DIVA is an institution that includes an international faculty formed by a dynamic group of photographers, artists, writers, filmmakers, and curators, all with an exceptional diversity of approaches, who share their perspectives and experiences with their students and involve them in work on challenging projects. The school provides students with personal enrichment and exposure to the local community through exhibitions, shows and cultural integration projects.

Silvia Mancini: Silvia Mancini is a full-time faculty member at the School of Digital Imaging and Visual Arts. She graduated from the University of Florence with studies completed in Economy and Commerce at the undergraduate and master level. Upon completion of studies, Mancini combined her business background with the creative sectors of graphic design, photography, videography, and web design. After collaborating with several companies (1999-2010) as a web designer and graphic and videomaker for high-profile media clients, Mancini joined the DIVA graphic design and video faculty in 2010. She provides the technical support for academic courses with video projects involving the local community/economy.

Ivka Markovic: Ivka Markovic is an adjunct lecturer at the School of Digital Imaging and Visual Arts. Her BA in Graphic Design and Studio Art was completed at the University of Saint Francis (USA) and her master-level studies were fulfilled in Graphic Design from the Florence Design Academy. She joined the FUA faculty in 2012 to teach in the areas of graphic design, digital illustration, and visual communication. She has worked as a graphic designer in the US and Italy. In addition to her course commitments she also works with company clients in Italy for promotional and brand presence strategies.

Jacopo Santini: Jacopo Santini has taught at the School of Digital Imaging and Visual Arts since 2010. He completed his undergraduate and master-level studies in Law at the University of Florence. As a professional photographer, he works in the fields of reportage, landscape, cultural, restoration, and socially-minded photographic coverage. From 1999-2001 he served as a photographer for the archeological headquarters of Tuscany. Notable projects involving archeology and restoration include coverage of Etruscan finds for a Palazzo Grassi (Venice, 2000) exhibition and for the Minerva di Arezzo restoration project (2001). Other projects include la Via Volterrana (Tuscany), the homeless community in the San Frediano Quarter of Florence, the Pergola theater in Florence, and the Christian diaspora in the Middle East. He is currently concentrating on the Middle East through coverage of Christian minorities in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine; a Ukraine-based project, as well as a joint project with Romeo Di Loreto on immigrants from Abruzzo in Canada. He is also involved in a video project concerning neighborhoods constructed during Fascism in collaboration with Nic Wynia. His full-time teaching at FUA covers diverse areas including both the digital and classic forms of photography.

David Weiss: David Weiss has taught as a photography faculty member at FUA since 2006. He currently oversees digital photography studies at the School of Digital Imaging and Visual Arts, serves as the Curator of the Corridoio Fiorentino gallery at the DIVA campus, and teaches as a full-time faculty member. Weiss completed his undergraduate studies in History at the University of Chicago and graduate studies in Photojournalism under Cornell Capa at the International Center of Photography in NYC. During his studies he worked with Mary Ellen Mark, Irving Penn, and Annie Leibovitz. Post-studies he has worked in diverse photography fields including corporate (Merril Lynch), architectural (Shearson Lehman Bros.), city government (Mayors Kotch and Dinkins, NYC), and NGOs (UnN, Habitat for Humanity NYC). He has worked on several film sets for Orenda Films and River One Films in NYC as well as Fandango and Cinecittà inRome. Weiss has exhibited at several solo and collective exhibitions in the US and Italy. A collaborative academic project based on Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities with FUA colleague Simonetta Ferrini was presented at the NeMLA conference at Rutgers University in 2011. A substantial on-going project involves the world of boxing, from women fighters to a close study of Italian and European welter-weight champion Leonard Bundu.