Adelina von Fürstenberg is an internationally renowned curator who founded the NGO ART for the World in 1995. Some of her most notable projects include curating the National Pavilion of Armenia at the 2015 Venice Biennale, which won the Golden Lion for Best National Participation, as well as exhibitions in São Paulo on African contemporary art and water issues. She aims to use art to promote dialogue on social and environmental topics. Upcoming, she is organizing the exhibition AQUA in Geneva in 2017 to raise awareness of water preservation.

1.
Curator Information
Adelina von Fürstenberg
Founder and Director of ART for the World
Awards
1993- Special Mention of the Jury of the 45th Biennale of Venice for her direction of the
School of Curators of Le Magasin - Centre National d'Art Contemporain, Grenoble.
2008- Cultural Event 2008 of the Council of Europe for the ART for The World film production
of Stories on Human Rights, in recognition of a handful of exceptional and innovative
artistic projects organised in Europe.
2015- Golden Lion for the Best National Participation by the International Jury of the Biennale
for the curatorship of Armenity, the National Pavilion of the Republic of Armenia at the
56th Biennale di Venezia.
2015- Medal of Merit conferred by the President of the Republic of Armenia
2016- Swiss Grand Award for Art / Prix Meret Oppenheim, conferred by the Federal Office of
Culture, Swiss Confederation.
Biography and Selected Projects
Adelina von Fürstenberg is an internationally renowned curator, one of the field's pioneers in
broadening contemporary art. A Swiss citizen of Armenian origin, granddaughter of Architect
Dikran Kalfa Cüberyan, she was born in Istanbul. She is married to photographer Graf Franz
Egon von Fürstenberg, son of fashion icon, Gloria Guiness and Count Franz-Egon von
Fürstenberg.
Von Fürstenberg was one of the first curators to show an interest in non-Western artists, as
well taking a more global and flexible approach to contemporary art exhibitions, by bringing art
into unique spaces such as monasteries, medersas, public buildings, squares, islands, and
parks. Her objective is to endow a broader context to visual art making it a more integral part
of our lives, and forging discourse and dialogue on major issues of our times.
While studying Political Science at the University of Geneva, she founded and directed the
Centre d'Art Contemporain Genève. She later directed Le Magasin - Centre National d'Art
Contemporain and its School of Curators in Grenoble, France.
Among her most important projects with the Centre d'Art Contemporain, was the
groundbreaking Promenades, 1985 on the shores of Lake Leman at Parc Lullin, Genthod,
comprising in-situ sculptures and open-air installations. The project inspired the creation of
several well-known sculpture parks which have been developed subsequently including
Domaine de Kerguéhennec, France; The Gori Art Collection at Villa Celle, Pistoia,Italy: The
Riehen Park, Basel, Switzerland; and the new The Kröller-Müller Museum's site-specific art
installations in Otterlo, Netherlands.
In 1988, at the headquarters of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Geneva, she
produced the The Line of Fire exhibition of American architect Daniel Libeskind, comprising a
35 meter long, 1:1 scale installation that later became the model for his design of the Jewish
Museum Berlin.
With the United Nations and their agencies, she has curated major exhibitions including
Dialogues of Peace, 1995, presented at the UN Headquarters in Geneva on the occasion of
the UN's 50th anniversary with the participation of 60 artists, including Robert Rauschenberg,
Ilya Kabakov, Chen Zhen, Tadashi Kawamata, and Alfredo Jaar.
In 1996 on the occasion of the World Health Organizations’s 50th anniversary, she curated
the sweeping traveling exhibition,The Edge of Awareness, opening in Geneva before showing
in New York, São Paulo, New Delhi and Milan.
In 2008, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR), she conceived and produced the long feature film Stories on Human Rights,
composed of a series of 22 short movies which were inspired by the UDHR, each directed by
a prominent filmmaker. After premiering at the Palais de Chaillot, Trocadero, in Paris on the
anniversary of the signing of the UDHR, 10 December 2008, the film has since been screened
in more than 90 film festivals around the world.
CURATORSHIP AND ORGANIZATION
_______________________________________________________

