nasl. doc. Olga Majcen Linn

Olga Majcen Linn is a curator and researcher from Zagreb. She received her PhD in the field of art and media at FMK Belgrade, under the mentorship of dr. sc. Miodrag Šuvaković, with a dissertation on the topic "Production and reception of subversive forms of life/art". She graduated in art history, comparative literature and librarianship from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb. She is the head, founder and curator of the association KONTEJNER | bureau of contemporary art practice, an association dedicated to progressive contemporary art that explores the role and meaning of science, technology and the body in society, and focuses on relevant phenomena of today, with a special focus on provocative, fascinating and intriguing topics and phenomena, as well as those that society sees as taboo. In the last twenty years, she has worked as a curator of numerous projects and editor of catalogues and anthologies, and has also created a number of notable international projects and festivals (Device_art dedicated to art at the intersection with technologies; Touch Me festival dedicated to art at the intersection with science, and Extravagant Bodies - a festival dedicated to the topic of the construction of norms in the relationship between the body and society). Also, since 2003, she has been the head of the VN Gallery in Zagreb, which deals with research, production, exhibition and representation of the local art scene of the younger generation. She was a member of the Radoslav Putar Award Council, the selection committee of the Zagreb Salon 2016, the award committee of the 34. Youth Salon 2018, and the 35. Youth Salon 2020 and the expert jury for the Golden Watermelon Award for the young artist from 2018 to 2022. She was a member of the Council of the International Triennial of New Media Art in Beijing (China), a member of the expert jury for the Accelerate Croatia, ARTS@CERN, Geneva Award, and a member of the expert jury of the EMAP platform, which annually awards production scholarships to exceptional European media artists and supports the research, production, presentation and distribution of media art in Europe and beyond. She is a member of the AICA association of art critics and in 2020 she was on the Supervisory Board of the association. At the VN Gallery, which researches the local art scene of the younger generation, she has organized and curated over two hundred exhibitions, while with the Kontejner association she has realized over a hundred exhibitions through exhibition projects, festivals and exchanges.

Olga Majcen Linn is a curator and researcher whose work focuses on the role of science, technology and the body in contemporary art. She is interested in art that arises at the intersection of new technologies and scientific research, and the field of art, science and health. Majcen Linn also deals with phenomena that challenge social norms related to the body, and the issue of normative constructions and their relationship to the body and society. Her theoretical research deals with subversive and transgressive artistic practices and the challenges of normative social structures. She is the author of the book Subversive Art Practices – Conflicts of Power and Production of Affect, which is the result of her doctoral dissertation, and is active in scientific circles, where she participates in numerous international conferences, and publishes papers in journals and publications. As a lecturer at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, she teaches the subjects Practices of Body and Corporeality in Contemporary Art 1 and 2, Art at the Crossroads with Science and Technologies 1 and 2, and Strategies of Performance, in which she explores how art responds to and shapes the understanding of the body, technology and scientific phenomena.

Practices of Body and Corporeality in Contemporary Art 1 and 2 The course allows students to gain knowledge about the role of the body in contemporary art practice, from historical developments to current trends. It focuses on artistic practices such as performance, body art, dance, and bioart, with an emphasis on creative and analytical approaches. Students develop their own ideas through hands-on work, exploring different artistic strategies and media. Art at the intersection with science and technologies 1 and 2 The course explores art at the intersection with science and technology, focusing on bioart and art related to natural sciences. Students acquire basic knowledge about creating projects that integrate scientific disciplines and technology, and develop critical thinking about the role of these elements in art. Through interdisciplinary teamwork, students are trained to independently conceive and realize art projects in collaboration with relevant experts Implementation Strategies (doctoral study) The course deals with performance as a way to expand the knowledge, experience and artistic activities of students, as a medium of live action and direct interaction with the audience, either directly or mediated by the media. Students gain insight into the history of performance, learn about different forms of performance practices and recent examples of performance on the domestic and international scene. The aim of the course is to bring the art of performance closer through lectures and theoretical work, while through practical work experience is gained in performing live performances in front of an audience or through the media. Through exercises, individual mentoring approach and reflection, students develop their own performative projects and acquire competencies in the performance, documentation and analysis of performative practices.

2024 – Subversive Artistic Practices – Conflicts of Power and Production of Affect. 2024 KONTEJNER and Jesenski and Turk, Zagreb – Majcen Linn, Olga and Sunčica Ostoić, "Guidelines for the Unstable: Instructions and Recommendations for Exhibiting Life in Artistic Context", in Arc-hive: Life as an Object, edited by Ena Hodžić, Olga Majcen Linn, Jurica Mlinarec, Luja Šimunović, 95–114. Zagreb: Kontejner. – Majcen Linn, Olga and Darko Šimičić, Untitled: A Subjective Glossary. Tomo Savić-Gecan - Every day for the duration of the 59th edition of the Venice Biennale of Art, the lead story from a different, randomly selected global news source provides the data that feeds an artificial intelligence algorithm, which in turn prescribes the time, location, duration, movements, and thoughts of a group of five performers in the city of Venice to constitute Tomo Savić-Gecan's Untitled (Croatian Pavilion), 2022. Edited by: Elena Filipović – Majcen Linn, Olga and Sunčica Ostoić, "Curatorial Perspectives on Contemporary Art and Science Dealing with Interspecies Connections", Technoetic Arts 17 (1–2): 79–94. https://doi.org/10.1386/tear_00008_1. – Majcen Linn, Olga and Sunčica Ostoić, "CONTAINER | Curatorial Perspectives on the Body, Science and Technology", in Taboo-Transgression-Transcendence in Art & Science 2018 Conference Proceedings, Mexico City: IIF-UNAM, 11-13 Nov. 2018, edited by Dalila Honorato, Maria Antonia González Valerio, Marta de Menezes and Andreas Giannakoulopoulos, 65–76. Corfu: Ionian University – Department of Audio & Visual Arts. https://www.academia.edu/40818904/Taboo_Transgression_Transcendence_in_Art_and_Science_2018 – The Concept of Subversion in Contemporary Media Theory and Media Art. Serbian Political Thought – Special Edition, 41.-54. doi: 0.22182/spm.special2019.3 – Subversiveness in Hybrid Art Practices. Life of Art 102, IPU, Zagreb 2012 – Death in Croatian Performance: A Few Examples. Life of Art 92/2, IPU, Zagreb https://hrcak.srce.hr/185653 – Bioart: From fluorescent rabbits to semi-living beings, thematic block, Quorum 26 (2010) 1/2, 278-283.