Woodworking is a principal entry point to what Olga Micińska does as a sculptor, builder and critical thinker. It is a lens for her to render the subjects of labour and technology, and a means to grow relations – with people, with the environment, and with economic reality. She consistently combines practical aspects of craft with fantastical anecdotes, while projecting grounds for cooperation, knowledge-sharing, and handling of the material and non-material resources.
Craft is both a medium and subject of Micińska’s work: not as a reconstruction of the past or a consoling handwork, but rather as a meaningful way of being in the present while gradually shaping the future. It then becomes an important reminder of how to reclaim means of production and reconsider contemporary technologies. Lately Micińska has started working with and around various radical movements which treat the art of building as a way of maintaining autonomy, a means of self-establishment and a possibility to engage in communal endeavors.
Drawing on the highly technical character of her work, she regularly invites apprentices identifying as women or non-binary to join her in the process, so that they can gain more skills and confidence in building trades, and so that together we can affect the gender gap in this domain.
Visit Olga Micińska’s website here
February 2025, participating on Dwell Here Research Intensive from 05 – 11 February 2025
Dwell Here offers participants a simple proposition: to commit to this time and place while thinking deeply about its urgencies. Together we are curious to learn what can be activated or challenged through the process of dwelling. IMMA encourages reflection across the following themes to consider geographical, historical, political and cultural concepts of Ireland as a starting point to expand and connect international contexts through similarities and differences:
Technologies of Peace – to consider commemorative landscapes and memories of peace (as a dream, movement, or value) while generating perspectives on sustainable coexistence.
The Irish Paradigm – Welcomes artistic research that creates intimacy and connections, while celebrating the perceived agility and freedoms of operating on the periphery. As a small island on the edge of Europe, Ireland often has a challenging relationship with ‘the centre’.
The Museum as a Site of Vibration – consider how the museum and site can create new vibrations and rhythms within the built legacy of empire. How can museums make visible cultural shifts, including erased, censored or marginalised histories, as well as sustainability, planetary care, sharing and hospitality.