International executive based in Rome and New York, championing smart cities, travel, art exhibitions, and festivals.

 

Former pioneer of Artificial Intelligence with multi-million dollar ROI use case references in Europe, North America, and the Middle East.

From 2017, Ralph established a boutique hotel start-up in Italy of a privately owned 17th-century country house situated in Spoleto. He created the signature brand and hospitality experience of Casale Flaminia, achieving tripadvisor and booking excellence awards within two years of operations. Sponsor of open call artist-in-residence sessions.

 

Founder of Smart Curators, a non-profit initiative built on the foundation of creative democracy. Providing open call residencies for artists and writers in Italy. Accompanied by international exhibitions and annual festivals, carefully curated by a distinguished body of creatives, academics, and cultural leaders across disciplines.

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Associate producer of Over the Wall, a journey of a diverse London based football team playing their way through Egypt and Israel to become the first British sports team to ever play in Palestine.

Journalist and communication expert, creative and visionary strategist, and deep thinker, and miracle aligner. International speaker and contributor, chair and coordinator of numerous events around the world and specialized content platforms (magazines, portals, blogs). Working with cities, universities, and private corporations to develop roadmaps and strategies for smart cities, smart regions, and smart tourism.

 

Awarded with the prize of Personality of the Year Smart Cities Live 2015, for the first time within the frame of the Green Business Week, an initiative of the AIP Foundation. Winner of The People Choice Award 1st edition 2018, an initiative from “Smart to Future” (Uk’s global smart cities event).

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Executive Director and Co-Founder of Zoom Global Smart Cities Association, Co-Founder of Smart Cities Portugal Cluster.

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Founder of  Smart Travel and Smart Festivals spin off.

Karin F Giusti currently lives and works in Upstate New York and Popoli Italy. Giusti holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Yale University School of Art in New Haven, CT and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from University of Massachusetts at Amherst. For the past twenty years she has been a professor at City University of New York at Brooklyn College. Giusti has exhibited her artwork locally, nationally, and internationally in museums, galleries, and public spaces. She has also lectured on the subject of site-specific sculpture widely, including at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC. Her awards and honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship in Sculpture Installation from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation; Fellowship in Architecture/Environmental Structures from the New York Foundation for the Arts; Individual Artist Grant from The Pollock-Krasner Foundation; the academic award of Bernard H. Stern Professor in Humor; Individual Artist Fellowship for Sculpture from the State of Connecticut Commission on the Arts, as well as many more. Patron of Open Call 2022 Residencies.

 

Her work can be viewed at www.karingiusti.com

Sophia is half German and half Ecuadorian and was born and raised in Germany. She is a trained translator and interpreter for Spanish and English and a foreign language correspondent. 

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In Sophia's own words: More than working as a translator / interpreter where I translate a message from one language into another, I discovered that I enjoy creating my own texts and content far more than merely translating for others. Some of the topics that interest me are, for example, mental health, family cohesion, life style, personality development, money investment, relationships. Sophia is in the process of publishing her first piece on Medium.

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Built on the foundation of creative democracy, Sophia is overseeing and shaping public relations at Smart Curators.

Adi Atassi was born in Homs, Syria in 1962. Growing up in beautiful landscapes, where the colors of nature alternate dramatically under the glaring light and where history and religion coexist, it was natural for his love of art to surface. At the age of 18, he entered the University of Damascus, where he studied Fine Arts. 

Like a sea gull flying to different lands building its nests, Adi’s fate brought him to Cyprus, which has provided him with his new home since 1987. His status as a foreigner, has given him the loneliness an artist needs, but at the same time, the familiarity of the climate and the history of place, has given him the love and warmth necessary for his creativity to thrive.

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He has held a variety of exhibitions in the annual show of the Space Studios in Nicosia, in the Open Studios within the walls of Nicosia and in various exhibitions hosted by the Cyprus Chamber of Fine Arts, and he has participated in many group shows in Hungary, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Romania, Germany, and Spain. In 2006, he won first prize in the art-competition for the design and creation of a work of art for the new Supreme Court building in Nicosia. 

