Monika Gabriela Dorniak        
CV * Biography
    *  Canine Messengers, Arboreal Memories 
    *  Aesthetics of Knowledge  
    *  Pikaia’s Ossature     
    *  Your Body is A Water Vessel    
    *  Amplification of Fluctuations
    *  Walking in Two Directions (At the Same Time)
    *  The Act of Doing Makes It (Feel Like) Becoming
    *  Metacognitive Tool
    *  Emological Symphony
    *  Human Anatomy is Adorning Itself
Workshops
Exhibitions
Publications
Editions
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EN: Monika Gabriela Dorniak is an artist, curator, educator and researcher whose anti-disciplinary practice traverses the boundaries between bodies, objects, and environments through performance, textile sculpture, and multimedia interventions. Her work unfolds within collaborative frameworks, mapping the shifting terrains of inherited and embodied memory. Dorniak has presented her exhibitions, performances and workshops at international institutions such as Kesselhaus at Kindl Berlin (48 Stunden Neukölln, 2024), Nationalgalerie Vilnius (2023), Drugo Mare in Rijeka (2022), Uferstudios Berlin (2021), Kommunale Galerie Bärenzwinger in Berlin (2019), Tate Exchange at Tate Modern London (2017 & 2018), Arts Catalyst in London (2016), and Foreign Affairs Festival at Berliner Festspiele (2014). She has been a guest lecturer at SOAS University of London (2022), Garage Museum in Moscow (2019), Al-Quds Bard College in Palestine (2018), and Chelsea College in London (2017).
Dorniak holds a Master's Degree in Art and Science (Department of Fine Art) from Central Saint Martins in London (2017). Since 2024, she has been a Ph.D. candidate in the art- and science-based Bi-National Ph.D. programme between HfK Bremen and HDK Valand in Gothenburg under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Mona Schieren and Prof. Dr. Mick Wilson, exploring the reverberations of the Second World War within rural, multispecies environments through auto-ethnographical and agricultural lenses.


DE:    In ihrer anti-disziplinären Praxis macht Monika Gabriela Dorniak die porösen Grenzen zwischen Körpern, Objekten, und Umgebungen mithilfe von Performance, (textiler) Skulpturen, Workshops und multi-media Interventionen erfahrbar. Ihre Recherche in Kunst, Choreographie, Psychologie und Design, verwebt sie oftmals in kollaborativen Formaten zu vererbten und verkörperten Erfahrungen. Die Ausstellungen, Performances und Workshops der Künstlerin wurden lokal und international präsentiert, u.a. bei DAS MINSK Potsdam (2026), KINDL Berlin (2024), National Gallery Vilnius (2023), Tate Exchange bei Tate Modern London (2017/2018), und Galeria Promocyjna Warsaw (2023). Dorniak ist seit 2024 PhD Kandidatin an der HfK Bremen und HDK Valand Göteborg in Schweden, und untersucht in ihrer Arbeit den anhaltenden Einfluß des zweiten Weltkrieges durch auto-ethnographische, landwirtschaftliche und artenübergreifende Perspektiven. 



© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2026, Monika Gabriela Dorniak, Portrait, Berlin 




EDUCATION

since 2024      PhD candidate, HfK Bremen, DE  &  HDK Valand Gothenburg, SE
2025                 Summer school, Otherworldly Communications curated by Constant, Morpho, Antwerp, BE
2023 - 2024    Free-standing Seminar, Contemporary Art and Health, HDK Valand, Online
2023 - 2024    School of Commons, Zurich University of the Arts (ZhdK), Zürich
2017                  Master of Arts in Art and Science, Central Saint Martins, London, UK
2015 - 2017      Central Saint Martins, London, MA Art and Science
2013 - 2014     University of Arts, Berlin, BA Dance and Choreography
2011 - 2013      University Trier, BA Psychology
2008 - 2010    University of Westminster, BA Fashion Design



