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Victoria Verseau
verseauvictoria@gmail.com
Victoria Verseau (b. 1988) is a Swedish artist and filmmaker. In her works she explores themes such as body, memory, identity and social structures. There are also references to poetry, spirituality and philosophy in her art. The works are often based on her personal experiences of being trans and a new woman. Based on her own story, she examines larger existential questions; who we are, how we exist and who we want to be. Verseau explores ideas of transition and remembrance, as well as the ambivalence of telling personal stories while maintaining privacy.
Victoria has a broad practice that includes sculpture, large-scale installations, performance, vide oworks, feature and short films, fiction and documentary. She is based in Stockholm where she earned a master’s degree at the Royal Institute of Art in 2020.
Victoria is currently working on two feature films, ‘Boundaries’ and ‘Trans Memoria’, the latter won The Hiventy Post Production Prize at Cannes Docs, Cannes Filmfestival in 2023 and will premiere in 2024. She has recently presented solo exhibitions at Fotogalleriet, Oslo ‘Hope is a dangerous thing for women like us’ (2023), Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm, ’Approaching a Ghost’, and Uppsala Konstmuseum, ‘Engender my past’ (2021). Her films have been shown internationally, most recently ‘A Ghost’s Gaze’ (2021) and ‘Exercise One’ (2016). In 2017, she was the first trans person to receive the Anna Award for her work in film, a grant awarded by Women in Film & Television and UN Women Sweden. Her video work ‘Approaching a Ghost’ (2021) was part of the Artists’ Film International 2021 and was presented at several prestigious art institutions around the world such as Whitechapel Gallery, London, Hammer Museum LA and Parasite, Hong Kong.
EDUCATION
2017 - 2020 MFA | The Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm
2014 - 2016 BA Fine Art | The Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm
2013 Exchange | Interarchitecture | Rietveldt Academie, Amsterdam
2010 - 2013 BA Design | (HDK) School of Design and Crafts, Gothenburg
2016 - 2017 Directing for Film | Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Art / Filmbasen
2009 - 2010 Spatial Design | KV Art School, Gothenburg
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022 | HOPE IS A DANGEROUS THING FOR WOMEN LIKE US, Fotogalleriet Oslo Norway
2022.11.18 - 2023.01.08
fotogalleriet.no/exhibition/victoria-verseau
2021 | APPROACHING A GHOST | Bonniers Konsthall Sweden | 2021.12.08 - 2022.01.16
bonnierskonsthall.se/utstallning/artists-film-international-2021
2021 | ENGENDER MY PAST | Uppsala Art Museum Sweden | 2021.10.07 - 2021.11.21
konstmuseum.uppsala.se/utstallningar/tidigare-utstallningar/utstallningar-2021/victoria-verseau
2019 | A BODY OF GHOSTS | Galleri Mejan Stockholm Sweden
2017 | THROUGH THE LOOKINGGLASS | Hangmen Projects Stockholm Sweden
Curated by Alba Baeza
albabaeza.com/blog/portfolio/through-the-looking-glass
albabaeza.com/through-catalogue.pdf
2015 | BOUNDARIES PT.2 | Galleri Mejan Stockholm Sweden
2015 | BOUNDARIES PT.1 | Mellanrummet
The Royal Institute of Art Stockholm Sweden
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
24.11.23 - 13.01.24 ‘A Ghost’s Gaze’ exhibited in the groupshow ‘Four Films’ at gallery Billytown Haag Netherlands.
Exhibiting artists Verena Blok (NL/PL), Eugene Sundelius von Rosen (SE) Lisa Tan (US/SE) and Victoria Verseau (SE).
03.10.23 - 19.11.23 ‘The Impersonal Verb And The Hidden Subject’, La Capella, Barcelona / Index Foundation Stockholm
with amongst others Roxy Farhat, Johanna Gustafsson Fürst, Runo Lagomarsino and Iris Smeds.
indexfoundation.se/exhibitions/the-impersonal-verb-and-the-hidden-subject-at-la-capella-barcelona
2022 | LUX & MATRIX, Group Exhibition with amongst others Louise Bourgeois and Niki de Saint Phalle curated by Rosa Martinez,
ACVIC Centre d’Arts Contemporànies, Vic (Barcelona) Catalonia, 0.09 - 30.12.2022
https://www.acvic.org/en/exhibition-projects/3904-lux-matrix-3
The video work ‘Approaching a Ghost’ selected to be the Swedish contribution in Artists' Film International 2021.