Riccardo Meneghini was born in Italy, he has a background in competitive judo, graduated from I.S.E.F. (University of Verona) Diploma in Physical Education and attended a professional courses at “Accademia Isola Danza” in Venice, artistic director Carolyn Carlson. In the academic year 2001/2002 he joined “Transitions”at Laban Centre London achieving diploma in performance with special mention. He moved his base from London to Scotland to end up in having Leeds as his base for nine years. He has worked with such choreographers as Russell Maliphant, Carolyn Carlson, Janet Smith, Malou Airaudo, Rui Horta, Didi Veldman, Kim Brandstrup, Arthur Rosenfeld and companies including Scottish Dance Theatre, DV8 Physical Theatre in a research project, Company Chameleon, CCN Robuaix and Balletto Teatro Torino, Arearea, performing in prestigious theaters such as: Bolshoi Theater (moscow), Sadlers Wells (London), national Theater de Chaillot (Paris); while developing his own choreography vision, working as a freelance performer, teacher and choreographer. Through his lifetime of training and performing as a professional dancer, he has developed a great love and understanding of the human body in all of its wonder and intricacies and of the heart and spirit needed to be a dance artist. His work has been supported by Arts Council England and Provincia Autonoma di Trento several times in the past. His creations often contains original music, Riccardo has been regularly collaborating in the years with composers Demetris Zavros, Jered Daniel Sorkin e Marco Melia. Riccardo Riccardo teaches internationally in different platforms. He has been teaching technique classes, creative movements classes, improvisation classes and composition workshop extensively in these past 20 years. These are aimed at professional dancers, amateurs, adults, children, GCSE, a level dance students and dance and disability programme. Riccardo was appointed lecturer in contemporary dance at Northern School of Contemporary Dance in the year 2006/2007 and now guest teacher. During the years he tought in places such as Rotterdam Dance Academie (Codarts), Millennium2000 (London), Fondazione Bartolomei (Roma), Daf Dance Arts Faculty (Roma), CID Rovereto (Italy), Accademia Nico Pepe (Udine), and festival like: Frieburg Contact Improvisation festival, Trentino Danza Estate , Contact Festival Dartington (UK) , Thailand Contact Festival, and teaching to professional company like of Skanes Dansteatre , Balbir Singh Dance Company, Phoenix Dance Theatre and Carolyn Carlson Company with which he has been collaborating with in these past 11 years. At the moment they are waiting to be able to return to theaters with “The Tree”, the new creation completed January 2021; with "Crossroads to Synchronicity" (2017) and with "The Seventh Man", the latter is a solo creation (2019) for Riccardo Meneghini by Carolyn Carlson.

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Rosie McGurran was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and received her degree in Fine Art from the University of Ulster in 1992. She has exhib-ited nationally and internationally and was a member of Queen Street Studios, Belfast in the 1990s. In 1997 she was awarded The Arts Council of Northern Ireland Fellowship to The British School at Rome and The Victor Treacy Award of painting.

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In 2000, she re-located to the small village of Roundstone on the west coast of Ireland to research the art history of the village and the island of Inishlacken. She established a gallery and annual island residency, The Inishlacken Project, in 2001 while exhibiting and developing her own work. She has curated many exhibitions in Ireland and abroad while receiving awards and bursaries for her own work. Her work has taken her as far as Australia, Norway, Italy and the U.S. She is an elected member of the Royal Ulster Academy in Belfast.

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www.rosiemcgurran.com

Ina definitely picked the right profession, speaking 5 languages. She manages the international press and digital communications at TOD'S Group in Milan.

 

Her calm attitude and her true professionalism make her stand above the fashion drama which could well be lurking around every corner in Milan. She also knows one or two things about art, music and books and is deeply rooted in the south of Italy, where she comes from originally.

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www.todsgroup.com

I write essays, fiction, reviews, profiles, and sometimes uncategorizable things. I've published in The New York Times, Jack White's new Third Man print magazine Maggot Brain, Salon, Longreads, Details, The Weeklings, The American in Italia, and many other places. My profile subjects for magazine pieces have included such widely varying personalities as Steve Martin, Barry White, Martin Amis, and Dennis Hopper. I've also written web content, artist bios, and liner notes for albums.

 

My career on the editorial side started right out of college at Esquire magazine in New York, where I worked with writers including Denis Johnson, Mary Gaitskill, and Norman Mailer. I went on to freelance at magazines including Rolling Stone, New York, and Harper's. I was the Books Editor at Time Out New York and the Literary Editor at Details, jobs that required me to tackle piles of galleys and spot new literary talent.

