Language editing for Moderna Museet
Moderna Museet needed to have the language in an Italian press release edited quickly, ready for an international exhibition project called Venice Biennale, one of the world’s most important forums for contemporary art. That’s when they contacted us!
Italian language review for Moderna Museet
One Sunday we received an urgent request from Moderna Museet – Stockholm’s Modern Art Museum. It transpired that they needed to send out a press release about artworks that the Venice Biennale – a major international exhibition project – was due to show in the Nordic Pavilion. The existing translation (from English) of the Italian press release wasn’t up to the mark and the client needed immediate help with what would turn out to be a major overhaul of the material.
About Moderna Museet
Moderna Museet, situated in the heart of Stockholm, is famous for its enormous collections of modern and contemporary art. It’s an institution that doesn’t just preserve history but also constantly interacts with contemporary cultural trends through international exhibitions and projects.
Client
Moderna Museet
Sector
Press release | Art and culture
Service
Language editing
Conditions and challenges
The project involved proofreading (which in fact evolved into a language review) of a complicated press release in Italian of around 1,800 words. We found out that the person who had translated the original text was a student who, under the circumstances, had done an amazingly good job given the complexity of the text.
Translating and proofreading texts about art are always going to be some of the most demanding projects we take on because of their cultural complexity and often abstract language.
Short deadline
The language review was one of the most challenging we have ever tackled, as the text was very demanding and we had to work to a very short deadline.
Terminology and tone
The writer used advanced terminology and had a specific tone that we needed to incorporate.
Extreme complexity
The task required not only expertise in Italian and English, but also in-depth knowledge of art and its sometimes surrealist and abstract nature.
How we approach this assignment
Novoterm’s project manager and translator Cristina was faced with a difficult task that involved not just translating the text but also preserving its poetic and aesthetic qualities. This required a good understanding of both the art and its context. And this was why it was Cristina who was perfect for the job. She had studied art history for more than five years and had previous experience of similar assignments involving art.
Cristina spent time reading about the artists, studying their artwork and even delving into additional areas such as Cantonese opera in order to gain a better understanding of the context of each piece.
Linguist with an art background
Our colleague Cristina was responsible for this project. She is a project manager and trained translator who has also studied art history and has experience from similar assignments in the art world. Her combination of linguistic precision and knowledge of the subject matter enabled her to confidently navigate a text filled with complex terminology and artistic expression.
Deeper dive into artwork and references
In order to provide a good edit of the copy, it was first critical to understand the context. Despite a very tight deadline, Cristina read up on the artists and the works, and also familiarised herself with specific areas, such as Cantonese opera, to better understand the various contexts of the artwork. In doing so she was able to interpret and reword the text correctly in Italian without losing any details or language nuances present in the content.
Edit with a focus on nuances
The assignment involved not only correcting linguistic errors but also preserving the poetic tone and aesthetic quality of the original text. All of the wording was carefully thought through to ensure that the Italian version accurately reflected the style, rhythm and artistic intention of the original.
The end result
Not only were the translations delivered within the tight timeframe – they were of such high quality that Moderna Museet asked us to help with two more assignments connected to the exhibition: translating captions for the artworks in the exhibition and translating a second press release.
Delivery with tight deadlines
Despite challenging deadlines, the project was delivered on time and without compromising on quality.
Continued cooperation
The successful outcome laid the foundation for continued cooperation with and additional assignments for Moderna Museet.
“Finding Novoterm and their fantastic translator, Cristina Basti, was a real stroke of luck. We needed numerous press releases and other information to be translated from English to Italian as part of a major international exhibition project. Cristina dealt with everything superbly – quickly but with a great deal of care. My tight deadlines and requirement for a language that I personally have no knowledge of was suddenly no problem at all, thanks to Cristina. It has been an absolute pleasure to be her and Novoterm’s client.”
Get in touch with us
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