2.
ART for The World
Mrs. Adelina von Fürstenberg founded ART for The World, NGO associated with the UN
Department of Public Information, in Geneva in 1995. Its mission is to merge ethics with
aesthetics to build cross-cultural relationships to create meaningful and lasting dialogue
between peoples, cultures and worldviews through contemporary art and cinema, while
fostering education, well-being, and sustainability as universal values. www.artfortheworld.net
Permanent Collaborators
Since then Mrs. von Fürstenberg’s activites have transpired across five continents, engaging
and exhibiting well-known established artists, as well as young promising artists. In Brazil, she
works in partnership with the Regional Direction of SESC São Paulo, the major cultural
institution of the country, curating significant exhibitions, among them The Overexcited Body-
Art and Sport in Contemporary Art, 2001 and Urban Manners 2, 2010, the first Indian
contemporary art exhibition in South America.
In Italy where she has many collaborators and followers, she has curated projects on regularly
in Venice, Rome, Florence and Milan, including major shows at the 5’000 square metered
Pirelli HangarBicocca, among them Balkan Epics by Marina Abramovic, 2006 and Urban
Manners, 2007, introducing Italy to Indian contemporary art.
More recently, her curation of Here Africa, received wide acclaim in Switzerland and Brazil,
and will be presented in July 2017 under the auspices of the Mayor of Milan at the Padiglione
d'Arte Contemporanea (PAC), Milan.
Media Coverage
Mrs. von Fürstenberg's activities are covered regularly by major press and media. Her first
show with Art for The World in 1995, Dialogues of Peace was featured prominently on the
front page of the New York Times, marking an auspicious start for the organization.
Thenceforward, her curatorial projects have been chronicled by publications including Folha de
S. Paulo, O Estado de S.Paulo, Le Monde, Libération, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, La
Repubblica, Corriere della Sera, The Financial Times, Die Zeit, Le Temps, La Tribune de
Genève. See ART for The World Selected Press on www.artfortheworld.net.
Visitors
Thanks to the collaboration with important international institutions, von Fürstenberg's
exhibitions have had an extensive public reach around the world. The Mediterranean
Approach attracted 152'000 visitors in São Paulo, FOOD 90'000 visitors in Marseille, and
Armenity more than 120'000 visitors in Venice.
From FOOD to AQUA
Under the auspices of EXPO Milan 2015 and in partnership with the Department of Culture of
Geneva, between 2012-2015, von Fürstenberg curated FOOD, an expansive art project on
Mother Earth, Agriculture and Nutrition, inviting artists to explore various questions of food,
simultaneously addressing issues of survival, health, the economy and culture. It premièred in
Geneva at the Musée Ariana, then traveled to São Paulo and MuCEM (Musée des
Civilisations et de la Méditerranée), Marseille.
Continuing with the same concern on environment, health and well-being, in 2016 von
Fürstenberg has conceived her latest exhibition: AQUA or The Old Jaguar Knows Where to
Find Water, having already secured the patronage of UN Water/WMO, the City of Geneva,
Les Services Industriels de Genève (SIG), and the Department of Development and
Cooperation (DDC)/ Swiss Confederation.
Through the works of contemporary artists from different parts of the world with varied
backgrounds and perspectives, AQUA raises awareness of the long-term need to preserve
our natural resources, maintain an overall ecological balance and reduce environmental
damage. This new monumental project of ART for the World reminds us of our relationship and
responsibility to water, and its wide ranging effects on contemporary society.

3.
2015 ART for The World Activities
Curatorship and Exhibition
GENEVA
29 January – 2 February 2015
MARTA DELL’ANGELO
ArtGeneve, International Art Fair
VENICE
6 May – 3 November 2015
ARMENITY/HAYOUTIOUN
56th Biennale of Venice
National Pavilion of Armenia
Golden Lion for Best National Participation
Participating Artists: Haig Aivazian, Nigol Bezjian, Anna Boghiguian,
Hera Büyüktaşçıyan, Silvina Der-Meguerditchian, Rene Gabri and
Ayreen Anastas, Mekhitar Garabedian, Aikaterini Gegisian, Yervant
Gianikian and Angela Ricci Lucchi, Aram Jibilian, Nina Katchadourian,
Melik Ohanian, Mikayel Ohanjanyan, Rosana Palazyan, Sarkis, Hrair
Sarkissian
Catalogue : Armenian/English, 177 pages, 3000 copies
Number of visitors: 120’000
SAO PAULO
19 November 2015 – 28 February 2016
AQUI AFRICA
SESC Belenzinho, Sao Paulo
African Contemporary Art
Participating Artists: Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou, Omar Ba, Frédéric
Bruly Bouabré, Edson Chagas, Kudzanai Chiurai, Romuald Hazoumé,
Samuel Kane Kwei, Rigobert Nimi, J.D.’Okhai Ojeikere, Idrissa
Ouédraogo, Chéri Samba, Abderrahmane Sissako, Barthélémy Toguo
Brochure : Portugese, 48 pages, 30'000 copies
Number of visitors: 90’000

4. Publication
BROCHURE ART FOR THE WORLD
English and French, 5’000 copies
Brochure presenting the activities and goals of the organization. Widely
distributed at ART for The World’s booth at ArtGeneve, Venice Biennale and
at many other activities of ART for The World.
Other Activities
JURY CINEMA PLATFORM (ATCP) - YEREVAN
Member of the jury workshop ATCP proposed in the context of the 12ème
edition of the
GOLDEN APRICOT Yerevan International Film Festival (July 2015)
JURY PREMIO MAXXI - ROME
Member of the Jury of the Grand Prix of Italian art, MAXXI Rome 2016
(December 2015)
ART
FOR THE
WORLD

