Vanja Smiljanić is a visual and performance artist living and working in Cologne. She concluded the post-master in artistic research at A.pass, Brussels, MFA at Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln and at the Dutch Art Institute, Arnhem, and got a degree in Fine Arts at the Faculdade de Belas Artes de Lisboa.
Vanja Smiljanić’s focus is in interdisciplinary projects and her research lies in cross methods within the fields of visual arts, video and performance. In her practice, she often utilizes the model of performance-lecture as a way to bridge fictitious and experiential universes, comprising technical apparatus, diagrams and sci-fi povera sculptures. Connecting otherwise unparalleled reality systems, Vanja Smiljanić’s work attests the foundation of ideologies as alienated regimes, recurring to her own body as a vessel for narration, often shifting between the position of oracle and storyteller.
Her works have been featured in various exhibitions and festivals such as: Schauspiel Köln; Drodesera Performance Festival; Ufer Studios in Berlin; Kunsthalle Düsseldorf; Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea Milano.
