©2024 zofiakierkus




My curatorial practice emerges from the intersection of art and ecological studies, deeply influenced by my Eastern European background. I am interested in exploring the role of curatorial studies in the process of alternative knowledge creation. Expanding beyond what is traditionally understood as human culture, my research focuses on the role of peripheral sources of knowledge, such as those coming from Eastern thought, indigenous philosophy, and embodied learning. Engaging with the natural world and the ‘more-than-human’ how can we redefine our relationship with nature?

My process-driven practice is based on developing a continuously growing ‘ecology of practices’ in the field of post-anthropocentric studies. With the notion of ‘care’ at the core of my practice, I engage with an interdisciplinary network of practitioners to enhance the slow-paced emergence of contemporary thought. Forming long-term relationships with artists and partnerships with organisations, I am interested in restructuring systems in which learning processes emerge and develop. Shifting the focus from the competitive, commercially driven world of art, I aim to transform the approach to it towards a collective, relationship-based environment that allows space for the exchange of experiences and reflections.

I am motivated to initiate curatorial programs for alternative learning, structured around residencies, workshops, and research studies. Working with artists whose work bridges the gap between scientific knowledge and nature, through the use of technology and storytelling, I hope to demystify the Western-centric mode of learning through feeling from the inside. Situating ‘reciprocity’ at the centre, I would like my practice to emphasise the value of life and the constant reformation of societies and cultures.



Education

2024 MA Curating Contemporary Art | Royal College of Art
London, UK

2022 BA (Hons) Interior Design | University of The Arts London
Chelsea College of Arts, London, UK


Curating and editorial

2024 ‘in short, we are cyborgs.’, OmVed Gardens, London UK

2024 ‘Curious Habits - Design as Learning’ as part of the Brompton Design District’s programme curated by Jane Withers Studio, London Design Festival, London, UK

2024 ‘we are all chimeras, theorized and fabricated hybrids’, RCA Curating Contemporary Art, London, UK

2024 ‘Co-creating with Nature’, RCA SustainLab Society Annual Show, London, UK

2024 Ark Talks Magazine, Royal College of Arts, London, UK

2023-2024 Perediza Magazine, London, UK


Residencies

2024 Joya: arte + ecologíca / AiR, Vélez-Blanco, Spain 

2023 Design Summer School 23’, Design Nature Studio Rygalik, Sobole, PL



Related Experience

2023-2024 Visitor Experience Assistant, Somerset House Trust, London, UK

2022-2023 Artist Assistant, Ackroyd&Harvey, UK

2022 Studio Assistant, Saintechanel Studio, London, UK

2022 Creative Assistant, UAL, London, UK

2020 Design Intern Zofia Wyganowska Design Studio, Warsaw, PL