Karolina Breguła (born 1979) is a visual artist and filmmaker. She creates stories about art, architecture and urban spaces, which are a field of her anthropological and sociological observations. She is interested in storytelling – the roles of retelling memories, the favourable and detrimental effect of fiction, the remedial and destructive force of imagination. She considers collaborative fiction writing a political activity which supports the process of diagnosing, expressing and discussing social problems. Many of her works are co-created with their protagonists and participants. Her works have been exhibited at institutions such as the Jewish Museum in New York, Museum of Contemporary Art MOCA Taipei and at international events such as Venice Art Biennale and Singapore Biennale. She is the winner of the Views Deutsche Bank Foundation Award, the Samsung Art Master, the EMAF award, Golden Claw at the Gdynia Film Festival among others. Her works are included in collections such as Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Wroclaw Contemporary Museum and ING Polish Art Foundation. She is an associate professor at the Academy of Art in Szczecin, she collaborates with lokal_30 Gallery. Since autumn 2023, together with Weronika Fibich, she has been running Lokatorne – Space for Antidisciplinary Activities. Karolina works between Poland and Taiwan.
EDUCATION
2020 Habilitation, University of the Arts in Poznań, Poland
2011 – 2015 PhD, Doctoral Studies, National Film Television and Theatre School, Łódź, Poland
2005 – 2010 MA, National Film Television and Theatre School, Łódź, Poland
2002 – 2004 European Academy of Photography, Warsaw, Poland
2000 – 2002 Photography school GFU, Folkuniversitetet, Stockholm, Sweden
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 Exercises in Losing Control, Ypsilon, PhotoBiennial, Thessaloniki, Greece
2022 Exercises in Losing Control, Galeria Miejska Arsenał, Poznań, Poland
2021 Dust, lokal_30 Gallery, Warsaw, Poland
2018 Square, Królikarnia Museum of Sculpture, Warsaw, Poland
2017 Square, Fotoaura Institute of Photography, Tainan, Taiwan
2017 Photophobia, Labirynt Gallery, Lublin
2017 Unusefulness, Galeria Entropia, Wrocław, Poland
2017 I don’t Cry Over Sculptures, Upper Ray Galler, Treasure Hill, Taipei, Taiwan
2016 Office for Monument Construction, Market Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland
2016 Renovation, a word disgusting like a cokroach, Arsenał Gallery, Białystok, Poland
2015 I don’t Cry Over Sculptures, lokal_30 Gallery, Warsaw, Poland
2015 Stories, Polish Institute Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2014 The Soup, AC Institute, New York, USA
2014 Progress, Eastwards Prospectus, Bucharest, Romania
2014 The Tower, Warsaw Chamber Opera, Warszawa, Poland (opera performance)
2013 Leaving, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland
2013 The Centre of Everything, Atlas Sztuki, Łódź, Poland
2013 Uprooted, BWA, Katowice, Poland
2013 Strange works, Zachęta National Gallery, Warsaw, Poland (performative lectures)
2012 Spacial forms in the face of the disaster, EL Gallery, Elbląg, Poland (performative science conference)
2011 Corrective photographs,Galeria Archeologia Fotografii, Warsaw, Poland
2011 Wschodnia Gallery Archive Reconstruction, Galeria Wschodnia, Łódź, Poland
2011 Art Lover, Centre for Contemporary Art Łaźnia, Gdańsk, Poland (happening and a solo presentation of one work)
2011 Useful Art: Richard Long – A line made by walking, No Women No Art public space art festival, Poznań, Poland
