Artist

Kinga Araya

I was born in Tarnow, Poland on December 4th, 1966. I received elementary and high school educations in Pulawy during 1975-1985. In addition, I also received a Music Diploma from Elementary Music School in Pulawy where I studied violin from 1974-1980. In 1988, when I completed two years of Art History at the Catholic University of Lublin, I decided to leave Poland in order to "walk around" towards the "Promised Land". During 1988-1990 I stayed in Rome, Italy where I was working and studying Italian language and culture at the International School of Dante Alighieri. In February of 1990 I came to Canada. In September of 1990 I was enrolled in Italian Literature Program, Art History and later on, Visual Arts. I successfully completed my undergraduate degrees in 1996 receiving Magna Cum Laude Diplomas and the Embassy of Switzerland Prize for the highest standing in Italian. In 1996 I was admitted to the Master of Fine Arts program at York University where I specialized in interdisciplinary visual and theoretical investigations of the phenomenon of speech and politics of walking. I graduated from York University in 1998. My MFA Theses Exhibition at Glendon Gallery was complemented by performance with Orthoepic and Peripatetic Exercises. In 1998 I started my interdisciplinary doctoral studies at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. In September of 1999, however, I transferred to the Special Individual Doctoral Program offered by Concordia University in Montreal.
The winter of 1999-2000 saw the completion of a solo exhibition starting with Grounded (I) in Montreal, Canada in November through December 1999; followed by Grounded (II) in Warsaw, Poland from January through February 2000.
Curated by Ryszard W. Kluszczynski with an catalogue/essay available in English, Polish and French.

Artist Code: 507

Videography

Artist Statement

2003, 03:45 minutes, Colour, n/a

Eye for I

2002, 10:00 minutes, Colour, n/a (Silent)

Walking with Arms

2002, 04:00 minutes, colour, n/a

National Anthem

2002, 04:30 minutes, colour, English, French, Polish

Octopus

2001, 03:00 minutes, Polish, Italian, English, French

Wanderlust

2001, 04:00 minutes, colour, English, Polish, Italian, French

Exercising with Princess Headgear (Adjustable)

2000, 04:30 minutes, colour, English

Interlocutions

1999, 08:00 minutes, colour, English

Tahoka

1999, 08:00 minutes, colour, English

Walking Around

1998, 01:30 minutes, colour, English

Peripatetic Exercise

1998, 06:30 minutes, colour

Orthoepic Exercise

1998, 04:00 minutes, colour

Modus Vivendi

1997, 11:00 minutes, colour

ABC

1997, 11:00 minutes, colour

De Gustibus Non Disputandum, Rejection Letters

1996, 27:30 minutes, colour, English

De Gustibus Non Disputandum, Canadian Documents

1996, 27:30 minutes, colour, English

What is my Identity?

1995, 09:00 minutes, colour, English, Polish

Politics of Walking

1994, 14:00 minutes, Polish, English, French, Persian, Farsi, Italian

Critical Writing

Curatorial Incubator: Stop With the Performance Already!
by Lisa Steele. Toronto: V tape, 2014.
Walking the Wall: Global Flaneuse with Local Dilemmas
by Kinga Araya. Wagadu, Fall 2009, v. 7.
Prosthetic Devices for a global walker: Recent works by Kinga Araya
by Anna Carlevaris. C Magazine, Winter 2002, no. 76.
Alternative viewing: DVD's offer new weapon in attacking public...
by Peter Goddard. The Toronto Star, Dec. 6, 2001.
The Art of Estrangement
by Ryszard W. Kluszczynski. Grounded, 1999, no. 2002-II. Warsaw: Kinga Araya, Ryszard W. Kluszczynski, 1999.
Performance, Video, Texas and Beyond ...: Kinga Araya
by Ed Sinclair. Video Vogue, Winter 1999.