ABOUT

Brief biography
Svenja Kratz is a contemporary Australian new media artist interested in transdisciplinary creative practice, particularly the intersections between science and art.  From 2008 – 2012, she worked in the area of cell and tissue culture at the Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI).  During this time she produced three major bodies of work that mapped her engagement with contemporary biotechnologies including primary culture of human and fetal calf cells, tissue and genetic engineering.  These projects include: The Absence of Alice – a series of mixed media exhibitions originally inspired by the artist’s engagement with the Saos-2 bone cancer cell line, The Immortalisation of Kira and Rama – a living bioart display incorporating fetal calf cells and The Human Skin Experience/Equivalent Project – a jewellery project involving tissue engineering practices.

In 2013 received she received the QLD Premier’s New Media Scholarship and undertook a 5-month residency at Leiden University and the Art and Genomics Centre in The Netherlands, where she explored mutagenesis and bioengineering for future energy production.  In 2015, she received a Creative Sparks grant from the Brisbane City Council to explore 3D biofabrication and interactive strategies for audience engagement in collaboration with the Regenerative Medicine Group at IHBI and Interactive Visual Design discipline within the Creative Industries Faculty.  In the same year, she was  artist in residence at the University of Queensland participating in a collaborative project across Architecture, Music, Interaction Design and Neuroscience.  She holds a PhD in Biotechnology and Contemporary Art from QUT and has exhibited her works at a range of national and international venues including The Science Gallery in Dublin in 2010, The Sydney Powerhouse Museum in 2013 and Experimenta Recharge, 6th International Biennial of Media Art touring Australia from 2015 – 2016.

Svenja Kratz is currently based in Hobart, Tasmania and works as a Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Creative Practice at the Creative Exchange Institute (CxI) and Tasmanian College of the Arts (TCotA) at the University of Tasmania.