SOLO/DUO EXHIBITIONS

2025                  u-u-u, i have a request for you, Stroboskop, Warsaw, PL 
2025                 A Wave, A Spine, A Vessel, Insola, Berlin, DE
2025                 Where the Arboreal Conceals, What Endures? w/ Martyna Miller, AVU, Prague, CZ
2023                 the (nonmetaphoric) use of the term ‘participation’, InTheCloset, Vilnius, LI
2023                 the ease with which [a] may be distorted under the action of [b], Hošek Contemporary, Berlin, DE
2020                 If Homunkulus Had A House, ROSALUX, Berlin, DE
2011                   Anatomy is Adorning itself, Alex Xie Studio, DasWeekend, organisiert von Kunstverein Neukölln, Berlin, DE



GROUP EXHIBITIONS  – selected list

2026                 Memory Studies Association, Fundacione Cazadores, Buenos Aires, AR upcoming
2026                 Scores as Scores, Stadtgalerie Saarbrücken, Saarbrücken, DE upcoming
2026                 ever-permeable boundaries, POV Gallery, Berlin, DE upcoming
2025                 How To Be In The Future?, Chisenhale Art Place, London, UK
2025                 in relation with, Pony Books, Göteborg, DE
2025                 Tracing Echoes, Heinrich-Schulz-Bibliothek, Berlin, DE
2024                 48 Hours Neukölln, KINDL, Berlin, DE
2024                 Walpurgisnacht, Center for Literature & Arts, Burg Hülshoff, Münster, DE
2024                 What could possibly go right?, ZhdK, Toni Areal, Zürich, CH 
2023                 CollActive Matters, CLB Galerie, Berlin, DE
2023                WARSAW>KIN<BERLIN, Galeria Promocyjna, Warszawa, PL
2023                WeWater, Symbiotic Lab, Berlin, DE
2023                WARSAW>KIN<BERLIN, Milchhof Pavillion, Berlin, DE
2022                 Künstlerische Tatsachen, TRAFO, Jena, DE
2022                 Mapping The Cartographic, Drugo Mare, Rijeka, HR
2022                 Critical Practice Studio, Haus der Statistik, Berlin, DE
2021                 Pop Up Gallery, Art Apart, NAILS Projectroom, Düsseldorf, DE
2021                 Rituale der Gegenwart, curated by SALVE, Künstlerhaus Sootbörn, Hamburg, DE
2021                 Hold Hands, Kunstverein Leipzig, Leipzig, DE
2021                 Black Beemer > White Boomer, City Gallery Pardubice, Prague, CZ
2021                 Instability and Precariousness, Millepiani, Rome, IT
2020                Visard, Salve Berlin, Berlin, DE
2020                still connected, Weserhalle, Berlin, DE
2019                 The Screen Is Not The Limit, Entkunstung, online
2019                 dig:it, Museum of Arts, Arad, RO
2018                 Vivid Unknown, ROSALUX, Berlin, DE
2017                  10 Jahre, Kunstverein Neukölln, Berlin, DE
2017                 This is an Art School, curated by Alex Schady, Tate Exchange, London, UK
2016                 Postgraduates Auction with Sotheby, Lethaby Gallery, London, UK
2016                 9 Evenings Series, Arts Catalyst, London, UK
2015                  Remember Nature, curated by Gustav Metzger, Central Saint Martins, London, UK
2012                  Wir bauen eine neue Gedankenskulptur, Alte Post, Trier, DE
2011                   Koordinaten des Körpers, Kunstraum t27, Berlin, DE
2011                  Exposició Síntesi, Festival Tallerts Oberts, Barcelona, ES



