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Resume: About Me

Marta Grabowska  

is a Polish-British art historian and independent curatoress who shares her time between London, United Kingdom, and Kraków, Poland. Her practice is informed by a passion for intersectional feminism, migrant and working-class perspectives in art, as well as the role of grassroots arts organizations in building a more just and diverse art world. She is a champion of audience engagement and accessibility that she exercises in her Slow Art Practice.

Marta curated exhibitions, residencies, and events in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, China, the USA, and online. She is a co-founder of two grassroots London-based art organizations, ONE Project (2016) and Red Zenith Collective (2020) which is a platform for women and non-binary creatives with a link to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).  Since 2018 she has been Producer and Talent Scout at artBLAB London. In 2021 she co-funded HERstory of Art Museum in Kraków, Poland, where she holds the position of Deputy Director and Head Curator of Contemporary Art. 

In 2023 Marta was nominated for a Kazimiera Bujwidowa Award for exceptional women of Krakow, which is awarded to those whose acts and achievements have a significant impact on the reality around us, create innovative projects, work to empower women in the labor market, are involved in the life of local communities, are a model for the young generation, and inspire others with their civic initiatives.

Awards

2023 Kazimiera Bujwidowa Award, shortlisted

 

Professional Affiliations

2023 Saloon London

2022 British Art Network Emerging Curators

2021 Working Class Creatives

Slow Art, being a quiet form of activism that makes art more accessible to broader audiences, is at the core of my curatorial practices.  I strongly believe in the idea of a gallery as an experience, rather than a place; not an overwhelming or intimidating but a safe and liberating space, where an encounter with art and exchange of emotions takes place.

Curatorial Experience & Production

2023 Jak nie zgubić sztuki kobiet? Conversation series, MuHER, Dom Norymberski

2023 Migrating Memoryscapes Creating Community for Migrants Through Art, Teatr Scena Supernova, Kraków, Poland

2023 Deep Sea Babies conference, We are all bodied of Water, short film screening, Dom Norymberski, Kraków, Poland

2023 (K)NOW POLISH ART, atyBLAB & the Brewery Tap, University of Arts Folkestone, UK

2022 We are All Bodies of Water, short film screening, Kino Paradox, Kraków, Poland

2022 Performative reading of Astrida Neimanis' essay We are all bodies of Water by Grupa Łono, kmwtw, Kraków, Poland

2022 Meditation of Liquid Tenderness, A. Chromik, kmwtw, Kraków, Poland

2022 Dreaming with Water, ŚOMI, kmwtw, Kraków, Poland

2022 Wate Rituals vol.2, kmwtw & MuHER, Kraków, Poland

2022 Water Rituals vol.1, KIOSK & MuHER, Kraków, Poland

2022 Our Common Histeria, HYSTERA, KIOSK & MuHER, Kraków, Poland

2022 Slow Art Day festival, National Museum Kraków and HERstory of Art Museum: Looking Slowly, Kraków, Poland

2022 Hilma af Klint. The Pioneer of Abstraction, film screening, Kino Pradox, Kraków, Poland

2022 Ariadna Zine launch, Eszeweria, Kraków, Poland

2022 I am by Ogi Ugonoh, Kino Paradox, Kraków, Poland

2022 Czas pozytywistek, production of satellite events during the literary conference, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland

2021 How to Design a Participatory Museum, virtual tour of the HERstory of Art Museum, Fundacja Galerii Piana, Kraków, Poland

2021 Touch. Presence. Rebirth, performance by I.Jastrzębska, Finsbury Park, London

2021 Immunity.Geography, The Enjoy Museum of Art, Shanghai, China

2021 W a (y) s t (o) e d Freedom, M. Drohomirecka, Centrala Gallery, Birmingham

2021 Slow Art Day festival, Red Zenith Collective & Entrance Gallery: What is Slow Art? Kraków, Poland/ Prague, Czech Rep./ online

