Francis Gomila was born in Gibraltar where he studied Electronic Engineering before moving to London in 1973 to study Electronic Music composition at Morley College. He was appointed Town Artist for Peterborough Development Corporation in 1978 attaining International prominence for the introduction of art in public places. In 1985 he took up the post of Sandwell Town Artist developing an innovative public art programme which earned him a Royal Town Planning Institute award for “a significant contribution to Town Planning in the West Midlands”. In 1991 Gomila founded the pro-active artist company Fine Rats International whose night-time exhibitions in residual urban spaces (such as the legendary 'Under Spaghetti Junction’ held over a two-night period, under the infamous motorway junction in Birmingham,) attracted mass audiences and two nominations from the National Arts Collection Fund for an outstanding contribution to the Visual Arts. Fine Rats exhibitions took place in a time-based frame at the forefront of 'live art’, from which emerged a multi-disciplinary form of working incorporating performance, slide projection, film, video, and sound composition within the sculptural installations.

Over this period Gomila explored the deployment of lens-based media as sculptural form: “In my view the digital revolution perfectly illustrates Duchamp’s “infra-thin” (the space between two sides of a single sheet of paper) enabling a permeable boundary, through which the digital image becomes sculptural in its own right”.

In 1993 he was invited to co-direct Carta Blanca Madrid, which led to a series of influential exhibitions including, “ALMADRABA” an

international site-specific exhibition on both shores of the Straits of Gibraltar (Tangiers, Algeciras & Gibraltar) “Colisiones” (exhibition and artists master classes) at ARTELEKU San Sebastian Spain and “BULL” exploring contemporary artists’ responses to bullfighting. In 1997 Gomila moved to France to undertake a 3 year artist residency at the Ateliers d’Artistes de la Ville de Marseille, returning to the UK to take up the post of artist in residence at BALTIC centre for contemporary art in 2000.

Gomila has exhibited extensively on both sides of the Atlantic rising to prominence following exhibitions at Veletrzni Palace Museum, Prague. ICA London. Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Kunstlerwerkstatt, Munich. Museum of Contemporary Art Marseille. Franklin Art Works Minneapolis USA. New York Video Festival. Lincoln Center New York. Expoarte Mexico. Artists Space New York. NGBK Berlin. Smart Project Space Amsterdam. XI GRANCIA Sienna Italy. Pulse New York. Flowers Gallery London. Hales Gallery London.

Works include“Last of England” an interactive installation developed with Newcastle University research institute exploring the use of eye tracking technology to generate moving image artworks. “Guantanamera” a site-specific installation for Madrid Abierto 07 and a moving image commission for the National Holocaust Memorial 2007. Recent curatorial projects include "THE WORLD IS A SAFER PLACE: A Survey of Nonconformist Art" an international multi-media exhibition for NewcastleGateshead Festival of Visual Arts.

His work has been described as: “eerily hypnotic” (New York Times) “magical, superbly atmospheric” (New York TIME OUT) “Deeply disturbing… it will make you shudder, but you won’t forget it.” (The Journal UK)

Gomila was a regular visiting tutor in digital media at the School of Architecture and School of Fine Art at Newcastle University, and an invited keynote speaker and lecturer at numerous conferences and universities including, School of Fine Art University of Sydney, Australia; Universidad Computense de Madrid; Ecole des Beaux Arts Marseille; Goethe Institute Sydney Australia; NBK Berlin; ICA London.

His artworks are represented in various permanent collections including: Museum of Contemporary Art Marseille. Neuer Berliner Kunstverein Berlin. FRAC Provence-Alpes-

Cote d’Azur, France. E-Flux New York. LAXART Los Angeles USA

CURRICULUM VITAE

Born in Gibraltar. Nationality: British

1969-1973 Gibraltar College Electronic Engineering City & Guilds Hons.

1973-1975 Morley College London Electronic Music composition studies

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

1995 IMMAGINI IN PROSPECTTIVE. XI GRANCIA Serre, Sienna,Italy. Curated by Catherine David (Director of Documenta X) with artists; Gary Hill. Rosemary Trockel. Tony Austler.

1995 PUENTE DE PASAJE. Bilbao, Spain. Curated by Corinne Diserens with artists; Dennis Adams. Sylvie Blocher. Willie Doherty. Marcelo Exposito. Fedrico Guzman. Pat Naldi. Hans-Peter Kuhn. Suzanne Lafont. Roman Signer.

1996 LIFE / LIVE. Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris France. Curated by Laurence Bosse & Hans-Ulrich Obrist.