PERFORMANCES  – selected list

2026                 Your Body is s Water Vessel, flows – Schmiermittel der Theoriebildung, Humboldt University, Berlin, DE
2025                 Canine Messengers, Arboreal Memories, Chisenhale Art Place, London, UK
2025                 Canine Messengers, Arboreal Memories, Heinrich-Schulz-Bibliothek, Berlin, DE
2025                 Sensing Capsule, Monster Reloaded, Strandbad Tegel, Berlin, DE
2024                 language as a technology, School Of Commons, Toni Areal, ZHDK, Zürich, CH
2023                 Your Body is a Water Vessel, WeWater, Insola, Berlin, DE
2023                 half orphan, half witch, Monster Reloaded, Strandbad Tegel, Berlin, DE
2022                 Your Body Is A Water Vessel, TRAFO, Jena, DE
2022                 Metamorphosis, Entkunstung x Jakob Kukula Publication, Art Biesenthal, DE
2021                   Amplification Of Fluctuations, Uferstudios, Berlin, DE
2019                  My Fiction and You, Bärenzwinger, Berlin, DE
2018                  Synchronised, Studio Complex, Curated by Alex Schady, Tate Exchange, Tate Modern, London, UK
2016                  Metacognitive Tool, Why simple, when you can make it complex, Performance Studio, London, UK
2016                  Metacognitive Tool, Acts Re: Acts, Wimbledon Arts Centre, London, UK
2014                  100 Grad Festival, Sophiensaele, Berlin, DE
2013                  CTM Hacklab Presentations, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, DE



MENTORING & TEACHING

2025-2026      Seminar, Examining Embodied & Inherited Memories, HfK Bremen, DE 
2023-2025      Mentor, Mentoring Programme, University of Arts London, UK
2025                  Seminar, Lygia Clark and the Politics of Memory, HfK Bremen, DE
2024                 Workshop, Reminiscent Armour, Tanzhaus Zürich, Zürich, CH
2024                 Workshop, Art & Health ambassadors, Lišiai, Online
2023                 Workshop, Intergenerational Trauma & Beyond, Kit Gavatovicha, Lviv, UA
2023                 Lecturer, CollActive Materials, Matters of Activity, Humboldt University Berlin, DE
2023                 Guest tutor, Berridge Programs, FR
2022                 Guest tutor, OSUN course: Dis-located Identities in a Fragmenting World, SOAS London, Online
2018                  Guest tutor, Urban Studies & Spatial Practices, Al-Quds Bard College, PS
2018                  Workshop, Anti-University Festival, Arts Catalyst, London, UK
2017                  Guest tutor, BA Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts, UAL, UK
2015                  Workshop, Anthropocentric Choreography, Foreign Affairs, Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Berlin, DE
2011-2012        Teacher, Art classes, Grundschule Biewer, Trier, DE



LECTURING & MODERATING

2026                 Lecturer, Memory Studies Association, Conference, Buenos Aires, AR upcoming
2026                 Lecturer, Non-Human Agents in Memory Studies, Conference, Universität Regensburg, DE
2025                 Lecturer, Canine Messengers, Arboreal Memories, Parse – Some Like It Hot, Conference, Gothenburg, SE 
2025                 Panel Convenor, STS-CH: Holding things together?, Conference, Zurich, CH
2025                 Lecturer, Beyond Crises: Resilience and (In)stability, Conference, Prague, CZ 
2025                 Lecturer, Mystical Theology Network, Conference, Antwerp, BE
2024                 Lecturer, Seminar ART >>>>=×=÷+/–=˜> THERAPY, HfK Bremen, DE
2024                 Lecturer, Why Remember?, Peace & Conflict Culture, Sarajevo, BIH 
2022                 Moderator, Reactionary Art, Berlin Art Week, Uferhallen, Berlin, DE
2022                 Moderator, Footnotes, School of Commons, Zurich University, Zurich, CH
2022                 Moderator, Warding Off, Radio Show, Refuge Worldwide
2021                  Moderator & Lecturer, Uprootedness & Hybridity, Seminar Series, Counterpoints Arts, UK
2019                  Lecturer, Experiencing the Museum, Garage Museum, Moscow, RU
2019                  Lecturer, Dublin Glass Biennale, Dublin, IRE
2018                  Lecturer, Diversity, Arts and Culture, Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, DE
2015                  Lecturer, Diversity, Arts and Culture, Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, DE