2021 24x Young Artists Residency, re:kultura, Kraków/ Leipzig, Germany

2020 Text. Innovative poetry Exhibition, artBLAB online

2020 Faces of Racism in CEE, the Red Zenith Collective seminar, online

2020 Slow Art Day festival, artBLABx ONE Project: No return to Comfort Zone, online

2020 Beyond C, Saskia Rodriguez, London, UK

2020 ONE Book Residency vol.2: Ways of Seeing by John Berger, online

2020 ONE Project Messe, Truman Social, London, UK

2019 Saturday Crit, M. Żołędź, T. Lohani, Museum of Internet, E17 London, UK

2018 You Are Only an Image to Me, M. Żołędź, T. Litra, San Mei Gallery, London, UK

2018 Scarlet House, I. Jastrzębska, 971620 GALLERY, Luton, UK

2015 Chinese Whispers, Karin Jansson Project Space, London & Gallerie Nasty Alice, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

2015 Speed Networking for Creatives, Ziferblat, London, UK

 

coming soon

 

2023 Sprawię, że oszalejesz, Malw Miel, Opole, Poland

2023 Autostrata, Stroboskop Art Space, Warsaw, Poland 

Conducted Interviews

artBLAB online, an online series of Q&A's with interdisciplinary artists from the UK and beyond:

2020 Swimming in Soup w/Niamh Seana Meehan
2020 The Mystery Beyond the Rostrum w/I-Chien Tang

2021 The Face of the Other w/ Marta and Mathew Hawkins, artBLAB online

 

RED ZENITH DIALOGUES, an online series for the Red Zenith Collective. interviews with women and non-binary creatives with a link to CEE:

Dec 2021 Women 21 Century Collective w/ Maja Kolarz

Nov 2021 The Ambiguity of Visual Representations of Trauma and other photographic projects w/ Linda Zhengová

Nov 2021 The Polonia Case w/ Małgorzata Drohomirecka

Jul 2021 Echo Gone Wrong magazine w/ Vitalija Jasaitė and Neringa Černiauskaitė

Jun 2021 The Hidden Mothers Project w/ Tereza Bušková

Apr 2021 Independent curating and the "real face" of the art world w/ Vanessa Giorgio

Apr 2021 What is Slow Art? Slow Exhibition-making w/ Entrance Gallery curators Tereza Jindrová and Veronika Čechová

Apr 2021 I am the emotional gradation of my colors w/ Anca Stefanescu

Mar 2021 Being one of the 100 Artists of Tomorrow w/ Kinga Nowak

Mar 2021 Take your # off my vag w/ dr Alicja Pawluczuk aka HYSTERA

Feb 2021 B-East Association and Polish folk cut-outs w/ Karolina Kazimierska

Feb 2021 Running an independent art gallery - Stroboskop Art Space w/ Kathryn Zazenski

Dec 2020 BLM Movement in Arts and the Power of Dance w/ Julia Stachura

Nov 2020 Aims and values of ZA*Group w/ Vera Zalatuskaya and Yulia Krivich

Oct 2020 Directing the Narva Art Residency w/ Ann Mirjam Vaikla

Sep 2020 LGBTQI+ rights in Romania w/ Antonella Lerca

Aug 2020 Women Cinema and the Demakijaż Film Festival in Lublin w/Joanna Bednarczyk and Jolanta Prochowicz

Jul 2020 Curating and the curatorial in CEE w/ Karina Cabaniková

 

HERstory of Art Museum's Jak nie zgubić sztuki kobiet/ How Not to Lose Women's Art, at Dom Norymberski, Kraków, Poland:

 

18.05.2023 Jak samej o sobie nie zapominać? Dylematy nie tylko artystek z w/Marcelina Amelia

25.05.2023 Jakich krakowskich artystek – na pewno! – nie chcemy zapomnieć?

w/Alicja Zioło

1.06.2023 ak nie szufladkować kobiet? Sztuka nie do szuflady w/Agata Kokoryn

other

2022 Abstract Dialogues: Joanna Pottle and Julia Leś, STAKKATO, Kraków, Poland 2021 The Polonia Case: Artist Discussion, Malgorzata Drohomirecka, Izabela Morska, Ula Chowaniec, Centrala Gallery, Birmingham, UK

