Together, shooting an arrow into the very heart of culture.
RUFA has just celebrated its twentieth year of activities and, as its “founding father”, I am proud to have had the vision and motivation to conceive and create this Academy. It took a great deal of hard work, dedication and, above all a good dose of healthy madness. At the core of this initiative is the awareness that today, more than ever, the artist, in addition to devoting time to the creative process, has the duty to promote culture; contributing to its development and research without ever losing sight of generational differences, nowadays sadly bombarded “false idols and images”.
For me creating RUFA has meant “building” a special environment in which young people from Italy and overseas can undertake an art education – supported by the lecturers that have excellent credentials in the fields of Art, Design and Communication- and find their own personal sensitivity and direction. For this reason, the academic and cultural activities at RUFA are based on the transmission of certain values such as commitment, tenacity and study, which I believe are fundamental in the life and education of a person. Over the years I have felt the need to make RUFA a meeting point, a space in which tradition and contemporaneity, historical memory and the present converge, so that young people can embark on a successful journey in the world of Art and Culture.
At RUFA I have invested experience, knowledge, enthusiasm and passion, making sure to offer high level educational courses, to make a valuable contribution to the development of the Arts and to provide concrete support to young talents, to national and international projects. RUFA is a great challenge and a life project. A great personal ambition, but at the same time “a possible way” to fulfill the wishes of young students. RUFA is an arrow that we shoot together into the very heart of culture.
Prof. Alfio Mongelli
President of Rome University of Fine Arts
* Alfio Mongelli and his work H2O – Olympic Park in Beijing, 2010 – Photo by Alessandro Carpentieri