CURATING

2026                 Memory Studies Association, Fundacione Cazadores & Zonderflag, Buenos Aires, AR   upcoming
2026                 ever-permeable boundaries, POV Gallery, Berlin, DE   upcoming
2025                 Tracing Echoes, Heinrich-Schulz Bibliothek, Berlin, DE
2025                 in relation with, GIBCA Biennale Extended, PonyBooks, Gothenburg, SE
2024                 non-linear constructions, Insola & Dammweg 216,  Berlin, DE
2023                 Passing on Resilience, commissioned by Goethe Institute Vilnius, National Gallery Vilnius, LI
2021                  Uprootedness & Hybridity, commissioned by Counterpoints Arts, UK
2018                 The Vivid Unknown, ROSALUX, Berlin, DE
2012                  Wir bauen eine neue Gedankenskulptur, Alte Post, Trier, DE



STIPENDS, PRIZES & RESIDENCIES

2026                   Project stipend, Constant, Brussels, BE
2025-ongoing  PhD scholarship, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), Bonn, DE
2025                   Project stipend, Bezirksamt Charlottenburg, Berlin, DE
2024                   Project stipend, Bezirksamt Charlottenburg, Berlin, DE
2023                   Travel stipend, Goethe Institute Vilnius, LI
2023                   Research stipend, Take Heart, Fonds Darstellende Künste e.V., DE
2023                   Hošek Contemporary Prize, Berlin, DE
2022                   Residency, Künstlerische Tatsachen, TRAFO, Jena, DE
2022                   Stipend, Neustart Kultur, Kunstfonds Bonn, DE
2022                   Exhibition and travel funding, Mapping The Cartographic, IfA, DE
2021                    Residency, Hold Hands, Online
2021                    Stipend, Take Action, Fonds Darstellende Künste e.V., DE
2020                   Stipend, Berliner Senatsverwaltung für Kultur, Berlin, DE
2016                    Residency, The Cube, London, UK



COMMISSIONS & COLLABORATIONS  – selected list

2017 - 2024     Head of Outreach, Marc QuinnOur Blood, DE, UK & USA
2018 - 2019      Performer, Matthew Herbert – Brexit Choir, DE, UK, IT
2017                   Performer, Pauline Oliveros Study Group, Cafe Oto, London, UK
2017                   Performer, Robert Whitman, Arts Catalyst, London, UK
2016                  Choreographer, Baserange, Summer Collection, London, UK
2014                  Choreographer, Rory Pilgrim – Affection is the best protection, NL /DE
2010                  Performer, Vladimir Karaleev – Berlin Fashion Week, Berlin, DE
2009                 Performer, Maaike Mekking – London Fashion Week, London, UK
2008                 Performer, Antje Majewski – Rausch, Kunstverein Dresden, DE



BIBLIOGRAPHY

2026               Erdélyi, Rebeka. Activating Memory through Ecological Ruins. Article. Contemporary Lynx.
2025               Bilgin, Senem. The Smell of Interspecies Grief & Solastalgia. Article. Vision Magazine, no. 5.
2025               Russo, Silvia. Seduta Artistica. Interview. MOST Magazine.
2023               Mateeva, Lora. The phenomenological maps of Monika Dorniak. Interview. Coeur and Art.
2022               Mdivani, Nina, Monika Dorniak, A. Dadiani. Performance as Activism from Tbilisi to Berlin. Interview. JANE.
2022               Fischer, Leoni, and Symbiotic Lab, eds. MetaMorphosis. Entkunstung.
2021                Umunyana, Dydine. Students Of Life with Monika Dorniak. Interview & Article. Kind Kulture.
2020                “Past Pieces Merging With What I Call Now.” Out Of Stock,  no. 1.
2017                 “Metacognitive Tool.” Terra Firma Magazine Issue no. 4.
2016                Sliusarenko, Anastasia. Human being & technology. Interview. Metal Magazine.
2011                 “Human Anatomy Is Adorning Itself.” Das Greif Issue no. 5.



Selected interviews
Most Magazine (2025) w/ Silvia Russo
Coeur & Art (2023) w/ Lorena Mateeva
Baserange (2021) w/ Umuco Podcast
The Ekru Project (2019) w/ Veronica Horwell
Metal Magazine (2017)