Silvia Rosi Wins the C/O Berlin Talent Award

Italian artist Silvia Rosi, born in 1992, has won the 2024 C/O Berlin Talent Award, presented by the German photography institution C/O Berlin for her work Protektorat, which will be showcased in a solo exhibition from February 1 to May 16, 2025. The other artists shortlisted for the 2024 edition were Salih Basheer (b. 1995, Sudan), Hiền Hoàng (b. 1990, Vietnam), Sheida Soleimani (b. 1990, USA), and Yao Yuan (b. 1988, China).

In Protektorat, Italian artist Silvia Rosi examines her Togolese roots and explores systems of communication and signs within colonial and hegemonic power structures. Drawing on archival material from the National Archives of Togo, she highlights the widespread imposition of Western systems during the colonial occupation of Togo by the German Reich, as well as British and French forces. Her artistic narrative unfolds through multiple visual forms and sensory layers: still and moving images accompanied by sound allow us to see and hear how local languages, traditions, and visual culture were overwritten and suppressed under colonialism. Rosi is always the protagonist of these works, powerfully inserting her personal experiences into collective history. The entire jury was impressed by Rosi’s complex aim of challenging "the documentary" in photography within the postcolonial discourse, using diverse and innovative approaches.

Silvia Rosi (b. 1992, IT) is an artist based between Lomé (Togo) and London (UK). In her practice, she uses photography and moving images to explore memory, oral histories, and (self-)representation. She earned a BA in Photography from the London College of Communication, University of the Arts London, in 2016. Her work has been exhibited internationally at institutions such as Collezione Maramotti (2024), the Brooklyn Museum (2024), CAMERA – Italian Center for Photography (2023), MAXXI (2022), MA*GA (2022), LACMA (2021), Les Rencontres d’Arles (2021), Autograph ABP (2021), and the National Portrait Gallery, London (2020).