2011 Explaining the Art Exhibition, a series of events at art institutions including Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle (Warsaw), Centre of Contemporary Art Łaźnia (Gdańsk), Zachęta National Gallery (Warsaw)
2010 Good Neighbours, Galeria Szara, Cieszyn, Poland
2008 Artistic emergency service, Galeria XS, Kielce, Poland
2007 Lovebook, Galeria 65, Warsaw, Poland
2007 The married women (with Ola Buczkowska) & Video camera Galeria Nowych Mediów, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland
2006 All I see is the palace, Polish culture days, Uppsala, Sweden
2006 All I see is the palace, Desigh Hu, Budapest, Hungary
2006 The married women, (with Ola Buczkowska), Galeria Program, Warsaw, Poland
2005 All I see is the palace, Galeria Jubileuszowa Pałacu Kultury i Nauki, Warsaw, Poland
2005 Let them see us, Landtag, Stadt- und Landesbibliothek, Potsdam, Germany
2004 Let them see us, Goethe Institute, Bucharest, Romania
2003 Let them see us, Galeria Burzym & Wolff, Cracow, Poland
2003 Let them see us, Galeria Towarzystwa Sztuk Pięknych Pałacyk, Warsaw, Poland
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023 Baltic Sea Biennale. The Democratic Space, Kunsthalle Rostock, Rostock, Germany
2023 The Cold Days are Over, Warsaw Under Construction festival, Muzeum Woli, Warsaw, Poland
2023 Listening to the Overtones of Fissures, National Human Rights Museum, Green Island, Taiwan
2022 Sleepless in Warsaw, A.I.R. Gallery, New York, USA
2022 Au-delà, Schwarz Contemporary, Berlin, Germany
2022 Iluminacje, Light Festival, Szczecin, Poland
2021 Amongst the Silence, Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
2021 Citizens in the Shade, Aliens in the Sun: Trade, Vernacular Institute, Mexico City, Mexico
2021 Whatever You Come up About Yourself, Trafo Gallery, Szczecin, Poland
2021 Digital Cultures, Adam Mickiewicz Institute online exhibition, Poland
2020 Re-visiting Landscape, Chiayi Art Museum, Chiayi, Taiwan
2020 Die Sonne does not Shine the Same as Słońce, Trafo Gallery, Szczecin, Poland
2020 Private Mythologies Cultures, Wrocław Contemporary Museum, Wrocław, Poland
2020 Aftersounds, Austrian Cultural Forum, Warsaw, Poland
2019 Her Own Way, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
2019 Every Step in the Right Direction, Singapore Biennial, Singapore
2019 Freie Meinung in Zeiten des Populismus, Soho Ottakring, Vienna, Austria
2019 Three Plagues, Labirynt Gallery, Lublin, Poland
2019 Celebration, Kyoto Art Centre, Kyoto, Japan
2019 Living Sound – Expanding the Extramusical, MOCA Taipei, Taiwan
2019 Madou Sugar Industry Triennial, Tainan, Taiwan
2019 Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
2018 Exit from the Center, Arsenał Gallery, Białystok, Poland
2018 Tatsuno Art Project in Kraków, Manggha Museum, Cracow, Poland
2018 Kościotrupy muszą wstawać, Gdańska Galeria Miejska, Gdańsk, Poland
2018 Prêt-à-Porter, lokal_30 Gallery, Warsaw, Poland
2017 Communicating Vessels, Bunkier sztuki, Kraków, Poland
2017 Šestsil, Miejsce Projektów Zachęty, Warsaw, Poland
2017 Late Polishess, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland
2017 The Past is a Foreign Country, Centrum Działań Kreatywnych, Ustka, Poland
2017 The Best Gallery. New works in the Collection, Zachęta National Gallery, Warsaw, Poland
2017 Nothing About You Without Us, Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw, Poland
2017 Do or Die, Lokal_30 Gallery, Warsaw, Poland
2017 Tatsuno Art Project, Tatsuno, Japan
