Olena Newkryta (*1990, Ukraine) is a visual artist, filmmaker and cultural organiser based in Vienna. In her practice, she examines the socio-political, historical, and material dimensions of spaces, images, and technological infrastructures. Shifting between research-based and experimental approaches, Olena engages with the complexity of social fabrics, shared forms of knowledge production and realms of collectivity. Her latest research delves deeply into the asymmetries of knowledge, power and labour which permeate the techno-social environment we inhabit and engages with its effects on our physical, emotional and psychological landscapes.
Olena studied at the University of Applied Arts Vienna (AT) as well as at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam (NL) and is a member of The Golden Pixel Cooperative - a Vienna based association for moving images, arts and media. In 2023 she participated in the Est-Nord-Est résidence d’artistes (CAN). 2023/2024 she will be artist in residence at the Jan van Eyck Academie (NL).
Olena has received several prizes and grants such as the Working Grand of the City of Vienna (MA7), START scholarship of the Federal Ministry for Culture, Award of the Kunsthalle Wien, Prize of the Lentos Museum- Friends. Her works have been presented at international exhibitions, screenings, and biennials, including WRO Media Art Biennale (PL), EYE Filmmuseum Amsterdam (NL), VISIO – Lo schermo dell´arte (IT), Diagonale - Festival of Austrian Film (AT), Kyiv International Short Filmfestival (UA), Kunstraum Niederösterreich Vienna (AT), Kunsthalle Exnergasse Vienna (AT), Kunsthalle Vienna (AT), Salzburger Kunstverein (AT), Lentos Kunstmuseum (AT), Crossing Europe Filmfestival (AT), Blickle Kino Vienna (AT), A Tale of A Tub Rotterdam (NL).