 

More recently, I have been editing books on a freelance basis, helping writers shape, refine, and go more deeply into their novels, memoirs, nonfiction, and hybrid works. My clients have included acclaimed authors Dale Kushner, Wayétu Moore, David Lida, and Carmen Gentile.

 

I am currently working on my own novel, and have received writing fellowships from The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and the Ragdale Foundation. Most recently I was awarded the Stone Residency at The Museum of Loss and Renewal in Molise, Italy. I also work as a co-curator of the Murmrr Lit reading series at Murmrr Theatre in Brooklyn, where I have hosted and introduced authors including George Saunders, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Maggie Nelson, and Chris Kraus. At Johns Hopkins University, I studied fiction writing with John Barth, Edna O'Brien, Madison Smartt Bell, and Stephen Dixon. 

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I grew up in Pittsburgh and now live north of New York City in the Catskill mountains. I love being around creative people, read widely, listen to music obsessively, and frequently pull over to write things down when I drive. 

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www.janetsteen.com

Ingrid Christensen is a serial chameleon who believes life is a fluid experience. Our paths are not set in stone, they are changeable like seasons or as water finds its own course through time. Dreams do not define us but allow us to change course, to grow, to develop internally and externally. Ingrid defies the constructs of societal norms by listening to her intuition.

 

As a result, Ingrid has worked in manufacturing, logistics, corporate and luxury enterprises following what makes her happy, evolving through distinct experiences and knowledge. Currently joining us from Italy, Ingrid has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Canterbury. Working in factories, rehabilitation, counselling, government consulting and as a chef for high-net-worth families on private yachts her experience and understanding of people is truly diverse.

 

Her experience is reflected in her ability to relate easily to others, their experiences and helping others to work towards their dreams. She also has the ability to communicate across cultures having worked across the globe. The Live Your DreamLife Today Interview Series began on the 10th June 2020 in response to a growing desire in our communities to become independent from traditional income streams.

 

With more people desiring a greater balance in their lives and more control over their futures, Ingrid saw a gap in the knowledge field as to how to make it happen. Fast forward to today, she is inspired to help you become your best self. To live the life you love, to live your very own dreamlifetoday.

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www.dreamlifeofmine.com

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Sam J Grudgings is a poet perpetually on the edge of collapse. Shortlisted for the Outspoken Poetry Prize in the performance category in 2020 he is renowned for his frenetic delivery and whirlwind stage presence. His work combines visceral metaphors with frank gutter honesty and dark gallows humour. He yells stories about loss, 50 ft monsters, fighting god and haunted people because it's cheaper than therapy and less physically taxing than porno. If he invites you to join a cult, it’s because he sees more than just a sacrifice in you.

He has toured the country delivering his weird explorations into addiction and the complicity of privilege in explosions of flailing arms and off brand hypnotism and cheap magic tricks. A frequent collaborator with artists of all mediums, he has appeared on pop punk albums, alongside dancers, in art galleries, haunted churches and on most wanted lists, somehow dating three hundred years in the future. Pushing the boundaries of performance and inviting people along for the wild ride Sam has fought for and earned, the respect of poets and the ire of Gods. 

His debut collection “The Bible II” is due out with Verve Poetry Press in 2021, in the meantime, his work can be found in Riggwelter Press, Nine Arches, Cipher Press and scrawled in blood, alongside prophecies predicting the fall of man in the deepest caves as yet undiscovered amongst others. 

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Sam runs workshops on performance as well as campaigning for the recognition of lived experience in professional & academic circles. He endeavours to bring poetry to everyone, by collaboration efforts with musicians, dancers, artists & initiatives in local communities.

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www.samjgrudgings.co.uk

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Niaz Maleknia was born in Iran in 1969 and left at the outbreak of the Revolution in 1979 at a time when photographs in Iran were banned. Escaping in the middle of the night, Niaz left with her family to come to London. 

 

After completing her schooling at the International school, Niaz went on to study English Literature and got her BA from London University and worked as a fashion buyer for a number of years, before deciding to go back to university to become a teacher. Both Montessori trained, and in Secondary English, Niaz brings the Montessori approach into secondary teaching and has taught in Scotland, Brazil, Holland and Italy.

 

"Photography has always interested me, particularly the works of Eggleston, Klein and Friedlander. I enjoy reading about photography theory, and I bring theory and practical photography into the workshops at Young Photographers London (YPL). Making young photographers think about the images they are taking and to discuss and critic them is my aim." 