1997 ALMADRABA. Gibraltar-Tangiers-Algeciras. Curated by Corinne Diserens & Mar Villaespesa with artists; Farida Benlyazid. Terry Berkowitz. Pedro Romero. Sophie Boursat. Fedrico Guzman. Alonso Gil. Raul Ruiz.

1997 PASARSE DE LA RAYA. Expoarte, Mexico. Curated by Esther Regueira with artists; Chantal Akerman. Sophie Calle. Valie export. Yoko Ono. Lotty Rosenfeld. Bill Viola.

1998 AUX ARMES... ETCAETERA. Kunstlerwerkstatt, Munich Germany. Curated by Dirk Snauwaert & Ulrich Wilmes with artists; Thierry Agnone. Maria Thereza Alves. Gilles Barbier. Sophie Boursat. Yannick Gonzalez. Olivier Menanteau. Mark Quer. Jean-Claude Ruggirello.

1998 VIDEOTHEK AUF ZEIT 8th. VIDEONALE. International video art festival Bonn Germany.

1999 XIV FESTIVAL DE VIDEO INTERNACIONAL. Vitoria Spain.

1999 MEDIATHEK. Medienhaus, Hannover Germany. Curated by Ekkehard Kahne.

2000 UN MONDE DANS UNE COQUILLE DE NOIX FRAC Marseille France. Curated by Eric Mangion with artists; Michel Francois. Thomas Hirschhorn. Richard Monnier. Philippe Parreno. Roman Signer.

2001 MANIPULER JOUER 3bisF Aix-en-Provence France. Curated by Marie-Louise Botella with artists; Claude Closky. Richard Fauguet. Saverio Lucariello. Didier Marcel. Stephane Steiner.

2002 PROJECT SPACE 1. (solo) Artists Space New York. Curated by Lauri Firstenberg.

2002 SHOT IN THE DARK. (solo) Waygood Gallery, Newcastle England. UK

2002 NAVIGUER ENTRE LES LIGNES Centre Gérard Philippe Avignon. France. with artist Toni Grand. Curated by Emmanuel Delaveau2003 PERMANENT TRANSIT. Videoprogramme, Smart Project Space, Amsterdam. Curated by Francis

2002 LIVING PROOF. An international exhibition of multimedia arts. Newcastle UK. Curated by Francis Gomila & Simon Jones.

2003 ANGLES de VUES. Espace Leon Chiris, Grasse. France. Curated by France Paringaux.

2003 THE URBAN SALON. Globe Gallery North Shields UK. Curated by Alessandro Vincentelli. with artists Faisal Abdu’allah. Zuzana Albertsen.

2003 ANALISIS DEL ESPACIO, NUEVAS GEOGRAFIAS. www.centrodearte.com. Madrid.

2003 PRAGUE BIENNAL 1. Veletrzni Palace Museum, Prague.

2003 New York Video Festival. Lincoln Center New York.

2003 PEOPLE DIE OF EXPOSURE. Smart Project Space, Amsterdam. Curated by Una Henry & Thomas Peutz.

2003 SPACE BETWEEN US. VANE Newcastle UK.

2004 Franklin Art Works Video Gallery (solo) Minneapolis. USA. Curated by Tim Peterson.

2004 PRESENCE et apparitions / un visite particuliere. Chåteau d’Avignon. France. With artists Claude Closky. Thomas Hirchhorn. Gilles Barbier. Philippe Parreno. Jana Sterbak. Curated by France Paringaux.

2004 LEGAL – ILLEGAL (Art beyond the Law) NGBK Berlin. with artists Chris Burden, Aurthur Craven, Abbie Hoffman, George Maciunas, Ann Messner, Denis Oppenheim. Curated by Helen Adkins & Hans Winkler.

2005 TONIGHT WE ARE GOLDEN video touring show: ICA London. FACT Liverpool. Spike Island. curated by Michelle Cotton.

2005 KIELDER SONGS (solo) Queens Hall Hexham UK. New works produced for Kielder Forest Art & Architecture residency. Curated by Peter Sharpe.

2005 BOREALIS Flowers East gallery London. Curated by Cat Newton – Groves.

2005 THE WORLD IS A SAFER PLACE Globe City Gallery Newcastle. with artists Taysir Batniji. Mariam Ghani. Damien Hirst. Bruce Nauman. Santiago Sierra. Roman Signer. Curated by Francis Gomila.

2005 Signes, traces et autres gestes Centre International d’Art Contemporain du Chateau de Carros. France. Curated by France Paringaux.

