PDF version for download, https://marcogferrari.com/mgf_biography/
Marco G. Ferrari (b. 1974) is a visual artist, filmmaker, curator, and teacher based in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in a family of artists, immersed within the relationship between photography and sculpture he became fascinated with the interconnectedness between expression and the environment. He followed this interest at Ithaca College where he studied music and film, subsequently completing a Bachelor of Arts degree from DePaul University in Communication. In 2013 Ferrari earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Visual Arts from the University of Chicago.
His films have been screened at exhibitions such as the 54th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale; Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea–Palazzo Forti (Verona, Italy); the Athens International Film and Video Festival (Ohio); and the Chicago Cultural Center. He has performed live video projections at numerous venues including the Museum of Contemporary Art–Chicago, Ravinia Festival (Highland Park, Illinois), and the Chicago Symphony Center. Funders for projects include the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs; and the Community Film Workshop of Chicago.
For several years Ferrari performed as a singer/songwriter/guitarist for two alternative rock bands touring clubs in Chicago and the mid-west. In the late 90s Ferrari began working in the film industry in various assistant and lead roles (production coordinator, art department, camera, lighting and sound) for “in house” gallery documentaries, independent narrative films and TV ads in Chicago and Rome, Italy. In 2003 he completed Full Circle, his first feature-length documentary on the life and career of his father, sculptor Virginio Ferrari. For the next 10 years he collaborated with his father, managing his studio and archive, and curating public and private sculpture projects, lectures, group and solo exhibitions in China, Italy and the United States.
In that time he also produced a series of documentary videos on other visual, performing and fashion artists; and mixed live video projections for theatrical and musical national tours for Clinard Dance Theater, pianist Beppe Grifeo and the band Poi Dog Pondering. In 2011 he began teaching digital video, photography and visual language studio courses at Franklin University Switzerland as a Visiting Artist in Residence and the University of Chicago through the Department of Visual Arts Teaching Fellowship. From 2013-15 he worked for performance and visual artist William Pope.L, as studio assistant and videographer. He recently completed a two-year appointment as Black Cinema House Associate Curator and Teaching Artist, a program of Theaster Gates’ Rebuild Foundation (Stony Island Arts Bank, Chicago, IL), where he designed and taught free film courses, organized weekly film programming and produced public artworks for the local community. In 2016 he curated the video art segment of Lucchiche: A Video Art Symposium, Ponte di Ferro, Carrara, Italy (June 22–25), that featured 30 international video artists.
Ferrari currently balances his art-making studio practice as a Lecturer in the department of Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Chicago, freelancing as a cinematographer and VJ, and directing the Virginio Ferrari Foundation, a creative home and laboratory for artists, where inspiring encounters between artists, their projects, and the public can occur.