Neja Tomšič
Born in 1982Lives and works in Ljubljana, SI
Neja Tomšič is an exploratory visual artist, storyteller, performer and ritual creator working with drawings, objects and sound, interested in long processes and slow labour. In her practise, she explores overlooked particularities and often concealed stories from the past to challenge prevailing historical narratives. In this way, she creates situations in which a new understanding of the present can emerge.
In 2008, Neja Tomšič completed her studies in painting at the Academy of Fine Arts (University of Ljubljana, SI). She continued her education at the Faculty of Humanities (University of Primorska, SI), where she completed three-year doctoral programme in Philosophy and Theory of Visual Culture. Between 2006 and 2022, she participated in 14 art residencies and received several awards. She is the author of Opium Clippers, a research and art project that has been performed in 16 countries at over 120 events. For her book, she received two awards for the best artist’s book in Slovenia (P74 and Slovenian Book Fair, 2019). Her debut short film, Workers Are Leaving the Factory, was in the official competition of the Festival of Slovenian Cinema 2021 and Days of Slovenian Cinema (Belgrade, RS). Her work has been shown at TATE Modern (London, UK); the Auawirleben Festival (Bern, CH); the 35. Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts (Ljubljana, SI); MSUM - Museum of Contemporary Art (Ljubljana, SI); Kunsthal Aarhus (Aarhus, DK); MUCEM (Marseille, FR); Cukrarna (Ljubljana, SI); MAO – Museum of Architecture and Design (Ljubljana, SI) and others.
Neja Tomšič is a member of the Nonument Group, an artist collective that maps, researches and intervenes in nonuments - public spaces, monuments and architecture that have undergone a semantic shift due to political and social changes. The group was honoured with the Plečnik Medal, the highest national award for architecture.
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