photo by Miha Godec ©

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Short biography

Valerie Wolf Gang (1990, Ljubljana, Slovenia) is a multimedia artist, film director, videographer, transdisciplinary arts researcher, and mentor. Her works focus on the ideas behind human experiences, such as aspects of consciousness and a reflection of social conflicts arising from political regulations and constraints. She mainly explores the relationship between man and technology and is inspired by the connection between the living and inanimate nature and the human character’s multifaceted nature.

Wolf Gang’s works are often interactive and create a site-specific performance and interaction between the art piece and the observer. She uses different technologies and approaches to construct (interactive) installations, new media works, and art films. A combination of digital components and physical materiality plays an essential role in her expression of the storytelling narrative. In her words, “digital and material components represent the mind and the body, which need to be balanced in order to create perfect harmony.”

She is regularly working on different artist-in-residence programs, which enable her circumstances to research and produce new projects inspired by local & international cultural scene (e.g., New York, Beijing, Singapore, Germany, Portugal, Luxembourg, Guinea-Bissau…) and prolific collaboration with international art organizations and collectives.

Her work has been featured in various group and solo exhibitions, and she has received numerous international grants and awards (e.g., National Film Award, Alumnus Optimus Award, Working Stipend of Ministry of the Culture Republic of Slovenia, Restart Award, Roberto Cimmeta Grant France, Kultur Einer Digitalstadt Grant Germany, KulturKontakt Grant Austria…). She is a member of international art collective Spielraum Ensamble, research unit Famul VideoLab, Directors Guild of Slovenia, Ljubljana Fine Artists Society, and represented by Collecting Society of Authors, Performers, and Film Producers of Audiovisual Works of Slovenia. She is the founder of UV Arthouse producing experimental films, video installations and researching emerging technology and interactive multimedia artworks in the intersection of science and arts.

Besides her artistic practice and research, she lectures on contemporary art practices, teaches film education in cooperation with different institutions (leads a BA & MA class “Experimental Form” at the University of Nova Gorica, is a mentor at EU program “Developing communication competences through cultural-art education,” at The University of Primorska, and various workshops and masterclasses in collaboration with ŠKUC, Kinodvor, SCCA, Kinoteka, Bobri…) and is a Ph.D. candidate at Slovenian Academy of Science and Arts (module: Contemporary Theories On Art And Culture And The Esthetics Of New Technologies). Since 2018, she is a professional associate at The Institute for Fine Arts Vienna, collaborating with the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.

In 2020, she has received the grant of the Center for Creativity for production in the interdisciplinary platform that connects activities and development of the cultural and creative sector, co-financed by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund and the Republic of Slovenia. She has been invited as a panel member and speaker to numerous global conferences on digital media, the intersection of science and arts, and contemporary filmmaking. She has been a jury member in several international film and new media festivals and is a member of the Scientific Committee of International Conference on Computation, Communication, Aesthetics & X.

Artist statement

“The world around me is my theater and I always observe the play with lots of focus and alertness. I’m very much fond of details, I see what everyday people don’t and I’m fascinated by small everyday events that influence our life. After I observe them I process everything and let myself be inspired and just let go. I take my camera and capture what I see, feel and dream. I create works that come from my heart and I try to speak to people through them. I always want to help those who are innocent, powerless or manipulated and let them know they’re not alone. Art is a strong media that can change the world so I use it with care and respect. When you look at my works, you can always see part of me and my hidden thoughts. They’re coming out in subtle ways that only a keen observer can notice. Look closer and you will see through me: there’s a new world.”

– Valerie Wolf Gang

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About the work of Valerie Wolf Gang:

“Valérie Wolf Gang is forming in the artist of the new generation, who is more sovereign, strong, uncompromisingly clear in her expressive power, while showing excellent knowledge of the techniques and media she uses.

– Rene Rusjan, program director of School of Arts University of Nova Gorica, professor of Contemporary Arts

“Demanding production practice which comprises the work of the artist, especially the quality and potential of its practice shows that Valérie Wolf Gang belongs to the group of the population that deserves the status of Independent Cultural Worker as well as other potential state support, mostly due to that its practice can be developed and maintained at a high artistic level, while able to exceed the boundary between art and its users. “

– Dr. Petja Grafenauer

„In Valérie Wolf Gang’s work, the sense of social and ideological alienation is played out through careful visual choice of materials and reconstructions. In her work one is made aware of the larger ideological or symbolic order through the actual material configurations being presented – that things can be about something else other than what they are made out to be.“

– dr. Lawrence Chin

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CV