Raisa Desypri

Biography

Raisa is currently a PhD candidate at Central Saint Martins in London. Her research lies at the intersection of curating, visual and performing arts and community engagement. Her curatorial approach is deeply linked to an interest in space and place with an emphasis on emotions, memory and bodily sensations. She also favours processes centred on mediation, focusing on how public space and community engagement can create new forms of cultural and artistic commons.

In recent years, Raisa has played the role of mediator, artist and organiser, collaborating with various projects in the artistic and cultural field, such as the One Year Lease Summer Program, an international performance residency focusing on the study of and engagement with the ancient theater tradition and intangible cultural heritage of Epirus, Greece. As the founder and member of ASTRO, a creative archive and research collective focused on exploring the concept of "home", she is currently involved in artistic and curatorial initiatives that encourage personal ethnography and public participation through immersive and collaborative experiences.

She was a Trustee for the UK-based NGO RefugEase for 7 years, which focuses on helping refugees “in transit”, from frontline evacuations to humanitarian aid deliveries. This involvement with diverse communities has deepened her interest in questions of territoriality, dislocation, social organisation and notions of care.

She holds a BA in History of Art and Visual Culture and a Master's with distinction in Digital Media and Visual Anthropology, both from Goldsmiths College. During her Master's, she conducted a research-based thesis exploring the role of material culture in shaping identity in new homes, within migrant communities in London, with a focus on transnational objects and smartphones.

She has curated several exhibitions in Athens, London, and Berlin. She has received a number of grants for different projects, including the Points of Support Grant by the Bodosakis Foundation and the Mobility Grant by the Goethe Foundation amongst others. Her show “Our Journey Continued”, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and Comic Relief in 2020, was showcased for PAUSE UK. Oher exhibitions of her’s have been featured at festivals like 48H Neukölln, VORSPIEL Festival, and Transmediale’s event series.