Katie Zazenski

After experiencing a significant shift in how Stroboskop (an independent art space in Ochota, founded in 2016) is organised, I realised that I could no longer continue to run things as they are and that it was time to make a change if I wanted this place to survive. I realised that at my core, and the core of this ‘institution’, is adaptability, and that now is the time to act on the opportunity that this change has forced me to face. In recent years, we have gravitated away from our more typical community focus and developed strong collaborations with independent spaces across the world (of course a lot of this was the result of adapting to the effects of the pandemic), instead prioritising solo exhibitions and projects.

During the WOK residency, I will focus on analysing the sustainability of the working model of Stroboskop, and ask what does the contemporary art community of Warsaw need from an independent space? What do artists and cultural workers (both locally and regionally) need right now? Can I afford to keep this space (financially, conceptually, logistically), is this particular space (the garage) integral to the ‘success’ of this place? If I change it or choose a more ephemeral way of working, what is lost and what is gained?

I am an artist, curator, writer, and lecturer. As the director of Stroboskop (since 2018), I have curated and produced over 30 exhibitions and, as well, have hosted numerous artist talks and lectures with both local and international artists and cultural workers. Since 2020 I have been a contributing writer for BLOK magazine, and since 2021, I have become co-editor-in-chief with Vera Zalutskaya and Ewa Borysiewicz, operating together as a horizontally structured editorial team. My most recent studio project, the Shadow Archive, functions as a ‘monument’ to visibility, and negotiates digital and physical ‘public’ space, power, and contemporary image making and dissemination, which are core interests of my studio practice, alongside creating supportive community structures and developing new models for cultural work and production. I lecture regularly on sculpture, drawing, and exhibition production at institutions in the US and Poland, and received my MFA in Sculpture from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in the US. I am a two-time Fulbright Fellow to Poland.