Whitechapel Gallery, London UK | Ballroom Marfa, Texas USA | Belgrade Culture Centre, Serbia | Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm | Center for Contemporary Art, Afghanistan (CCAA) | Contemporary Art Center (CAC), Vilnius | Crawford Art Gallery, Cork Ireland | Friends of IZIKO South African National Gallery, Cape Town South Africa | Foundation Proa, Buenos Aires Argentina | GAMeC, Bergamo Italy | Hammer Museum, Los Angeles USA | Istanbul Modern, Turkey | KWM artcenter, Beijing China | MMAG Foundation, Amman Jordan | Museum of Modern Art Warsaw, Polan | NBK, Berlin Germany | Para Site, Hong Kong | Project 88, Mumbai India | Tromsö Kunstforening, Norway
2022 | CORONASAMLINGEN - PUBLIC ART AGENCY SWEDEN | Skissernas Museum, Lund / Havremagasinet Boden Sweden https://skissernasmuseum.se/utstallningar/coronasamlingen/
2022 | NK STAGE, The work ‘5,6,7,8,9 inches and Specter’ NK / NORDISKA KOMPANIET, Stockholm
2021 | FUTURE WATCH -10 ARTISTS OF OUR TIME | Kulturhuset Stadsteatern Stockholm House of Culture & City TheatreStockholm Sweden https://kulturhusetstadsteatern.se/utstallningar/future-watch-tio-konstnarer-i-tiden
2021 | WHAT IS LOVE | Sörmlands Museum Sweden
https://www.sormlandsmuseum.se/utstallningar/what-is-love2/
2021 | ALL FLESH IS HAY | Gislaved Konsthall Sweden
https://gislavedskonsthall.se/utstallningar-och-program/allt-kott-ar-ho
2021 | THE EASTER EXHIBITION | Galleri Arnstedt Östra Karup Sweden
https://www.galleriarnstedt.se/victoria-verseau
https://www.galleriarnstedt.se/1april
2020 | THE GRADUATION SHOW ROYAL INSTITUTE OF ART | Royal Academie of Art Stockholm Sweden
2018 | 109 IMAGES OF ME | Galleri Fafa Helsinki Finland
2018 | DISLOCATED IMAGE | Rundgång
The Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm Sweden
2017 | BOUNDARIES PT.3 | Exhibition Laboratory Helsinki Finland
2016 | A CONSTRUCTION OF LONELINESS | Kungl. Kandidatutställningen
Mindepartentet Art and PhotographyStockholm Sweden
2016 | ROOFTOP THE INFLATABLE MATTRESS | On the floor while in the ceiling
Curated by Rado Ištok and Ili Kiefer, Galleri Mejan Stockholm Sweden
2015 | GAME | In The Computer
Österängens KonsthallJönköping Sweden
2015 | 1ST YEARS AT MEJAN | The Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm Sweden
2014 | NORDISK SALONG | Dunkers Kulturhus, Helsingborg Sweden
FILMS
APPROACHING A GHOST | 20 min |
MERIL | 72 + | hybrid | post production
Produced by Malin Hüber | HER-film
BOUNDARIES | 72 + | hybrid | in development
Produced by Mónica Hernández Rejón | Pråmfilm
2016 | EXERCISE ONE | 14 min | fiction
Produced by Doppelganger Production
vimeo.com/230266268
2015 | THE SESSION | 14 min | fiction
2014 | TO BE UNCLEAR | 20 min | fiction
PREMIERES / SCREENINGS
‘Meril’ presented as a work in progress at Cannes Film Festival 2023.
24.11.23 - 13.01.24 Screening of ‘A Ghost’s Gaze’ in the groupshow ‘Four Films’ at gallery Billytown Haag Netherlands.