2016 It happened tomorrow, Salon of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade, Serbia
2016 Escape from the „Liberty” Cinema, Galerie im Saalbau, Berlin, Germany
2016 Lux, Archeology of Photography Gallery, Warsaw, Poland
2016 Borders of the Gesture, Academy of Fine Arts, Leipzig, Germany
2016 After the Rally, Studio Gallery, Warsaw, Poland
2016 Common Affairs, DB Kunsthalle, Berlin, Germany
2016 Alternativa, Uszczerbki i straty, Gdańsk, Centrum Sztuki Wyspa, Poland
2016 Zaczyn, Szara Gallery, Katowice, Poland
2016 De-Mo-Cra-Cy, Labirynt Gallery, Lublin, Poland
2016 Ordets Akt, Kulturhuset, Stockholm, Sweden
2016 F.Y.I., Galeria TAV, Taipei, Taiwan
2016 Nowe ilustracje, Galeria Arsenał, Białystok, Poland
2015 The 19th Contemporary Art Festival Sesc Videobrasil, Sao Paulo, Brasil
2015 Myth, Europe House Georgia, Tibilisi, Georgia
2015 Peekskill Project 6, Hudson Valley Centre for Contemporary Art, USA
2015 Videonale, Kunstmuseum, Bonn, Germany
2015 We are here, BWA, Zielona Góra, Poland
2015 Bistro Wisła (happening in frames of Warsaw Resort exhibition), Warsaw, Poland
2014 Sights and Sounds, Jewish Museum, New York, USA
2014 Raptures nad Convergences, Galeria Kuad, Istambul, Turkey
2014 Deliberations on Economics Cooked Up In the Back Room. 30 Years of Wschodnia Gallery, Museum of Art, Łódź, Poland
2014 GoEast, Wiesbaden, Germany
2013 The Views, Zachęta National Gallery, Warsaw, Poland
2013 Reflection Centre for Suspended Histories. An Attempt, The Venice Biennale, The Romanian Institute for Culture and Humanistic Research, Venice, Italy
2013 The Stranger, Alternative Space Loop, Seoul, South Korea
2013 Present/Presence, Jan van Eyck Academie, Maastricht, Holland
2013 Uncertain places, Knoll Gallery, Vienna, Austria
2013 Workers of the Artworld Unite, Centre for Contemporary Ary Kronika, Bytom, Poland
2012 Artificiality, Archeology of Photography Gallery, Warsaw, Poland
2012 It’s time for Sneakers, Künstlerhaus, Dortmund, Germany
2012 Enclave, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland
2011 Otulina, Kordegarda Gallery, Warsaw, Poland
2011 Young Polish Artists on Tour, Uqbar Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2010 Homo Ars Erotica, National Museum, Warsaw, Poland
2010 Open City Festival, city space, Lublin, Poland
2008 Red Eye Effect, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland
2008 Polsk kvinnodagbok, Konsert&Kongress, Uppsala, Sweden
2008 Pętle czasu, Festiwal Józefa Robakowskiego, Łodź, Poland
2008 Samsung Art Master, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland
2007 Power, Museum of Cinematography, Łódź, Poland
2006 Poza, Real Artways, Hartford, USA
2006 Love and Democracy, Centre for Contemporary Art Łaźnia, Gdańsk, Poland
2004 Biennale of Young European Art Supermarket Sztuki, Warsaw, Poland
2004 Love and Democracy, Art Poznań, Poznań, Poland From Targowa to Złota, Warsaw, Poland
2001 Tretton, GFU diploma graduation exhibition, Galleri 5, Stckholm, Sweden
SELECTED FILM SCREENINGS
2023 8 early films, Fotoaura Institute of Photography, Tainan, Taipei
2023 Living Room under the Flyover, European Media Art Festival, Osnabruck, Germany
2023 The Tower and Living Room under the Flyover , TFAI, Taipei, Taiwan
2022 Dust, Rencontres Internationales, Berlin, France
2022 Dust, Rencontres Internationales, Paris, France
2021 Squere, FILMPOLSKA Film Festival, Belin, Germany
2021 Dust, HERdocs, Warsaw, Poland
2020 Squere, South Taiwan Film Festival, Taiwan
