ZIMA

What ZIMA does

ZIMA Studio is a Milan-based photography studio founded in 2022 by photographers Alessandra Gatto and Marco Pelos Spagno, both trained at LABA Florence, NABA Milan, and Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera. The studio specializes in the photography of artworks and cultural heritage, providing high-quality scanning of large-format pieces, chromatic post-production, full exhibition and installation documentation, digitization services with customizable databases, cultural heritage enhancement projects, and dedicated consulting. Output is used by galleries, museums, and contemporary artists for catalogs, archival records, and communication materials.

The studio operates a project-based professional services model with quote-based, non-publicly-disclosed pricing, engaging clients directly through professional networks in the Italian art scene and through published catalog visibility. Notable collaborations include ongoing work with Galleria Gaburro in Milan (covering shows such as Human 2023, Jan Fabre Stella 2024, and Fabio Giampietro Urban Singularity 2025), WEM Gallery, MLZ Art Dep, MA*GA Museum in Gallarate, Museo Nazionale della Sibaritide, and high-profile artist Liu Bolin across Florence venues including the Uffizi, Palazzo Vecchio, and Palazzo Pitti. The studio has self-published and co-published three exhibition catalogs to date: Untitled Traces (2021), Hiding in Florence (Liu Bolin), and Human (Galleria Gaburro / Maretti editore, 2023).

ZIMA is a privately held, bootstrapped entity with no external institutional capital, no parent company, and a small staff of approximately five. Its commercial reach is concentrated in Italy, with project engagements spanning Milan, Florence, Venice, Verona, and Calabria. The company's go-to-market relies on portfolio visibility via its website and Instagram, repeat referrals within the Italian gallery-museum ecosystem, and the reputational signal of working with internationally recognized artists and institutions.

Name

ZIMA

Legal name

ZIMA STUDIO

Website

https://zima.studio

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Art and Cultural Heritage Photography Services

NAICS

Commercial Photography (541922)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Film Scanning & Digitization (Telecine, Frame-by-Frame, Metadata Capture) (MPADAMAE)

Keywords

• Art photography services
• Cultural heritage documentation
• Exhibition photography
• Art digitization services
• Museum photography

Headquarters

HQ city

Milan

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Photography Services: Professional photography services for art and cultural heritage including digitization, high-quality scanning, documentation, editing, and cultural heritage valorization projects. Revenue generated through project-based engagements with galleries, museums, and artists.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ZIMA Studio is a Milan-based photography studio that provides professional photography of artworks and cultural heritage, including high-quality digital scanning, digitization with customized databases, photographic documentation of exhibitions and installations, chromatic post-production editing, cultural heritage valorization projects, and dedicated consulting. The studio also produces and co-publishes exhibition catalogs documenting its work with galleries and museums across Italy.

Product overview

ZIMA is a photography studio based in Milan, Italy, specializing in the photography of artworks and cultural heritage. Founded by photographers Alessandra Gatto and Marco Pelos Spagno, the studio creates new visions and interpretations in artistic documentation. The core offering consists of professional photography services including high-quality scanning, digitization, photographic documentation of exhibitions and installations, chromatic editing and post-production, cultural heritage enhancement projects, and dedicated consulting. Additionally, ZIMA publishes exhibition catalogs documenting their work and collaborations with galleries and museums. The studio has worked with major institutions including Galleria Gaburro, WEM Gallery, MLZ Art Dep, MA*GA Museum, and the Museo della Sibaritide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Photography of Artworks and Cultural Heritage Professional photography documentation of artworks, cultural heritage sites, and cultural goods, including exhibition coverage, installation photography, and archival documentation for galleries, museums, and artists.
• Digitization Services Creation of digital databases for any destination of use, customizable to specific client needs for archives and digital asset management.
• High-Quality Scanning Production of large-format images of artworks using scanning technique to achieve maximum precision.
• Photographic Documentation of Exhibitions and Installations Complete photographic coverage of exhibitions, installations, and events for communication and archival purposes.
• Editing and Post-Production Chromatic post-production optimized to achieve maximum fidelity to the original artwork, customizable for each intended use destination.
• Cultural Heritage Enhancement Projects Design of communication projects dedicated to the enhancement and valorization of cultural heritage.
• Dedicated Consulting Custom support and analysis tailored to client needs for cultural heritage and artwork documentation projects.
• Untitled Traces (Publication) Self-published catalog (2021) documenting Bruce Nauman's Contrapposto Studies exhibition at Punta della Dogana, Venice, capturing traces left by performers on walls.
• Human — Galleria Gaburro Catalog (Publication) Exhibition catalog published in 2023 by Maretti editore documenting the Human show at Galleria Gaburro, Milan, featuring works by Andy Warhol, Mario Sironi, and other artists.
• Hiding in Florence (Publication) Exhibition catalog documenting collaboration with artist Liu Bolin and gallery Boxart, featuring photography at historical Florentine locations including Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti.