5. 2016 ART for The World Activities
20th
Annivesary of ART for The World
Curation and Exhibition
GENEVA
28 – 31 January2016
PLAYGROUNDS & TOYS - AN ONGOING
PROJECT, 2000
ArtGeneve, International Art Fair
Artists exhibited: Omar Ba, Fabiana de
Barros, Sergio Augusto Gio, Fabrice Gygi,
Los Carpinteros, Tony Morgan, Liliana Moro
GENEVA
3 – 4 April 2016
ULAY - PERFORMANCE ET PROJECTION
Musée d’art et d’histoire (MAH)
In collaboration with the MAH
Film Screening of Performing Life, Auditorium
Attendees: 200 persons
Performance Invisible Opponent, Salles Palatines
Spectators: 350 persons
GENEVA
28 April – 17 July 2016
URS FISCHER, FALSE FRIENDS – EXPOSITION
Musée d’art et d’histoire
In collaboration with the MAH
With a selection of works from the DESTE Foundation and the Dakis
Joannou Collection
Participating Artists : Pawel Althamer, Maurizio Cattelan, Urs Fischer,
Fischi&Weiss, Robert Gober, Jeff Koons, Martin Kippenberger, Paul
McCarthy, Cindy Sherman, Kiki Smith
Number of Visitors: 30'000 persons

6. Other Activities
VENICE
28 May 2016
EXPERIENCING THE MUSEUM – Conference and debate
Organised by Le Pôle Muséal* and the Swiss Foundation for
Culture, Pro Helvetia
Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi
In the context of the 15th
International Biennale of Architecture
Debate on contemporary architecture and the museum experience
Introduction and moderation by Adelina von Fürstenberg, Director,
ART for The World
Speakers: Anne-Catherine Lyon, State Counselor, Canton of Vaud, Pascal Broulis, State
Counselor, Canton of Vaud; Chantal Prod’Hom, Director of mudac, Musée de design et
d’arts appliqués contemporains, and President of Pôle muséal, Lausanne; Christoph
Gantenbein, Architect, Christ & Gantenbein, Basel; Fabrizio Barozzi, Architect,
Barozzi/Veiga, Barcelona; Manuel Aires Mateus, Architect, Office of Aires Mateus, Lisbon.
Attendees : 400 persons
BASEL
13 June 2016
SWISS GRAND AWARD FOR ART / PRIX MERET OPPENHEIM
Conferred by the Federal Office of Culture to Adelina von Fürstenberg,
Director ART for The World
« PARTICIPATION », ART FOR THE WORLD 1995-2016
Book retracing the 20 years of activities of the organization.
May 2016
Mousse Publishing, Milan, ART for The World
Color, black and white, and images
256 pages, English
2'000 copies
http://www.artfortheworld.net/participation

7. GENEVA
21 October 2016
THE ROLE OF THE ARTS AND CULTURAL
INSTITUTIONS IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD
Library of the UN Office of Geneva
UN Library Talk in the context of the Geneva launch of
PARTICIPATION
Speakers : Charles Beer, President of Pro Helvetia and Former President of the State
Council of the Canton of Geneva/ Head of Public Education, Culture and Sport,
Switzerland; Danilo Santos de Miranda, Regional Director of SESC, São Paulo, Brazil;
Adam Szymczyk, Artistic Director of documenta 14, 2017, Athens, Greece/ Kassel,
Germany; Bathélémy Toguo, Artist and Founder of Bandjoun Station Project,
Cameroon.
Upcoming Projects 2017-2018
LANCY/GENEVA
FABRICATION OF THE PLAYGROUND BY FABRICE GYGI –
A PUBLIC PROJECT for the 20th
Anniversary of ART for The World
June 2017, Lancy
GENEVA
22 March – 31 August 2017
AQUA – The Old Jaguar Knows Where to Find Water
Les Berges de Vessy – L’Ile Rousseau – Le Château de Penthes
Traveling to other locations globally 2017-2018
AQUA or The Old Jaguar Knows Where to Find Water is
a sweeping contemporary art exhibition now in preparation
in Geneva, in venues close to Lac Leman, the Rhone and
Arve Rivers, and the park and Chateau de Penthes.
Composed of paintings, sculptures, installations, videos,
photographs and performances of numerous internationally
renowned artists. AQUA's aim is to bring public awareness
to the issues on the preservation of our environment
and sustainability, in particular to issues linked to water and the impact of human activity
on the equilibrium of our ecosystems.
The exhibition will be inaugurated on 22 March, 2017, World Water Day at three venues in
parallel. With the patronage of UN Water, the UN inter-agency mechanism on freshwater
related issues, AQUA is organized in partnership with SIG (Services industriels genevois),
The City of Geneva, Geneva Water Hub, and the DDC/ DFAE of Switzerland.