2005 VIDEOPOLIS 2005. Veneto, Italy.

2005 DISORIENT Hit Gallery, Bratislava, Slovakia.

2005 OUTVIDEO. Outdoor video festival. Yekaterinburg Russia.

2006 VIDEO DRAWINGS Espace Gerard Philippe, Cannes, France.

2006 FORMAL DINING. Hales Gallery London. Curated by Workplace.

2006 VAD International Digital Arts Festival. Gerona Spain.

2006 VIDEOMEDEJA FESTIVAL. Museum of Vojvodina, Novi Serbia.

2007 WE ARE US AND THEM. (solo) Northern Stage Gallery, Newcastle UK.FRANCIS GOMILA CURRICULUM VITAE

2007 MADRID ABIERTO 07. Madrid Spain. Curated by Juan Antonio Álvarez Reyes

2007 CONNECTING PRINCIPLE. Culture Lab, Newcastle UK.

2007 FALSE WITNESS. Workplace Gallery, Gateshead UK.

2008 ZEMOS98. Festival Audiovisual, Sevilla Spain.

2008 STATE OF THE UNION(solo) retrospective Digital Arts Gallery UK.

2008 International Munich Art Film Festival 2008 (invited)

2009 SANDARBH UK. International Artist Residency 09 (invited)

2009 DIGITAL SHRINES. Public art commission. Bezir Kultur Fonds Berlin-Lictenberg.

2009 2ndInternational Desert Art Project. Gobi desert Mongolia.

2009 ARTIFARITI 09. Tifariti Western Sahara.

2010 HORSE WITH NO NAME Francis Gomila desert works. (solo) Museum im Stadthaus Berlin.

2010 Lange Nacht der Bilder 10. Berlin-Lichtenberg.

2010 FRANCIS GOMILA DESERT WORKS (solo) Galerie Haus Chelsea, Sylt Germany.

2010 MARHABA. CAAC Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporåneo Sevilla Spain.

2011 REFLECTIVE INTERVENTIONS Art Claims Impulse Gallery / Transmediale satellite show, Berlin.

2011 SONG AS A FORCE OF SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION (collaboration with Alonso Gil) CAAC Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporaneo Sevilla Spain.

2012 FRANCIS GOMILA (solo) Hogan & Lovells Collection, Berlin, Germany.

2012 SAHARA LIBRE FESTIVAL Sevilla, Spain.

2012 Open Source Sahara (as part of Robin Kahn’s interactive installation) dOCUMENTA 13. Kassel.

2012 BIER SOMMER (limited edition of artist beer mats) San Francisco Art Institute.

2012 FACE TO FACE (solo) SEMMER BERLIN, Berlin Germany.

2012 CYCLE La Conservera, centro de arte contemporaneo, curated by Andrea Blum. Murcia Spain.

2012 Sandarbh Artist Residency. Jaipur, India.

2012 Topographie virtuelle(screening of Burkhard Von Harder ‘s Die Narbe II)LES RENCONTRES INTERNATIONALES, PALAIS DE TOKYO Paris.

2014 Die Narbe (The Scar) Deutschland. World premiere B2 Centre for Contemporary Arts Beijing, China. a film by Burkhard von Harder, edited by Francis Gomila.

2014 25th anniversaire exhibition Gallérie du Tableau Marseille, France.

2015 25th Anniversary exhibition CAAC Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporaneo, Seville Spain

2015 WITH THE LIGHTS OUT ITS LESS DANGEROUS. (solo) AlCultura, Algeciras, Spain.FRANCIS GOMILA CURRICULUM VITAE

2015 A FOREIGN ENCOUNTER. Galerie Foe 156, Munich Germany.

2017 Neues Deutschland (solo) Lichtenberg Studio, Berlin

2017 Cash Laundrette. performance action: Documenta Athens. Venice Biennale. Kassel. Sculpture project Münster. Mumbai.

2017 Provincia 53. Arte, territorio y descolonización del Sáhara. MUSAC Castilla Leon, Spain

2017 Le bruit des choses qui tombent. FRAC Marseille. Curated byAlbertine de Galbert.

2018 Easterly Winds. Palacio Provincial Cadiz Spain. Curated by Magda Bellotti

CATALOGUES

ARTIFARITI 2009. Encuentros internacionales de arte en los territorios liberados del Sahara Occidental.

Madrid Abierto 2004-2008. Edición 2009.

SIGNES, TRACES ET AUTRES GESTES. Centre International d’art contemporain Chateau de Carros, 2005

THE WORLD IS A SAFER PLACE. Globe Gallery Newcastle. 2005

THE WORKPLACE. Newcastle. 2005

LEGAL / ILLEGAL. NGBK Berlin. 2004

PRAGUE BIENNALE 1. 2003

SPACE BETWEEN US. Vane Newcastle 2003

BALTIC: The Art Factory 2002

A place called OXMOOR. Huntingdon UK. 2001

FRAC Collection 1989 / 1999. Edition 2000.

