Focus on computer art
Dr. Francesca Franco is an independent curator, art historian, and producer based in the UK and Italy. Her research focuses on the history of early computer art and its pioneers, with particular emphasis on generative and interactive art, as well as the connections between Constructivism and Systems Art in early computational practices. Her work has been widely published and translated into multiple languages, including Russian, Chinese, and Romanian. Recent books include Generative Systems Art (Routledge, 2018), The Algorithmic Dimension (Springer, 2022), and Computer Art at the Venice Biennale (Springer, 2025). A major focus of her research has been the history of the Venice Biennale, culminating in a series of publications in books, academic journals, and art magazines. She has reviewed every Venice Biennale since 2007, reflecting her ongoing engagement with this landmark event in the city of her birth.
As a curator, Franco has led numerous international exhibitions exploring the intersection of art and technology. Notable projects include Vera Molnár: Icône 2020 at the 59th Venice Biennale (2022), Algorithmic Signs (Venice, 2017), and Vera Molnár: Variazioni Icône (Rome, 2023). She has also commissioned significant new works, such as Molnár's first glasswork in Murano, Icône 2020 (2021), Roman Verostko's St Mark's Apocalypse (2017), and Ernest Edmonds’s Growth and Form (2017). She will serve as the 2025 SIGGRAPH Art Gallery Chair, leading an exhibition that explores the dynamic relationship between nature, art, and technology.
In addition to her curatorial practice, Franco brings extensive teaching experience at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Her courses offer students a hands-on and critical exploration of computational art’s evolution, its contemporary relevance, and the curatorial strategies that bring such works to life in exhibitions. She integrates historical research with practice-based learning, encouraging students to engage with both theoretical frameworks and the materiality of digital art.
Previously, Franco was a Co-Investigator on the AHRC-funded project Documenting Digital Art: Rethinking Histories and Practices of Documentation in the Museum and Beyond at the University of Exeter. This research examined strategies for preserving and interpreting digital art, addressing challenges related to documentation, conservation, and display in contemporary institutions.
Building on her experience commissioning and exhibiting works by artists such as Vera Molnár, Manfred Mohr, Roman Verostko, and Ernest Edmonds, Franco’s courses combine archival research, curatorial practice, and critical discourse. She emphasizes the importance of primary sources, from artist interviews to institutional archives, fostering original research and a deep understanding of digital culture’s historical trajectories.
Her teaching is informed by her work with institutions such as the V&A, the Venice Biennale, and international research projects, where she has developed exhibitions and research programs that explore the intersections of Constructivism, Systems Art, and early computational art. Students in her courses actively engage with curatorial methodologies, culminating in collaborative projects linked to key collections and archives, such as those at ZKM (Zentrum für Kunst und Medien). By merging historical inquiry with contemporary practice, she aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills to critically assess and shape the future of media art and its exhibition.
https://linktr.ee/francescafranco