Olga Bubich
Essayist with a focus on collective memory research and the traumatic past of Europe, art/photocritic and photobooks reviewer, photographer, lecturer with more 15 years of teaching, curator promoting Belarusian photography internationally
  • ICORN Fellow in Berlin in 2023-2024,
  • keynote speaker at ICORN General Assembly, Copenhagen, 2024
  • winner of DataFest Tbilisi hackathon 2022
  • holder of Nordic Council of Ministers Grant (2022)
  • twice participant of TAI KWUN CONTEMPORARY Photobooks Fair
In 2000s-late 2010s was engaged in journalism and art criticism. As a freelancer, worked with a number of Belarussian, Ukranian, Russian and international media, among which - "Bird in Flight", "Belarussian Journal", "ON AIR", "Photographer.ru", Partizan, Imbalance, TUT.BY (the largest Belarusian independent media now recognized as "extremist"), Kalidor, Colta, "Bleek Magazine", City Dog, Znята, Status Research Plalform and many others. In 2016-2017 was a co-editor of the online resource on contemporary photography "Bleek Magazine" .

Among the interviewees there have been Gueorgui Pinkhassov, Alec Soth, Simon Norfolk, Adam Broomberg, Donald Weber, Rob Hornstra, Carla van de Puttelaar, Helen van Meene, Jessie Mann, Michael Ackerman, Ann-Chistin Bertrand (C/O Berlin), and many other world-known photographers and curators.

As a translator in 2019-2020 I worked with EastEast. Duraing that period also closely collborated with Daylight Books and MACK as photobooks reviewer - holds the collection of more than 300 photobooks.

Since 2020 changed the focus of wrtiting and moved towards the collaboration with the international media, among which The Baltic Worlds (Sweden), Stern, ifa, Blätter, PlatformB (Germany), Versopolis (the Czech Republic),Springerin (Austria), Sampsonia Way (the USA), the Institute of War and Peace Reporting (the UK), The Baltic Worlds (Sweden) and others.

In 2014-2020 was a member of "The Month of Photography in Minsk" festival. As a jury member and portfolio reviewer I have taken part in such events and festivals as Fotobookmarket Awards (Russia), Fotoparade in Uglich (Russia), "The Month of Photography in Minsk" (Belarus).

Bio
Born in 1980 in Minsk, Belarus. Graduated from Minsk State Linguistic University, English Faculty, majoring in English, Italian and English, American and Italian literature (1997-2002), have BA and MA (2002-2004). Worked on the Ph.D. thesis in Pedagogy. In 2002, as a holder of the scholarship granted from the Italian Embassy in Belarus, studied in Perugia, Universita 'per Stranieri (specialization - Italian language and culture).

Studied theory and practice of photography at workshops conducted by Andrei Dubinin (Belarus), Alexei Nikishin (Russia), Claudine Doury (France), Xavier Fernandes-Fuentes (Spain/the Netherlands), Andrey Polikanov and Tatiana Plotnikova (Russia).

In 2004-2017 worked as a senior lecturer at the Department of English and Speech Communication, Belarusian State University, where also authored and co-authored the textbooks "English for Sociologists" (2007), "English for Psychologists" (2013), "25 Days to a Better English Vocabulary" (2008) and others.

In 2012-2013, as a guest lecturer, taught journalism in the Gambia (Africa), at the invitation of the Gambia Press Union.

Since 2000, a volunteer at the charity organisation "Hope for the Future" accompanying groups of Chernobyl children to Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Canada.
Curatorial projects
2024 - "Untold Stories from Belarus" and "Truths in Conflict" conference, Hotel Continental Art Space in Exile, Berlin, Germany

2022 - "Memory Ownership: One, No one, & 9.4 Million" - group show, Contemporary Art Space (CAS) Batumi, Georigia

2022 - "Memory Ownership: Between Censorship and a Diary" - group show, "aff gallerie", Berlin, Germany

2022 - "Memory Ownership: One, No one, & 9.4 Million" - group show, "Propaganda. Network", Tbilisi, Georgia

2019 - 2020 "Lisboa Glitch" - Maxim Shved's solo exhibition, "Кnizhnaya Shafa", Мinsk, Belarus

2019 - "Hybernation" - Anastasiya Gaiduk's solo exhibition, "Photosquat", Мinsk, Belarus

2013 - "Animated" - group exhibition of young Belarussian photographers, National Center for Contemporary Arts, Minsk, Belarus

Personal and Collective Exhibitions
2024 - (group) "Archived Ruptures - Ruptured Archives. Collaboration, Intervention, Resistance." Gallery Karin Sachs, Munich

2024 - (group) "Untold Stories from Belarus", Hotel Continental Art Space in Exile, Berlin, Germany

2023 - International Festival of Performative Arts "Liminaruim," by Performensk 2023 and platformB, Stuttgart, Germany

2023 - "Voices" Festival, Berlin, Germany (with a video work and experimental opera composed by Sergej Newski based on the photobook "The Art of (Not) Forgetting")

2023 - (group) "Lezioni di Respirazione", Roots Gallery, Pisa, Italy

2023 - (group) "Drifting Accumulation Minsk", Literarisches Colloquium Berlin, Germany

2022 - (group )"Memory Ownership: One, No one, & 9.4 Million," Contemporary Art Space (CAS) Batumi, Georigia