Publications

2022 Aridna zine: Abstraction issue, MuHER Press, Editor-in-Chief

2022 Slow Art Day with HERstory of Art Museum, Maria Pinińska-Bereś at National Museum in Kraków, co-written with Zofia Ozaist-Zgodzińska, MuHER Press

2021 Slow Art: Accessibility, Equality, Unlearning, and Dialogue with Art, UTOPIA zine

2021 How to Design Utopia? Ideas for Beginners, UTOPIA zine

2021 Slow Looking and Equality, the Red Zenith Collective EQUALITY zine

2021 Guide to Slow Looking. Slow Art Exercises - Pandemic Edition, self-published

2020 The Art of Slow Looking, Toolbox Type magazine, online

Meditations & Workshops

2023 Slow Art Meditation of "What the Water Gave Me" by Frida Kahlo + art therapy workshop at VOICE Amplified Centre for Women and Girls in Crisis, Kraków, Poland 2022 Zine Making Workshop, Spółdzielnia Ogniwo, Kraków, Poland
2022 Art Meditation: Tetiana Jabłońska, online

2021 Art Meditation: Leonora Carrington, online
2021 Slow Art Meditation & Collage Workshop, Centrala Gallery, Birmingham, UK
2021 Art Meditation for Uprootedness & Hybridity – Artistic seminar on intergenerational trauma in Eastern Europe, Refugee week, Counterpoints Arts, online

Teaching & Talks

2023 How to Design Utopia? Curatorial Activism Workshop at Jagiellonian University, Kraków, PL
2022 Demakijaż Festival of Women's Art: Care, Lublin, Poland
2020 The Art of Slow Looking, art talk, artBLAB, online

2018 Independent Curating, art talk for artBLAB London, UK

“I didn't have time to be anyone's muse... I was too busy rebelling against my family and learning to be an artist.”

― Leonora Carrington

Work Experience

2022- present

Deputy Director, Contemporary HERstory of Art

HERstory of Art Museum Foundation, Kraków, Poland

  • Curatorial strategy and overseeing the implementation of all art exhibitions, events, and productions, such as the international History of Art and Literature conference, including cinema screening, exhibitions and tours “Czas Pozytywistek”, Slow Art Day 2022&2023

  • Conducted in-depth research on a broad spectrum of subjects for projects and exhibitions, ranging from medical misogyny to Kraków Poetic Heritage to accesibility in art institutions and more

  • Securing and managing partnerships and opportunities with collaborative organisations (National Museum, Jagiellonian University, Google Arts and Culture etc.) and artists

  • Editor-in-chief of herstory of art zine “Ariadna”, focusing on championing artists-women

  • Managing social media campaigns and producing content in collaboration with a team of copywriters, graphic designers, etc.

  • Updating, and implementation of schedules, budgets, documentation, and contracts,

  • Management of project teams, control of the implementation of projects and settlement of their results, and preparation of substantive and financial reports.

  • Coordinator of "Jak nie zgubić sztuki kobiet" project - a series of events, interviews, and movie screening in collaboration with MuHER, Lost Women Art, Dom Norymberski w Krakowie, and ASP w Krakowie

  • Coordinator of "Migrating Memoryscapes" - a project aiming to build a community for Ukrainian migrants and Polish citizens, in collaboration with Salam Lab, Voice Amplified, Centrum Wielokulturowe Kraków, MuHER, and Muzeum Krakowa

 

2022

International Art Residency Producer

24x young artists network and Re:Kultura, Kraków, Poland

Through my active search for collaboration from outside of my “bubble”, I connected with a 24x young artists network for whom I facilitated a 3-week international artists residency. Attracting artists from Poland, Germany, and England the residency generated art focussing on ideas of a free press, migration, and governmental Policy.

