Curation
Falconry is more than a tradition—it’s a story of exchange, adaptation, and deep connections between humans, animals, and landscapes.
As a curator, I explore how this heritage can be reimagined in museum spaces, from traditional curation to immersive digital experiences. By combining historical research with digital innovation, I seek to expand how we think about cultural heritage—not as something to be passively observed, but as something to be experienced, questioned, and reimagined.
His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Museum of International Falconry, Brussels, Belgium
As the lead curator of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Museum of International Falconry in Brussels, privately funded by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, I developed a permanent exhibition that positions falconry not only as a cultural bridge but also as a force for biodiversity conservation. Through artistic representations, historical artifacts and magnificent books from Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas, the exhibition highlights falconry’s enduring role in knowledge exchange, diplomacy, and ecological stewardship.
Falconry in virtual reality
I have long been interested in how emerging technologies can transform the way we experience heritage. Working with the OIKOS Institute, H-FARM, and BigRock – Institute of Magic Technologies as the technical partner for design and VR implementation, I curated a VR exhibition, funded by the Italian Ministry of Culture, that offers an entirely new way to engage with falconry as a UNESCO-recognized tradition.
In this VR exhibition, visitors move beyond simply observing artistic representations of falconry. They can extract objects directly from the artworks—hoods, gloves, bags—and examine them in detail, as if holding them in their hands, gaining a deeper appreciation for the craftsmanship and artistry behind falconry’s material culture. The experience also places them in the perspective of the falcon, offering a bird’s-eye view of the landscape, the motion of flight, and the dynamic bond with the falconer.
By shifting between the roles of falcon and handler, the exhibition reveals falconry not as a human-dominated tradition, but as a shared practice built on trust, skill, and cooperation.