2022 - (group) "Memory Ownership: Between Censorship and a Diary," aff gallerie, Berlin, Germany

2022 - (group) "Memory Ownership: One, No one, & 9.4 Million," Propaganda. Network, Tbilisi, Georgia

2021 - (group) "Sleeper's Effect", National Center for Contemporary Arts, Minsk, Belarus

2021 - (solo) "The Art of (not) Forgetting", Konstepidemin, Goteborg, Sweden

2017 - (group) "Hold on - Let go", aff-gallerie, Berlin, Germany

2017 - (solo) "Bigger than I", "Month of Photography in Minsk", Minsk, Belarus

2016 - (group) "Keep your Eyes Peeled", aff-gallerie, Berlin, Germany

2016 - (solo) "Bigger than I", Borgis, Grugliasco, Italy

2014 - (solo) "Somewhere and Here Again", Zair Azgur's Museum, Minsk, Belarus

2014 - (solo) "Somewhere and Here Again", art-space of the cinema "Кrugovaya Panorama", Моscow, Russia

2013 - (solo) "20 Women", gallery "University of Culture", Мinsk, Belarus

2013 - (group) the project "Inner City" represented the Republic of Belarus at the international exhibition "Аrt-EXPO CIS-2013" in Gyumri, Armenia

2013 - (solo) "Inner City", musem "Vyhod (Exit)", Оdessa, Ukraine

2013 - (group) "Another Africa", Bagni Municipali, Turin, Italy

2013 - (group) "Another Africa", "Trotts", Alphen-aan-den-Rijn, the Netherlands

2012 - (group) a photo from the series "Another Africa" took part in the anniversary exhibition "NOVA. THE VERY BEST" at the gallery "NOVA", Minsk, Belarus

2012 - (group) the project "Alter Locus" took part in the exposition "Postulate", gallery "Univeristy of Culture", Minsk, Belarus

2012 - (group) the project "Inner City" took part in the international exhibition "Young Russian Photography", Cheboksary, Russia

2012 - (group) several photographs were exposed in the international exhibition "Naked King: the World Through the Eyes of a Child", Riga, Latvia

2011 - (solo) "Inner City", gallery "University of Culture", Minsk, Belarus

Books and Photobooks
2022 - "The Art of (not) Forgetting", 2021/22, circulation 100, in English and Belarusian/Russian

"The Art of (Not) Forgetting" is a part of the following collections:

- Tbilisi Photography & Multimedia Museum, Tbilisi, GEORGIA
- Archeology of Photography Foundation, Warszawa, POLAND
- Zachęta – National Gallery of Art, Warszawa, POLAND
- Цэнтр беларускай супольнасці і культуры ў Вілні, Vilnius, LITHUANIA
- Nacionalinė dailės galerija, Vilnius, LITHUANIA
- Surat Studio, Маkhachkala, DAGESTAN
- 139 Documentary Center, Tashkent, UZBEKISTAN
- Nomadic Library "Книжковий курінь", Odessa, UKRAINE
- Reminders Photography Stronghold, Tokyo, JAPAN
- Beit Ariela Public Library, Tel Aviv, ISRAEL
- Konstepidemin, Göteborg, SWEDEN
- Hasselblad Foundation Library, Göteborg, SWEDEN
- Творческая мастерская "Колесо", Wroclaw, POLAND,
- Goethe-Institut Georgien, Tbilisi, GEORGIA
- Bishkek School of Contemporary Art, Bishkek, KYRGYZ REPUBLIC
- ISSP, Riga, LATVIA

2019 - "Bigger than I", 2019, G&D, circulation 100, in English and Russian

"Bigger than I" photobook dedicated to the research of Chernobyl children phenomenon is a part of the following collections:

- Tai Kwun Center for Heritage and Arts, HONG KONG
- Hasselblad Foundation Library, Göteborg, SWEDEN
- Goethe Institute, BELARUS
- Tbilisi Photography & Multimedia Museum, Tbilisi, GEORGIA

2009 - "Speaking of the Rules of the Game", 2009, "Logvinau" publishing house, circulation 200
Awards
2022/2023 - ICORN Prize Fellow, 2022-2023

2022 - the winner of hackathon "DataFest Tbilisi 2022"

2017 - 2 place in the nomination "publication of the year" in the contest held by the Bureau of "The Month of Photography in Minsk"

2016 - 1 place in the nomination "professional journalist" in the contest "Culture Matters" (Kultura Vazhyts) held in cooperation with "Press Club" (now liquidated), Minsk, Belarus

2015 - the review on the phenomenon of Vitebsk photography was awarded the 1 prize in the nomination "cultural event review" in the writing contest "On the Way to Contemporary Museum"

2014 - the review on Erik Stepanjan's photobook "Lucas" was awarded the 3 prize in the contest of reviews "Reading a Photobook in Saint-Petersburg, Russia.

2012 - «Alter Locus» project got a special mentioning in the design contest "Postulate-2012"

2011 - "Inner City" project was awarded the 3 place in the International Festival "ADNAK"

2011 - The photography entitled «Anna's Dreams» was a finalist at the gallery «Icon Prize» in the contest for the book cover picture of «Unfastened Heart» by Lane von Hertzen.