Claudio Prati

Claudio Prati lives and works in Lugano and Milan. After studying sports at ETH Zurich, Prati studied both mime at the Piccolo Teatro and sculpture at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan (1982–1986). Between 1986 and 1988, he studied video art and mixed media at New York University and attended courses in contact improvisation, theatre, and dance, where he met Ariella Vidach. In 1987, he made his first appearance as a guest video artist and director at the VideoArt Festival in Locarno.

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In 1988, Prati founded the group Avventure in Elicottero Prodotti (AiEP) in Lugano, which creates multimedia productions and events where contemporary dance interacts with new technologies. He serves as co-artistic director alongside Ariella Vidach. Since 1985, he has produced multimedia dance, video, and computer performances, and has also organised festivals such as Computer and Art (Lugano, 1990–91) and Cybermedia (Lugano, 1991–93). Between 1994 and 1995, he was part of the artistic management team of AGAVE, a documentation centre for virtual events established at Atelier Gluck in Milan. In 1996, he was a founding member of the Compagnia Ariella Vidach-AiEP in Milan. Together with Vidach, he leads workshops and seminars on the relationship between dance, multimedia, and interactivity in Milan and Lugano.