Vanessa Cardui Media Artist
lives in Berlin/ Germany
1987 born in Halle/ Germany
Vanessa Cardui is a Berlin-based media artist working with handmade stop-motion animation, moving image, video mapping and projection.
Her artistic practice explores the transformation of materials, forms and images. Through cutting, tearing, folding, crumpling, imprinting and layering, working with materials such as paper, she creates animated worlds in which figures and objects continuously change, dissolve and re-emerge.
Combining analogue processes with digital techniques, Cardui develops visual narratives that move between the poetic and the experimental. Her works explore themes such as identity, transformation, urbanization and the relationship between humans and nature, as well as questions of womanhood and motherhood.
Beyond the screen, she translates her animations into large-scale projections and site-specific installations, bringing moving images into dialogue with architecture and public space.
Vanessa Cardui holds a Master's degree in Art and Media from Universität Hildesheim and Université de Provence. Her work has been exhibited internationally at festivals, museums and cultural institutions, including the Festival of Lights Berlin, Digital Graffiti Festival in Florida, Animation Nights New York, Light Our Vision Festival in Chemnitz, Festival of Science – Goethe Institute Bangkok, Future Vision Festival in Tokyo and Amsterdam, Athens Digital Art Festival, Venice Architecture Film Festival, European Film Festival Göttingen and Genius Loci Weimar, an international festival for audiovisual projection.
AWARDS & GRANTS
2026
FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS BERLIN
Video Projection on the Oberbaum Bridge (DE)
2025
FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS AWARD
Video Projection on the Berlin TV Tower (DE)
GÜNTER GRASS-HAUS & KULTURSTIFTUNG HANSESTADT LÜBECK
Emerging Artist Scholarship “Else Lasker-Schüler: Künstlerin, Dichterin, Weltenbauerin” (DE)
2024
FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS BERLIN
Jury Prize Winner – Video Projection on the Brandenburg Gate (DE)
LIGHT OUR VISION FESTIVAL CHEMNITZ
Festival Winner – Video Projection on the Karl-Marx-Monument (DE)
2023
FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS AWARD
Video Projection on the Hôtel de Rome, Berlin Bebelplatz (DE)
UNDERWATER LOVE FILM FESTIVAL VENEZIA
Best Eco Film for “Paper Flood” (IT)
BERLIN-BRANDENBURG STATE FILM FESTIVAL
Best Experimental Film for “Berlin Wall” (DE)
SENATE DEPARTMENT FOR CULTURE AND EUROPE
Project Funding “StadtfindetKunst” (DE)
INTERNATIONAL VIDEO CONTEST MÚSICA X ARQUITECTURA (MXA)
Open House Barcelona & IAAC, Festival Winner for “move” (ES)
2022
OVERCOME FILM FESTIVAL
Animation Award for “Ocean” (US)
LEIPZIGER NOTENSPUR E.V.
Winner of the Video Projection Contest “Commemorate the Ez Chaim Synagogue” (DE)
UNIFIED FILMMAKERS FESTIVAL
Stop Motion Award for “Green thread” (DE)
ONOMATO E.V.
Grant for Media Art (DE)
2021
HYPOVEREINSBANK BERLIN
Emerging Artist Scholarship “Art4Future” (DE)
FEMALE FILMMAKERS FESTIVAL BERLIN
Green Award for “The green thread” (DE)
INTERNATIONAL VIDEO PROJECTION GENIUS LOCI WEIMAR
Festival Winner for “Red Thread” (DE)
CURATORIAL PROJECTS & DIRECTING
2022
BERLIN MINUTE FESTIVAL
Artistic Director (DE)
KUNSTRAUM FUGE BERLIN
Art Curator – Year-round exhibition series “Bewegte Bilder” (Moving Images) (DE)
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS & SCREENINGS
2026
Musée Tomi Ungerer - International Center of Illustration (FR)// Festival of Lights Berlin
2025
Günter Grass Haus (DE)// Balkan Can Kino (GR)// Kuala Lumpur International Film Awards (MY)// Festival of Lights Berlin (DE)// Festival L´Art en chemin (FR)// Käthe Kollwitz Museum Berlin (DE)
2024