2019 Squere, Alchemy Festival, Hawick, Scotland
2019 Squere, Images Festival, Toronto, Canada
2018 Fire-Followers, Muzeum Współczesne, Wrocław, Poland
2018 Who’s There, Gdańska Galeria Miejska, Gdańsk, Poland
2017 The Tower, Koszalin Film Festival, Poland
2017 Office for Monument Construction, FILMPOLSKA Film Festival, Belin, Germany
2017 The Tower, Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival, Hawick, Scotland
2017 Photophobia and Office for Monumnet Construction, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland
2017 Photophobia, Palazzina Reale, Florence, Italy
2017 Office for Monumnet Construction, Zachęta National Gallery, Warsaw, Poland
2016 The Tower, FidMarseille Film Festival, Marseille, France
2016 Office for Monumnet Construction, Gdynia Film Festival, Poland
2016 The Tower, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland
2016 The Offence, Kyiv International Short Film festival, Ukraine
2016 Office for Monumnet Construction, Glasgow Film Theatre, Scotland
2016 The Offence, She Devil, Leipzig, Germany
2015 The Tower (work-in-progress), Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art, Göteborg, Sweden
2015 Zupa, Viennacontemporary Filmprogram, Vienna, Austria
2015 The Soup and Fire-Followers, Meet Factory, Prague, Czech Republic
2014 Fire-Followers, The Filmmaking Turn, Akbank Sanat Istanbul, Turkey
2014 The Soup, Knoll Gallery, Vienna, Austria
2014 The Offence, Artists’ Film Biennial, ICA, London, UK
2014 The Soup, TR Warszawa, Warsaw, Poland
2014 Fire-Followers, Hot Docs Film Festival, Toronto, Canada
2014 Fire-Followers, Kino Piast, Cieszyn, Poland
2013 Fire-Followers, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland
2013 Fire-Followers, New Horizons Film Festival, Wrocław, Poland
2013 Fire-Followers, Alternativa, Wyspa Institute of Art, Gdańsk, Poland
2013 Fire-Followers, National Museum, Cracow, Poland
2013 Fire-Followers, Artist Village, Genk, Belgium
2013 The Offence, Crosstalk Videoart Festival, Toldi, Budapest, Hungary
2013 The Offence, Workshops of Culture, Lublin, Poland
GRANTS
SCHOLARSHIPS
AWARDS
2023 Grant for Media Art of the Stiftung Niedersachsen, Edith-Russ Haus
2022 EMAF Media Art Prize of the Association of German Film Critics for The Living Room under the Flyover, European Media Art Festival
2021 Citizen Tainan Award for The Living Room under the Flyover, South Taiwan Film Festival
2017 Jantar 2017 for the script of The Tower
2016 Golden Claw, Gdynia Film Festival for Office for Monument Construction
2015 Videobrasil prize for Fire-Followers
2013 Views 2013 – 2nd prize
2013 UNESCO scholarship
2013 Młoda Polska Scholarship
2013 Visegrad Fond Scholarship
2012 Ministry of Culture Scholarship
2012 Nomination for Przeciąg 2012
2009 The One Minutes Poland – 1st and 3rd prize
2008 Samsung Art Master – 3rd prize for Video Camera
RESIDENCIES
VISITING ARTIST POSITIONS
2023 Institute for Urban Research, Malmö University, Sweden
2022 Artlink, Buncrana, Ireland
2019 Institute of Social Research and Cultural Studies, Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
2018 OCAT, Shenzhen, China
2018 Soulangh Artist Village, Tainan, Taiwan
2017 Tokyo Wonder Site, Tokyo, Japan
2016 Taipei Artist Village, Taipei, Taiwan
2015 Villa Romana, Florence, Italy
2014 KulturKontakt, Vienna, Austria
2013 Residency Unlimited, New York, USA
2013 Budapest Art Quarter, Budapest, Hungary
2013 National Museum for Contemporary Art, Changdong Art Studio, Seul, S-Korea
2012 Objectifs, Centre for Photography and Filmmaking, Singapore