Elisa Abela

Born in 1980 in Catania, Italy, Elisa Abela lives and works in France, where she combines her visual practice with an ongoing engagement in music.

She has taken part in numerous exhibition projects with the collective canecapovolto, including Presente Continuo (2008, Francesco Pantaleone Arte Contemporanea, Palermo; Galleria gianlucacollica, Catania), Diwan (2010, Galleria gianlucacollica, Catania), and Hologram (2011, Riso – Museum of Contemporary Art of Sicily, Palermo).

In 2010 she presented her first solo exhibition in Rome at s.t. foto libreria galleria, Il fotografo tremolante, Rurù in castigo e altre opere su carta, curated by Matteo Di Castro, with a text by Emanuele Trevi and a video portrait by canecapovolto. In the same year she held the solo exhibition Smitty il gatto e altre storie at Bocs, Catania.

In the following years, her work was shown in various venues, including Galleria Nopx in Turin (2011), AOC F58 – Galleria Bruno Lisi in Rome (2015, Bettina la Rivale – percorso per amatori evoluti, curated by Francesca Orsi), and Interzone Galleria in Rome (2019, Ipernova, curated by Lara Limongelli). Alongside her exhibition practice, Abela has developed an extensive research on the artist’s book, presented in exhibitions and projects such as Un grosso affare. Fotoromanzi usati (2012, s.t. foto libreria galleria, Rome) and Antologia: libri usati 2008–2018 (2019, s.t. foto libreria galleria, Rome), curated by Matteo Di Castro.

In 2017 and 2018, several of her works were acquired by the Donata Pizzi Collection and were subsequently exhibited in L’ALTRO SGUARDO. Italian Women Photographers 1965–2018, curated by Raffaella Perna (2018, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome).

In 2018 she took part in the 8th edition of the Sicilia Queer Film Fest with a preview of the video project Oggi sono passato e tu non c’eri, developed with the collective canecapovolto.

In 2021, a significant portion of her artist’s books produced between 2010 and 2020 was acquired by the collection of Tiane Doan na Champassak. In the same year, she published the volume For Adults Only – 23 Drawings by Elisa Abela with s.t. edizioni, curated by Matteo Di Castro.

In 2024 she participated in the artist residency programme of the Associazione Lizières (Épaux-Bézu, France), under the artistic direction of Ramuntcho Matta, developing the exhibition–atelier project Enjoy Panic. During the residency, she also collaborated with several local schools on visual and musical arts projects.