Sofia Cotrona Email & Phone Number

Helmsdale, Scotland, United Kingdom

As Communication and Marketing Manager for Timespan, I designed and delivered a marketing strategy focused on tailoring our messages to our wide range of users. Raising to the challenges of marketing the complex cultural offerings of Timespan and the, at times conflicting, interests of its local, national and international audiences; following an audience research, I have developed a strategy that diversifies our content (visually and in their copy) on our different social media and press platform to reflect our multiple users' interests. I led the creation of a Community Card to support repeated visits from locals and strengthen Timespan's relation with the nearby audiences. More than 100 people signed up for the service in less than a month and the Community Card page is the most searched and engaged with on our website according to Google Analytics. Over the past months, we have also successfully strengthen relationship with the local and national press and specialist arts publications achieving multiple articles covering our heritage offerings and our upcoming exhibitions.In my daily responsibilities I oversee, create and deliver all communication campaigns planning monthly editorial plans and liaising with the design editor and the rest of the team to ensure deadlines are met. I manage Timespan's social media, as well as liaising with the local and national press to ensure our wide range of cultural and artistic offerings reach our target audiences.

Helmsdale

Supported the production and delivery of "Becoming Futures" a weekend-long festival exploring science-fiction, utopias, and imaginative futures through sound practices. Supported by the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Italian Ministry of Culture as part of the Italian Council (2022), the programme for the international promotion of Italian contemporary art. Participating artists: Steve Goodman (Kode9), ALMARE, Radio Papesse, Natasha Thembiso Ruwona, Jacquie Aitken, and Mark Vernon (Radiophrenia).Key responsibilities: liaised with international artists and partners, supported the project management by creating project plans, overseeing budgets, drafting contracts and organising partners’ travels and accommodations. Showcased familiarity with infrastructure management including equipment management: organised PA hire and tech support. Led the communication strategy across social media and press demonstrating knowledge of Content Management Systems and overseeing the promotional efforts through website design. Demonstrated experience in planning and managing projects, resolving problems, and excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

As a freelance art writer, I attend, research, and review exhibitions in Scotland producing first-class articles covering the Scottish contemporary visual arts landscape. Writing about a variety of media, art practices, and art historical periods, I demonstrate my wide preparation and interest in visual arts and my ability to critically engage with diverse art forms. My research and interest, reflected in my writing, focus on curatorial approaches, feminist interventions, social histories, and cultural interventions promoting social justice.

Scotland, United Kingdom

NYAAG ensures to voice youths' perspectives within the decision-making process for Scotland’s national youth arts strategy. Created in collaboration with Creative Scotland and Young Scot, the NYAAG is a group of people under 25 which has created the Culture and Connection report examining how young people across Scotland can shape their creative future. The NYAAG have developed 9 vision statements and 15 recommendations to open a discussion and highlight issues they have discovered through their work. These were informed by a Young Scot national survey of young people which ran from March to June 2018.

Organised and facilitated a national consultation to gather the views of young Scottish people about arts participation, cultural democracy, active citizenship, and cultural accessibility. Gathered data and developed a report which will contribute to an international policy addendum to the Porto Santo Charter to ensure that young people’s perspectives are heard by European policy-makers and included in cultural policies of the future. The addendum will then be presented to political decision-makers, the European Commission and UNESCO in 2025.Experienced in researching and designing reports about audience impacts, communities’ needs and demands to be directed at arts institutions, and national and international policymakers such as the European Commission.

Scotland, United Kingdom

As a freelancer contributor for Art UK I have been writing articles about the artistic panorama in Scotland and Edinburgh. The variety of these pieces demonstrates my wide knowledge in art history and my ability to write about contemporary development in the art world. You can find my articles here:

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

Co-designed and collaboratively assessed youth fundings like Nurturing Talent Fund, Youth Arts Bursaries, and Youth Arts Open Fund gaining knowledge in community-led micro funds, individuals, and organisations systemic barriers to access and approaches to tackling them. The selected organisations applied for funding to Creative Scotland to create bursaries for the professional development of young people across Scotland to broaden arts accessibility. Awarded £250k, the recipients engaged with a variety of art forms.

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

Volunteer as art reviewer for the newspaper The Student. This experience has given me the chance to perfect my writing skills, it taught me how to articulate art-related concepts in approachable tones and to voice my critical opinions about a diverse range of artistic productions.

