Monia Marchionni
Italy
Biography
Monia Marchionni (Italy, 1981) trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna (graduating in 2005) and later earned a degree in Humanities and Philosophy with a specialization in Contemporary Art History (2008). Her photography is an artistic and authorial vision. Her images seek to transform the everyday into something poetic and dreamlike; her intention is to show reality “as she perceives it,” reinterpreting it. Her shots often oscillate between reality and fantasy, with suspended, evocative atmospheres.
Monia Marchionni seeks in photography not only reality, but also a form of visual storytelling: images that are more than a simple “photograph,” but rather “stories”—dreams, memories, emotions, suggestions. People in her photos are often not portrayed as precise individuals but as symbols and “vehicles of states of mind,” an idea that leaves ample room for the viewer’s imagination.
Her photos have won several awards, among others, Special Photographer of the Year – IPA Awards 2025, Eyeshot Open Call, Independent Photographer, Life Framer, IPA, TIFA e BIFA Awards, Lucie Foundation, FAPA Awards, Siena Photography Award, Arte Laguna. Monia Marchionni has exhibited in Italy and Europe, in America, Australia, Japan and Emirates, in art fairs and festivals, in collective and solo show. She works to medium-long term personal projects.
Project
“Zanj” by Monia Marchionni is a transformative photographic and mixed-media project created during the artist’s trip to Zanzibar (Tanzania) in early 2023. The work blends photography, collage and precious fabrics to explore the deep interconnections between people, place and history in a region shaped by both cultural richness and persistent social challenges, including the legacy of slavery and limited opportunities for education and women’s rights.
Marchionni’s images portray seasonal workers, Maasai figures and local children with a dignified, poetic gaze, celebrating resilience and ancestral identity while reflecting on how heritage, self-determination and imagined futures coexist within everyday life. “Zanj” advocates for education, work and cultural agency, inviting viewers to engage with narratives of belonging, transformation and the complex ties that bind communities to land and history.
