WHAT IS EUROPE TO YOU? The European photographic journey through images and voices an ongoing photographic narrative by artist Lisa Borgiani, who since 2019 has traveled across major European cities and capitals, posing a single question to the people she photographs: What is Europe to you?
Each encounter results in a simple yet powerful record: one portrait, one feeling, one place, one name, and one profession. Over time, the project has grown into a collection of more than 1,500 portraits, captured in cities such as Athens, Berlin, Milan, Rome, Paris, Budapest, Malta, Madrid, Riga, Vilnius, Tallinn, Strasbourg, Bonn, Dresden, Lisbon, Barcelona, Krakow, Kyiv—and now, New York.
In 2024, four Ukrainian photographers—members of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers (UAPP)—were invited by Borgiani to contribute to the project in Kyiv, Lviv, Odessa, and Kharkiv, following the same format. The exhibition features selected portraits by Mykhaylo Palinchak, Olga Kovalova, Katya Moskalyuk, and Tim Melnikov.
What Is Europe to You? unfolds as a dialogue between images and words—an exchange among individuals of different nationalities, genders, experiences, beliefs, and social and cultural backgrounds. It is a journey of discovery through people’s portraits and emotions, a space where participants are free to express their views and confront those of others, even beyond geographical borders.
On the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the project introduces a living dialogue among European, American, and Ukrainian identities, conveyed through faces, stories, and emotions. New York, a metropolis emblematic of coexistence and cultural exchange, serves as an ideal setting for exploring how Europe is perceived both from within and beyond its borders.
The exhibition extends beyond a collection of portraits. It seeks to capture traces of memory, experience, and vision, creating space for a shared narrative that spans both sides of the Atlantic. Through the photographic lens, the project gives form to a profound visual and cultural dialogue—one that reveals connections, differences, and the bridges linking diverse identities within a broader community.
During the exhibition, visitors are invited to take part in the project by publishing and printing their own self-portrait and personal reflection, which can then be added to the exhibition in a dedicated space.
About the photographer:
Over the past 15 years, Lisa Borgiani has exhibited installations and photographic works in major public and private institutions worldwide, including the Embassy of Italy in Washington, D.C., the European Parliament in Brussels, and the Italian Cultural Institutes in London, Singapore, San Francisco, and Vienna.
Since October 2017, her installation Waves of Light has been permanently displayed at San Raffaele Hospital in Milan.
Borgiani’s practice explores contemporary photography alongside large-scale conceptual mobile installations that engage directly with architectural spaces, creating an ongoing dialogue between artwork, environment, and audience.
Her recent project The Unexpected Meets Rationalism was selected by the Accademia di Brera and Fondazione Comacina, earning her an art residency at Casa per Artisti on Comacina Island, designed in 1939 by rationalist architect Pietro Lingeri. The work examines the interaction between modernist architecture and contemporary artistic creation through a flexible, net-based installation.
In May 2019, architect Alessandro Colombo published “The Rational Space of Art. Pietro Lingeri and the Installations of Lisa Borgiani” in the International Journal of Art and Art History.
Since 2019, Borgiani has been developing What Is Europe to You?, an ongoing photographic journey across major European cities and capitals.
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