  • Planned, sourced venue and funds, managed an open call, selected participants

  • Delivered workshops and scheduled daily entertainment for residents, managed social media and press contact

  • Curated final exhibition and zine publication “Searching for Utopia”

 

2020-2022

Co-founder, Programme Manager & Producer

Red Zenith Collective, London, United Kingdom

  • Guest-curated the “Immunity Geography”, at the Enjoy Museum in Beijing, China

  • Produced and curated show of Małgorzata Drohomirecka at Centrala Gallery in Birmingham, UK

  • Delivered workshops engaging with parents and children from migrant backgrounds in the UK

  • Produced and hosted “Faces of Racism in CEE” a seminar that facilitated conversations challenging the stereotypes of homogeneity and provided the public with an opportunity to meet representatives of Nigerian, Afgan, and Vietnamese diaspora based in CEE countries

  • Edited in-house online publications, from Open Call to launch event

  • Collaborated with Counterpoints Arts Refugee Week 2021 on “Uprootedness and Hybridity”

  • Developed the public engagement platform and branding guidelines to build a network of over 2,000 artists and artivists from Central and Eastern Europe, hosted regular artist interviews titled “Red Zenith Dialogues”

 

2018-2022

Talent Scout and Community Manager

artBLAB London, London, United Kingdom

  • Led digital transformation during the Covid-19 pandemic from in-person to online using Instagram and website

  • Managed social media content to generate a following of 1,500 within 2 months

  • Data entry for CRM database of artists, active talent scouting opportunities, and scheduling

  • Portfolio reviews for artists and help with the curation of their shows

  • Built a Slow Art meditation program to introduce people from an underprivileged background to arts

  • Produced 50+ live Q&A', scripted questions, liaised with artists

 

2019

PR Assistant

The London Illustration Fair, London, United Kingdom

  • Promoted the festival on social media and on-site

  • Ticket sales and cashing-up

 

2016-2020

Lead Curator

ONE Project, London, United Kingdom & Kraków, Poland

  • Co-founded the platform and liaised with venues and artists

  • Curated exhibitions and produced international art residencies in galleries and non “white-cube” spaces

  • Liaised with vendors and external partners

  • Developed and implemented social media strategy and branding, responsible for content creation and blogging

 

2014-2020

Copywriter and Translator

Freelance, London, United Kingdom

  • Producing copy and translating content for clients across UK and Poland for social media and advertisement

  • Working on creative briefs in collaboration with graphic designers and other copywriters

  • Administration and management of operating freelance service

 

2014

Gallery and Personal Assistant

Karin Janssen Project Space, London, United Kingdom

  • Given the fantastic opportunity to learn and work with Hackney-based, Netherlands-born artist, Karin Jassen, I worked closely to peek behind the scenes and get hands-on with responsibilities

  • Co-curated ‘Chinese Whispers’, a 60+ artists exhibition that traveled between the UK, and the Netherlands

  • Responsible for social media including contact with the press, blog updates, and liaising with artists and buyers

  • Logistics of Art transportation between the Netherlands and the UK

  • Launch event production preparation and assistance

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Education

Feminist Art and Exhibitions: History and Challenges

March - April 2021

Node Centre for Curatorial Studies, Berlin, Germany.

This course looks at how feminist thinking has influenced the arts since the 1960s, both in Western as well as selected non-Western contexts. Presenting the foundational feminist theories that furthered the radicalization of female artists and trace their manifestation in the visual arts. Due to its strong political content and often taboo-breaking visuality, feminist art continues to present its own set of challenges to curators and museum professionals. The course introduces students to the most important exhibitions of feminist art and discuss their strategies, premises, and criticism. In addition, the course presents curatorial practices and exhibition formats that follow feminist premises.

Contemporary Art Theories

2020

MoMA, NYC, US.

This course addressed the question what is contemporary art? by exploring a variety of perspectives on what art can do today, who makes it, what it is made of, and why it takes so many forms. Based on MoMA's collection.

History of Art with Curating

2016-2020

BA at Birkbeck, University of London, UK.

Main field of research: Slow Art and the ideas of slow looking. 

Secondary interest: Modernism and Young Poland movement, Gesamtkunstwerk - total work of art.

Curating 

2014

Central Saint Martins, UAL, London, UK.

Curatorial course led by Sarah Spakres.

History of Art and Architecture

2012-2014

Certificate of Higher Education at Birkbeck, University of London, UK.

Creative Photography

2007-2010

ND at Krakow School of Art and Fashion Design, Krakow, Poland. Specialisation: Staged Photography and set design.

get in
touch

curatoress  @  gmail.com 

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