Anna Canepa Consulting


Born in Italy to a family of diplomats, Anna Canepa received a classical education, studying Art History and Architecture at the University of Florence, later attending the Sorbonne and La Cinematèque Française in Paris. Always passionate about the confluence of art and culture, her focus gradually shifted from an early love of classical Italian sculpture to Impressionism before finding her true home in contemporary art after migrating to New York in 1971 and studying at the New School.
Anna was a pioneer in promoting video and performance art, originating the first Intermedia Arts Festival at the Guggenheim Museum (1980) featuring early luminaries of the genre including Joan Jonas, Charlotte Moorman and Nam June Paik. She brought the innovative exhibition Videotapes from Australia to represent that country at the Venice Biennale in 1980, and later developed the landmark program Gore Vidal in Venice to great acclaim. Anna was the first American distributor of Video Art, representing Allan Kaprow, Dennis Oppenheim and Eleanor Antin among other video and performance artists. As President of Marketing for Videodisc Publishing, Anna produced the first ever videodisc on the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. For Pioneer, Anna produced the Great Artists Series Videodisc: Cezanne, Chagall, Degas, Miro, Manet, Vermeer and Tintoretto, and for Rizzoli, she produced the laserdisc series titled Masterpieces of Italian Art, based on the written text of the Italian art historian Giulio Carlo Argan. Her
personal collection of video art, containing work from the late 1970s to the 90s, was donated to Anthology Film Archives in New York, one of the foremost archives dedicated to preservation and exhibition of independent and experimental film and video.
As an art advisor with international reach, in 2001 Canepa began organizing specialized tours of major art venues throughout Europe, providing elite access for high level museum and institutional groups. Her tours were conducted in English, French or Italian, visiting high-profile events like the Venice Biennale, Documenta and Art Basel, as well as important private collections on 2 continents. While occasionally consulting with a select group of artists, using her extensive network to help advance their careers, her primary emphasis is on special projects with designers, publishers and cultural institutions.
Anna's’s deep knowledge of art history in all mediums, practical approach to problem solving and incisive ability to translate cultures has enabled her to work on projects with global reach.
Portrait of Anna by Eleanor Antin, 1974