Biography – Emir Elisa Rizzato

Emir Elisa Rizzato is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, glassmaking, woodwork, metalwork, and sound art. Often weaving these diverse media together, she creates immersive, multi-sensorial installations that invite active engagement and reflection.

Originally from Italy, Rizzato graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in 2024 with a degree in Fine Art. Her practice balances oil and acrylic painting, skills rooted in her earlier artistic education at P. Selvatico in Padua, with sculptural and interactive elements such as metal, wood, and glass, which she developed during her university studies. She is currently undertaking a Master’s degree in Craft at Edinburgh College of Art, where she continues to expand the material and conceptual scope of her work.

At the core of Rizzato’s practice is a desire to find common ground and foster shared understanding. Her work addresses themes that are often overlooked, with a particular focus on the complex and evolving relationship between humans and nature. By encouraging reflection on this relationship, she aims to open pathways toward greater awareness and care.

Interactivity plays a central role in her installations, which often require the viewer’s participation to be fully realised. Drawing inspiration from cities in Scotland and Italy where she has lived and worked, such as Glasgow, Dundee, and Venice, Rizzato incorporates personal experiences and connections to place and community. These lived encounters inform a practice rooted in dialogue, collective reflection, and a sense of communal hope.

"I am committed to driving creative projects that foster dialogue and inspire social change."

Selected Solo Exhibitions / Events / Talks:
2024 – Speaking at University of Dundee about my final Degree Show project and Dissertation.
2022 – Speedwells bar, exhibit of painting “Fiddlers”, Perth Road, Dundee.
2022 – Public exhibition of painting “Workers made Glasgow” in George Square, Glasgow, Scotland.
2020 – Progetto Dodecaedro, work selected for group exhibition in Padua and Moscow, and selected for exchange, P. Selvatico, Moscow, Italy and Russia.

Selected Group Exhibitions / Events / Talks:
2025 – Threading Glass: Women, Beads and the Art of Connection, exhibition organised with Shonah Escombe at Edinburgh College of Art.
2025 – Generator project, Member Show ’25.
2024 – DJCAD 2024 Degree Show.
2024 – What can you do when you live in a shoe event/ collective exhibition.
2024 – DJCAD Dissertation Conference, presenting and talking about dissertation topic and research.
2024 – Generator projects X CapSoc, Because we want to! That’s why! exhibition.
2024 – Generator project, Member’s show ’24.
2023 – Atmosfera Archives, Load of Shite: Recontextualising Space, selected work for group exhibition.
2023 –Pop-Up pavilion, Alter Markt, Together Against Climate Change, selected for group exhibition in Germany.
2023 – Dundee University Student’s Assocciation exhibition for DEMSFEST, organization, curation, and part of the exhibition with installation, Airlie Place, Dundee.
2023 – Atmosfera Archives exhibition of photographs at The Hunter S Thompson, Dundee.
2023 – Federation Gallery exhibition curation and presentation of a print, Dundee.
2023 – Studio Montclair Leach Gallery international exhibition of painting, Montclair, USA.
2022 – Art, Science and Visual thinking, group exhibition at the School of Life Sciences building, Dundee.
2020 – Art & Science across Italy, Infn Padua, Online exhibition.
2019 – Work selected for the Progetto Dodecaedro, travelling exhibition between Art Lyceum P. Selvatico and Moscow Central Art School at the Russian Academy of Arts.
2020 – Il selvatico non si ferma, participating in competition and selected for online exhibition, P. Selvatico, Italy.
2020 – Progetto Leonardo, selected for group exhibition in Padua, Italy.
2019 – Sugar Pulp association, group exhibition at the Theatre Cinema Sant’Angelo, Padua Italy.
2019 – Donne Coraggiose, group exhibitions across Italy with the M. Carrion association, Italy.
2018 – Il carnevale di Schumann, group exhibition on the subject of masks of Shumann’s carnival alongside students of the conservatoire of Padova “Pollini” playing.

Scholarships and Awards:
2022 – John Byres award, shortlisted for the award.
2022 – Sccan storyteller’s collective grant.

Publications:
2024 – Dissertation published in Rising Stars: Fine Art Research by DJCAD graduands of 2024, Boom Graduates.
2023 – Poetry Expo 2023, Versopolis, online publication.
2023 – John Byrne award, online publication.
2022 – Art, Science and Visual Thinking, 2022 showcase catalog.
2022 – Sccan (Scottish Communities CAN), Climaate Action Network, online publication.
2020/2021 – John Byrne award, online publication.
2020 – Art & Science across Italy, 2018-2021 edition.
2020 – Il selvatico non si ferma, work selected for online publication.