Francesca Magnani
Italy
Biography
Francesca Magnani is a Brooklyn based Italian photographer, writer, teacher and translator. Born and raised in Padua, she studied in Bologna, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and New York.
With a background in Classics and Anthropology, she first moved to New York City in 1997 on a Fulbright scholarship in Comparative Literature and taught at NYU and The New School for almost two decades. Since coming to New York she tells with words and images the stories that move her, and at the same time she chronicles her own life.
Project
“The Bridge and the Maidens” by Francesca Magnani is a photographic series that emerged from the artist’s encounters with a group of young women beneath one of New York City’s iconic bridges, where the blend of urban graffiti, skate culture and traditional dress created a striking visual contrast. The images evoke themes of cultural identity, movement, freedom and the unexpected poetry of everyday life in the city.
Presented as part of the 2025 Head On Photo Festival Open Program, the project draws on Magnani’s long-standing engagement with New York’s social fabric, using street portraiture to explore how personal expression intersects with place and community.
