Claudia Cannizzaro is an arts administrator with over twenty years of experience working in not-for-profit organizations. She was born in Sicily during The Years of Lead—a critical political moment in the seventies which shaped her view of the world and the importance of social justice—with subsequent years in Rome. There she studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts and had her first few exhibitions. This was followed by a move to New York City, where she stayed for two decades pursuing a career as an artist while employed at well-respected arts nonprofits and starting a family. Cannizzaro has been leading the visual artists’ residency at Art Omi since 2008, proudly guiding the program through growth and changes fueled by a never ending passion for the mission, the place, and international artists invited to the annual summer residency. Co-founder and director of Akrai Residency in her native Sicily, she undertook this experiment—connecting a small isolated community in inland Sicily with a select group of international creative professionals—from 2013 to 2018. Currently living in the Sicilian countryside, Cannizzaro is curating a series of events in collaboration with her husband, Turi Scalora, a chef and performance artist, on the topic of Art and Food, and is always open to engaging in creative endeavors.