 

Niaz recently completed her MA in photo documentary and photo journalism at London College of Communication.

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www.niazmalekniaphotography.com

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Beatrice Rehema Mlaa Katite is an upcoming author who is in the process of writing her debut book "Tony and his Big Fish". She is also the founder of Bernd with Rehema Foundation, aiming to provide affordable schooling and healthcare in Kenya.

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Born and raised in Kenya along the Kenyan Coast, she holds a Diploma in Business Management (Graduate), and is also an Associate Member of the Association of Business Executives (AMABE), UK.

 

Beatrice Rehema has been working as a legal PA with Kamoti Omollo and Company Advocates for more than ten years. Being in the legal sector her desire is always to see justice delivered to the people she is serving. She always believes in Equity, for he who comes to Equity must come with clean hands.

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Having had to fight for her late husband’s wish to Rest In Peace in Kenya, Rehema discovered writing as a way of healing the wound which she was nursing.

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Melissa Hekkers is a freelance journalist and author, based in Nicosia, Cyprus.

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Her most recent publication (2020) Amir’s Blue Elephant, is her first attempt at creative non-fiction and is based on her experiences as a volunteer working with refugees in Lesvos, Greece and Cyprus. Amir’s Blue Elephant has been translated from English into Greek and French. 

 

In 2018 she published My Cape Greco Mandala, a colouring book inspired by the wildlife of the Cape Greco peninsula in Cyprus and was preceded by My Akamas Mandala which focuses on a variety of endemic plants found on the Akamas Natural Reserve. In 2016, she published My Nicosia Mandala, the first of the above series, an innovative, interactive colouring book about the historic fortifications of the old town of Nicosia.

 

Since 2015, Melissa has been focuses on silenced communities and cultivates an interest in a variety of societal matters. She teaches creative writing to children and adults, leads European Funded progammes that focus on migrants and asylum seekers while her writing, both as a reporter and author focuses on migration issues. 

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In 2007, soon after graduating with a Communications degree, she published her first children’s book in both English and Greek entitled Crocodile, which won the Cyprus State Illustration Award. In 2012, she launched her second children’s book Flying across Red Skies (in English and Greek), using an experimental approach to literature, for which she was nominated for the Cyprus State Literary award.

 

Her third children’s book, Pupa (Greek and English), was published in 2014 and adapted as a theatre play in 2019 similarly. In between her last two books, she published her first free-verse poetry book entitled Come-forth.

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www.melissahekkers.com

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Sandy is a multi-faceted Creative, a Sensitive and an Energy Alchemist with nearly 40 years of experience in weaving her innate Creativity with the Ancient Healing Arts in different ways to awaken, heal and open hearts.

 

Her journey has taken her through 20 years as a Couture Wedding Dress Designer in the 80’s and 90’s creating unique and beautiful clothing for clients. Her work seen on many catwalks in stunning locations, in exhibitions and featured in major publications… To turning to her attention to Interior Design in 2000 and the concept of healing space and the home being a Sacred Sanctuary for the Soul. For this work she was a finalist in Design Awards in London in 2003.

 

Sandy’s fascination with spaces continued with the exploration of a deeper understand of the psychology of home. This took her to hundreds of client consultations throughout Europe, UK and into East Coast USA as a House Whisperer, reading spaces energetically and clearing and healing the past stories to reveal the true heart of home for her clients. Sandy was involved in a tv pilot for this work and also appeared on Chanel 5 tv.

 

2010 saw another opening in her journey as she walked through the Rose gardens at the Alhambra in Granada, Spain with her favourite camera. The Roses called her with whispered messages and from there the Rose Alchemy and the Rose Oracle for the Heart was birthed. The 1st edition was published in 2014 and launch with a presentation at the UN in New York on the Rose and the path of Peace. The expanded 2nd edition was published 2019. Each of the Roses carries a frequency and a channelled message of Love and the Rose Oracle has now gone around the world touching and healing hearts. 

 

Her life’s work weaves the stories of Women, the Feminine and Ancient Wisdom through the past into present time… to find self-love, a true voice and sense of authentic empowerment.

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​Currently Sandy is immersed in another creative adventure, birthing a book that speaks to this Rose Heart journey and the transformational energies of this time. I am based in the New Forest, Hampshire, England.

 

www.RoseAlchemy.com

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www.SandyHumby.com

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