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Galleria GaburrocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Ongoing collaboration with Galleria Gaburro in Milan for exhibition photography. ZIMA Studio photographs artworks and installation shots for gallery exhibitions, including major shows such as Human (2023) featuring works by Andy Warhol, Mario Sironi, Mario Schifano, and others.
• Maretti editorecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Publisher partnership for the Human catalog (2023) with Galleria Gaburro, featuring works by Andy Warhol, Mario Sironi, Mario Schifano, and other artists.
• Liu BolincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Collaboration with artist Liu Bolin on multiple projects since 2019, including Hiding in the City (Milan), Hiding in Florence series (2022) at locations including Palazzo Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti, Biblioteca Marucelliana, and Gallerie degli Uffizi, and events No War and Freedom (2023).
• Galleria Boxart (Verona)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Collaboration with Galleria Boxart of Verona for Liu Bolin projects, including preparatory phases and shooting direction under the artist's direction.
• MLZ Art DepcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration with MLZ Art Dep for exhibition photography documentation, including Promesse Du Bonneheur 1 (2021-2022) and Promesse Du Bonneheur 2 (2022) group exhibitions featuring multiple artists.
• WEM GallerycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with WEM Gallery for documentation of multiple artist exhibitions including Daniele Sigalot, Chiara Dynys, Nicola Evangelisti, Pennacchio Argentato, and Ttozoi.
• MA*GA MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with MA*GA Museum in Gallarate for Chiara Dynys Melancholia exhibition photography (2020-2021).
• Museo Nazionale della SibaritidecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural heritage documentation project IMPERMEABILE at the Museo Nazionale della Sibaritide in Sibari, photographing the archaeological site and museum collection with emphasis on the relationship between water and the historical site.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• LUZ Photo: Italy-based photography agency representing editorial and art photographers and producing books and exhibitions, overlapping with ZIMA in serving Italian cultural institutions and contemporary art documentation.
• Contrasto: Leading Italian photography agency and book publisher representing a roster of documentary and art photographers with deep relationships to Italian museums, galleries, and cultural institutions, comparable to ZIMA's positioning in the Italian art documentation market.
• Plurale: Italian photography collective/agency focused on documentary and contemporary visual projects, including cultural and artistic subjects, overlapping with ZIMA in the Italian art documentation segment and competing for similar gallery and institutional clients.

Others

• Bridgeman Images: Major art, cultural, and historical image licensing library that sources from museums, galleries, and photographers worldwide; an adjacent ecosystem participant serving overlapping institutional clients and often commissioning documentation photography of artworks similar to ZIMA's core offering.
• Sotheby's: International auction house that commissions high-quality artwork documentation and exhibition photography for catalogs and condition reporting, making it both an adjacent client archetype and a competitor when it brings documentation work in-house.
• Christie's: Global auction house with in-house photography teams producing catalogs and sale documentation; a comparable institutional buyer of fine-art documentation services and a potential in-house competitor for the same commissions ZIMA targets.

Broad incumbents

• Magnum Photos: International photography cooperative representing renowned photographers across documentary, editorial, and art work; competes for the same pool of cultural and editorial photography commissions at a global scale, though with a much broader portfolio than ZIMA's niche.
• Getty Images: Global visual content platform with extensive editorial and creative photography; serves overlapping commercial and cultural clients but at vastly greater scale and with a stock-based rather than bespoke studio model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/zimastudio
• Instagraminstagram.com/zima_milano

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ZIMA