Name: Iolanda Pensa
Areas of Work: Researcher, Art critic, Consultant
Website: www.iopensa.it

Iolanda Pensa (1975) is a researcher and art critic. She is researcher at the Laboratory of visual culture of SUPSI University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, and art director of the association Amici del Museo delle Grigne Onlus for which she commissioned and produced artworks based on archival materials. Her work focuses on systems of knowledge production and distribution, geographic dynamics of cultural institutions, biennials, Wikipedia and Creative Commons.

Previously she was founder and board member of the iStrike Foundation in Rotterdam (2005-2008), professor of art economy at NABA Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti di Milano (2007-2011) and scientific director at lettera27 Foundation in Milan (2007-2012) for the projects “WikiAfrica: Increasing the quality and quantity of African content on Wikipedia” and “Share Your Knowledge: Creative Commons and Wikipedia for Cultural Institutions”. She contributed to several art magazines and she has been correspondent for Africa for the magazine “Domus” (2011-2012).

She holds a university degree in Medieval art history and a Ph.D. in Social anthropology and ethnology and in Territorial government and planning at the EHESS École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Parigi in collaboration with Politecnico di Milano Department of Architecture and Urban Planning. Her research work focuses on systems of knowledge production and distribution, on the impact of cultural institutions, public art and biennials, and on Wikipedia.