture and Design of Central America, 2010.
Gaby Maamary (Lebanon)
Photographer
Art historian, art critic, visual artist, conservator of cultural heritage, photographer;
Former instructor in several Lebanese universities;
Lecturer in the field of visual art in several countries and museums;
An expert in the technology of art and pigment extraction for more than 30 years;
Founder of Art Nub Beirut (fine art and photography education);
Founder of Beirut Fine Art Heritage Rescue initiative;
Juan Brígido Romero (El Salvador)
Painter
Landscape Painter and Muralist, Choreographer & Director;
He teaches Plastic Arts I and II at the Faculty of Sciences and Humanities at the University of the East since July 2018.
Mario Troiani (Israel)
Photographer
His career as a freelance photographer took him throughout Europe and beyond (including Brazil and Morocco);
Beyond photography, Troiani periodically took on projects in computer science, including working on software development in the field of artificial intelligence.
Mauro Benetti (Italy)
Painter
In 1986, he held his first personal exhibition at the Giorgio Persano Gallery in Turin;
He has been contributing to international galleries and museums with important personal participations, also taking part in a large number of group exhibitions.
Robert Wilson (USA)
Visual Artist & Director
2014, Officer of the Legion of Honor, awarded by the President of the French Republic;
2014, Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit, awarded by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany;
2014, Goethe Medal: Lifetime Achievement Award from the Goethe-Institut;
2003, Commander of the Order of Arts and Letter, awarded by the President of the French Republic;
Giovanni Truncellito (Italy）
Architect, Painter & Musician
Since 1994, he has been teaching architectonical composition at the school of Architecture in Rome's university La Sapienza;
He has worked redesigning private residences, designing for the theatre stage;
He has restored the Rossini theatre in Rome and the antechapel of Saint Caterina of Siena;
He has also participated in exhibitions in various Italian cities and abroad;
Awarded the Silver Plaque of the Italian President of the Republic.
Salvador Galvez (Guatemala)
Architect & Visual Designer
Graduated from the University of San Carlos of Guatemala in 1989 as an Architect.
Evgenia Voronova (Russia)
Painter
"Biomimicry", project "Night", Omelchenko gallery, Moscow.
Still Life, Wordshop Gallery, Moscow. Group exhibition.
Rejane Cantoni (Brazil)
New Media Artist
She is a board member of Interplanetary Initiative at Arizona State University;
She holds two post-Ph D's in Arts from the University of São Paulo;
A Ph.D and Masters in Communications and Semiotics from the Catholic University of São Paulo;
A Masters from the Program of Études Supérieures des Systèmes d'Information from Geneva University;
Before shifting to a full time artist, she was the Assistant Dean and Professor at the Mathematics, Physics and Technology Center at Catholic University of São Paulo.
Sheela Gowda (India)
Installation Artist
She studied painting at Ken School of Art, Bangalore, India (1979), pursued a postgraduate diploma at Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, India (1982), and earned a MA degree in Painting from the Royal College of Art, London (1986).
Ramin Haerizadeh (Iran)
Contemporary Artists & Curators
B. Tehran, 1975, lives and works in Dubai;
He has exhibited internationally, notably in Unveiled: New Art from the Middle East, Saatchi Gallery, London (2009); Sharjah Biennial 10 (2011); and The Trees Set Forth to Seek for a King at the Museum on the Seam, Jerusalem (2014).
Michael Benjamin Bay (USA)
Director, Producer & Screenwriter
Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget, high-concept action films characterized by fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of special effects, including frequent depictions of explosions. The films he has produced and directed, which include Armageddon (1998).
Raksha Patel (UK)
Painter & Filmmaker
Raksha Patel (b.1972, Leicester) studied MFA Painting at The Slade School of Art (1998). Patel works as an artist, writer, socially engaged practitioner and lecturer. She worked for the Learning Department at Tate Britain (1999-2011); as an Artist in Residence at The Whitechapel Gallery (2005) and at The Pitzhanger Manor (2013). She is a Senior Lecturer in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts and an Associate Lecturer in Painting at Camberwell College of Arts.