Festival of Lights Berlin (DE)// Light Our Vision Festival Chemnitz (DE)// ANNY – Animation Nights New York (US)// Broadcast on Latest TV Brighton (UK)// Real International Micro Video Competition (UK)// Digital Graffiti Festival (US)// Living with Buildings - V (UK)// Firenze Archeofilm Festival Internazionale del cinema di Archeologia Arte Ambiente – Sala Grande (IT)// Film My Design (FMD) Festival Cairo (EG)// Sea Change Film Festival (UK)// Life Screenings One Minute International Short Film Festival – Winter Park Florida (US)// Milwaukee Illuminate Film Festival (US)// Street Movies Festival Belgrade (RS)// Linoleum Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival Kyiv (UA)// Gisela - Freier Kunstraum Lichtenberg “Kreativität der Langsamkeit” (DE)// WideScreen Film and Music Video Festival Toronto (CA)// Film Festival Bahari- Sea and Coastal Film Festival (ID)// T- Short Animated Film Festival Karlsruhe (DE)// Artspring Film Festival Berlin (DE)// “PaperFutureLab” Haus des Papiers Berlin (DE)// Videograma - International Video Art Festival - Video Art Collection of Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá (MAC)// Festival Entretodos São Paulo (BR)// MANIFEST Mafra Animation Film Festival (PT)
2023
Festival of Lights Berlin (DE)// “Female Bodies in Digitalscapes” Toplocentrala Gallery Sofia (BU)// Science Film Festival Goethe- Institut Bangkok (TH)// Philosophical Short Film Contest Nashville (US)// Health For All Film Festival (SZ)// Future Vision Festival Japan (JA)// Allshorts Film Festival New Zealand (NZ)// RAM Film Festival Archeologia Memorie (IT)// Revolutions per Minute Festival Massachusetts (US)// Suncine Environmental Film Festival Barcelona (SP)// 60 Second Short Film Fest (US)// Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam (NL)// Artspring Filmfestival Brotfabrik Berlin (DE)// 7th Siding Festival of British Columbia (US)// Live Soundtrack Kino Pleme Belgrad (RS)//Golden Femi Film Festival Sofia (BU)// Steve Aronson International Film Festival Costa Rica (CS)// Underwater Love Film Festival Venezia (IT)// Film Festival San Sebastian – Challenge for the World (ES)// “Fokus” QQArt Galerie: Internationaler Kunstpreis 2023 (DE)// ArchFilm Lund// Venice Architecture Film Festival (IT)// The Short Nights of Berlin (DE)// „Die liegende Figur“ Magistrale Parkklinik Weißensee (DE)// Música x Arquitectura (MxA) Open House Barcelona (ES)// Landesfilmfestival Berlin- Brandenburg (DE)
2022
Athens Digital Art Festival (GR)// “Art4Future” Kunstcube Hypovereinsbank Berlin (DE)// La Fenice Art Gallery Hong Kong (HK)// Finalist of La Danza in 1 minuto International Screendance Contest (ES)// Experimentally Structured Museum of Art – Video Art Film Festival Bliss (US)// Overcome Film Festival (US)// Shorts on Tap (UK)// “Der Mythos ist hin” Galerie Pankow Berlin (DE)// Wildlife Vaasa International Nature Film Festival Finland (FI)// Festiverd Venezuela (VE)// Minute Madness Toronto (CA)// Gallery Rajatila and Kyy (FI)// Unified Filmmakers Festival (DE)// Covent Garden Film Festival (UK)// Mostra Internacional de Danca – Imagens em Movimento Video Danca Brazil (BR)// Silence ca touille Movie and Food Festival (FR)// International Film Fest Oberursel (DE)// Artspring Film Festival Berlin (DE)// Heilbronner Kinderfilmfest (DE)// 60 Second Short Film Festival (US)
2021
“Art4Future” Kunstcube Hypovereinsbank Berlin (DE)// Genius Loci Weimar (DE)// “Fresh Legs” Inselgalerie Berlin (DE)// Winner of the Flash Filmfestival Berlin in the category „Micro Short Animation” (DE)// Finalist of the AltFF Alternative Film Festival Toronto in the category “Ultra short films” (CA)// Winner of the Prague International Film Awards in the category “Super Short Film” (CZ)// Venice Architecture Film Festival (IT)// Winner of the Female Filmmakers Festival Berlin: Green Award (DE)// Inheritance Environmental Film Festival Belfast (IE)// Europäisches Filmfestival Göttingen (DE)// GRRL Haus Cinema Berlin (DE)// The Roughcut 60 Second Film Challenge (UK)// FilmOneFest (US)// Berlin Revolution Film Festival (DE)// International Short Film Festival Detmold (DE)// VAFI & RAFI International Children and Youth Animation Film Festival Croatia (HR)// LUCAS International Film Festival for Young Film Lovers (DE)// The International Nature and Environmental Protection Festival Budapest (HU)// FIIN – Festival Internacional de Imagem de Natureza Portugal (PO)// Film Fest Bremen (DE)
EDUCATION
2011 Master`s degree in Art and Media, Universität Hildesheim (DE) & Université de Provence (FR)