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

As Deputy Editor in Chief, it is my role to develop a coherent vision for The Student setting themes and topics for the fortnight printed edition of the magazine. Working in collaboration with two fellow Editors in Chief I will help supervise the design, the copy-editing and the proof-reading of the printed edition. I will also be responsible to liaise with editors and writers, attending the weekly meetings, supervising pitching ideas and proofreading the articles published online (working with Wordpress) and in print. This year we envision The Student to contain more media content, we will therefore recruit student artists and photographer to ensure that our visual presence matches up the brilliant journalistic content created by our writers

Edinburgh

As Art Editor it was my role to network and liaise with all of Edinburgh art galleries, arranging private viewing and ensuring invitations for art premieres. I coordinated and contacted PR companies and art institutions to arrange interviews with artists, curators, theorists of visual arts in all of its form. This unique position allowed me to be constantly informed about the newest exhibitions taking place in the Scottish capital, holding a pulse of the contemporary art scene in Scotland and in the UK at large. This position taught me about copyediting, how to master Wordpress and the page-making program Scribus to design the pages for the fortnight printed edition of The Student. It was my responsibility to attend weekly writers' and editors' meetings, pitching and edit articles, design pages layout for the print edition and arrange and communicate with galleries and museums around Edinburgh.

Edinburgh, Scotland

I was selected as one of the two representatives members of the National Group Arts Advisory Group ( the Scottish youth advocacy group advising Creative Scotland and the Scottish creative sector on youth art strategy and policies) to voice young people’s interests and assist with the organisation and the programming of Edinburgh International Cultural Summit. In this role, I helped to develop the invitations to the international committee, and I contributed to the research and the selection of international youth organisations whose work we considered exemplary in advancing opportunities for young people in arts and culture. I was selected as the host of an online international youth summit held in August 2022 whose outcomes will be feedback at the official EICS 2022. As a Youth Delegate, I will also take part in the Edinburgh International Cultural Summit 2022 representing Scotland and Italy as a youth advocate voicing young people's perspectives and interests in arts and culture

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

One of the four emerging writers selected for the Emerging Writers Programme: a collaboration between The Skinny and Edinburgh Art Festival 2022. As part of the programme I was commissioned to review two exhibitions part of EAF 22. I reviewed 'In the Eddy of the Stream' by Cooking Sections and Sakiya, and 'Watch This Space' by Community Wellbeing Collective

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

Edinburgh

Responsible for creating, promoting and delivering a program of events over the summer to engage young audiences with the exhibition 'Robert Blomfield- Student of Light' by the Centre for Research Collection. Ideated and delivered art writing workshops, two student competitions (review and photography) and cyanotypes workshops for elementary school pupils. Organised and delivered a free drop-in tour of the exhibition during Fringe, I also trained and coordinated a volunteer team to deliver the tours. Created and processed monitoring and feedback forms to evaluate the programme of activities and improved it according to the audience's feedback. This role sees me liaising with multiple stakeholders: CRC curators, the wider engagement team, artists, our student audience, student associations and external community organisations.

Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom

Managing the festival social media presence, liaising with artists, community members and press. Contributing to the crowd-funder digital campaign that reached over £3.5 k. Organising online events, interviews, and performances

Berlin, Germany

I co-curated the 2020 fall exhibition by selecting international artists, researching, writing and editing their bios as well as the curatorial rationale and the show catalogue. During my internship, I ideated and co-created an educational booklet supporting families with kids up to four years old to engage with the gallery space. Social Media Manager for the gallery Danish branch. Creating daily posts spotlighting the works of the artists represented by the gallery over four different social media platforms. Connecting with the public and the artists by managing social media messages and emails.International non-profit gallery Galleri Heike Arndt DK is based since 1989 in Kettinge (Denmark) and in 2008 opened a second gallery in Berlin. The gallery offers a fine selection of international artists through biannual open-call exhibitions and the permanent Graphic Salon which hosts more than 1000 prints.

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

I have been working during the summer as Gallery Assistant providing support to the visitor of the Scottish National Gallery in its permanent collection at the Mound as well as during the Bridget Riley summer exhibition held in the Royal Scottish Academy.

Master Of Science By Research, Collections And Curating Practices

Master Of Arts- Ma, Art History, First Class

Honours courses: Poetics, Piety, Politics: Approaching Indian Painting 1500-1900: Dr. Mira Xenia Schwerda - Focused on intercultural.

International Baccalaureate- Bilingual Diploma, Higher Levels: History, Visual Arts And English

Activities and Societies: Higher Levels: History, Visual Arts and English Standard Levels: Italian Literature, Mathematics, Environmental.