Rosa Barba

Rosa Barba is Professor of Art in Space and Time at the Department of Architecture, ETH Zurich, and a former professor at the University of the Arts in Bremen. Her practice integrates film, sculpture, installation, and performance to interrogate cinema's materiality and its role in shaping cultural observations about landscapes, human environments, and time. She previously held visiting professorships at MIT.

• Current affiliation: ETH Zurich (School of Architecture)
• Former affiliations: University of the Arts Bremen, MIT
• Research interests: art-science intersections, urban anthropology, light/sound materiality, transdisciplinary methodologies

Barba's work has been exhibited at major institutions including Tate Modern, Center Pompidou, and Villa Medici. She leads the Art in Space and Time research chair, which emphasizes agency-building through artistic practice.

Her recent Understanding Light seminar (co-taught with physicists) explores light's dual nature. Artistic projects like Vertiginous Mapping (Dia Art Foundation) and In the Open or in Stealth (Raqs Media Collective) exemplify her experimental approach.

• Scientific awards: Early-Career Fellow 2025–2026
• Key collaborations: Monica Narula, Raqs Media Collective, Nicole L'Huillier
• Teaching focuses: artistic methodologies, drawing, urban environments