XIV FESTIVAL DE VIDEO INTERNACIONAL. Vitoria Spain. 1999.

ALMADRABA Carta Blanca / BNV Sevilla Spain. 1998.

AUX ARMES... etcaetera. Kulturreferat Munich Germany. 1998.

FAIT SUR MESURE. Musées de Marseille France. 1998.

PASARSE DE LA RAYA. Expoarte Guadalajara Mexico1997.

LIFE / LIVE. Musèe d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris France.1996.

COLISIONES. Arteleku. Spain1996.

IMMAGINI IN PROSPETTIVE. Siena, Italy.1995.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

La ciudad como lienzo. ELPAÍS. Madrid (2007)

Francis Gomila. The Artist Magazine. Taiwan. (January 2006)

Public sculpture of Staffordshire and the Black Country. Liverpool University Press. 2005

“A rap for Mr Bush” CULTURE Magazine, The Journal. Newcastle 2005

KUNSTFORUM INTERNATIONAL. Legal/Illegal Grenzgänge zwischen politischem aktionismus und Kunst. 22.11.2004.

TIME OUT NEW YORK. July 2003

NEW YORK TIMES Art in Review. 2002.

BALTIC Review No.7 & No.12. 2000 -01. UK

ARCO 20th Century Contemporary Art Agenda (No.10) Madrid 1998

ART & DESIGN. UK ( No. 46) 1997

Journal de l'Institut Français. Bilbao Spain (June issue) 1996

ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. UK (January issue) 1996

L' ESPRESSO Magazine. Italy (july issue)1995

HYBRID UK. 'Under Spaghetti junction' 1993

ART MONTHLY. UK 'Under Spaghetti Junction' 1993

PERFORMANCE Magazine UK. Fine Rats and the Post Industrial Society 1992

LES DOSSIERS DE L'ART PUBLIC (No.6) Musee d'Art Moderne de Paris 1991

APPOINTMENTS

2019. Founder director of PLAN B. International Artist Studios, Greece.

2016 - 2018. Curator Gibraltar - Berlin Artist Residency Exchange.

2011. Co-curator 5th edition of Artifariti International encounter in the liberated Western Sahara.

2009/10 Artist in Residence MUSEUM IM STADTHAUSBerlin Germany.

2008 Eye tracking digital imaging research residency, Informatics Institute Newcastle.

2008 3D digital imaging research residency, Isis Arts Newcastle.

2007 Visiting tutor School of Arts + Media, University of Sunderland.

2007 Visiting tutor School of Architecture, University of Newcastle.

2006 National Holocaust Memorial Artist Residency.

2006 Visiting tutor School of Fine Art, University of Newcastle.

2006 Visiting tutor School of Architecture, University of Newcastle.

2005 Northern Film + Media feature length film script writing award.

2005 Visiting tutor School of Architecture, University of Newcastle.

2004 Arts Council England international artist fellowship in Berlin.

2004 Visiting speaker Neuer Berliner kunstverein, Berlin.

2003/04 Art & Architecture Residency at Kielder Forest Park, Northumberland UK.

2002/03 Artist in residence for GMB Trade Union Newcastle UK.

2001 Artist in residence for New Media Technology Huntingdon UK.

2000 Artist in residence BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead UK.

1997-99 Artist in residence Ateliers d'artistes de Marseille, France.

1996 Visiting tutor Universidad Computense de Madrid, Spain.

1995 Director of 'Colisiones' at ARTELEKU, San Sebastian, Spain.

1995 Visiting tutor Instituto de Estetica, Madrid Spain.

1995 Visiting tutor School of Fine Art University of Sydney, Australia.

1993-97 Co-director of CARTA BLANCA Madrid.

1991-93 Visiting tutor University of Central England UK.

1991-93 Arts Council of Great Britain, Visual Arts Panel, advisor.

1990-96 Founder Director of Fine Rats International.

1990-92 West Midlands Arts, Visual Arts advisor.

1985-92 Town Artist for Sandwell M.B.C. UK.

1978-83 Town Artist for Peterborough Development Corporation. UK

AWARDS

2009 Journal Cultural Magazine awards Visual Artist of the Year.

2008 Arts Council England digital imaging research funding award.

2007 Arts Council England Travel and professional development funding award.

2005 Northern Film + Media. Feature screenplay development award.

2004 Arts Council England Film development award.

1992 & 93 National Arts Collection Fund UK. nomination for an outstanding contribution to the Visual Arts.

Royal Town Planning Institute Award for a significant contribution to Town Planning in the West Midlands.

1987 Wapping Arts Trust 'Art & Work Awards' - Award for Sandwell Public Art Programme.

Francis Gomila lives and works in the UK, Germany and Greece.