Exhibiting artists Verena Blok (NL/PL), Eugene Sundelius von Rosen (SE) and Lisa Tan (US/SE) Victoria Verseau (SE).
23.11.07 Film screening of ‘A Ghost’s Gaze’ at The Feminist Library London followed by Q&A.
23.09.02 Film screening of ‘A Ghost’s Gaze’ at Litterature House Gothenburg, curated by Lisa Rosendahl - Associate Professor of Exhibition Studies at KHIO/The Art Academy, arranged by Göteborg Konst.
The video work ‘Approaching a Ghost’ was selected to be the Swedish contribution in Artists' Film International 2021.
Whitechapel Gallery, London UK | Ballroom Marfa, Texas USA | Belgrade Culture Centre, Serbia | Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm | Center for Contemporary Art, Afghanistan (CCAA) | Contemporary Art Center (CAC), Vilnius | Crawford Art Gallery, Cork Ireland | Friends of IZIKO South African National Gallery, Cape Town South Africa | Foundation Proa, Buenos Aires Argentina | GAMeC, Bergamo Italy | Hammer Museum, Los Angeles USA | Istanbul Modern, Turkey | KWM artcenter, Beijing China | MMAG Foundation, Amman Jordan | Museum of Modern Art Warsaw, Polan | NBK, Berlin Germany | Para Site, Hong Kong | Project 88, Mumbai India | Tromsö Kunstforening, Norway
‘Exercise One’ -shortfilm fiction 14 min
2017 | Outfest LA, Los Angeles US (World Premiere)
2019 | Arktisen Upeeta Nordic Filmfestival, Finland
2018 | Södertälje Konsthall Queer Move, Sweden
2018 | Czech National Television, Czech Republic
2017 | Kortfilmsdagen Folkets Bio,
Stockholm, Malmö, Gothenburg, Umeå, Kiruna
2017 | Encounters Film and Animation Festival, Bristol UK
2017 | Mezipatra Queer Film Festival, Prague, Czech Republic
2017 | Lovers Filmfestival, Torino Italy
2017 | Gothenburg International Film Festival, Sweden
2017 | Stockmotion Film Festival, Stockholm Sweden
2017 | Svensk Kortfilm c/o Folkets Bio,
Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Sweden
THE SESSION -shortfilm fiction 14 min
2015 | Stockmotion Film Festival, Stockholm, Sweden
TO BE UNCLEAR - shortfilm fiction 16 min
2014 | Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival Market, France
GRANTS & AWARDS
2024 | 2 year working grant from The Swedish Arts Grants Committee.
2024 | Project support from The Swedish Arts Grants Committee for the performative project HOMECOMING
2023 | The Post Production Award at Cannes Docs 2023 for the feature film Meril / Trans Memoria / Cannes Film Festival
2023 | The Swedish Film Institute production funding for Meril
2022 | IASPIS - The International Program for Art The Swedish Arts Grants Committee
2020 | The Swedish Film Institute development funding for Boundaries
2022 | Co-production support from Eur Images
2022 | 1 year working grant from The Swedish Arts Grants Committee
2022 | Project support from The Swedish Arts Grants Committee for the project Boundaries
2022 | Helge Ax:son Johnsons Foundation
2021 | The Brucebo Art Recidensy Scholarship
2020 | Uppsala Muncipality Scholarship for a Newly Examined Artis
2020 | Hötorgets stipendie ur Bertil Schultzes minnesfond
2020 | Stig Hedbergs Scholarship for a Sculptor Art Student
2020 | Uppsala Muncipality Scholarship for A Newly Examined Artist
2020 | Längmanska Culturefund
2020 | The Swedish Film Institute second round of development funding for Meril
2020 | Filmbasen Development funding for Meril
2019 | Längmanska Culturefund
2019 | AA-Stiftelsen
2019 | Helge Ax:son Johnsons Foundation
2018 | Kungliga Konstakademien S Rydbergs Stipendium
2018 | The Swedish Film Institute, development funding for Meril
2018 | Helge Ax:son Johnsons Foundation
2017 | THE ANNA PRIZE WIFT Women in Television and Film and UN Women Sweden
2017 | STHLM-debut Round 6
2016 | Student Scholarship Royal Instiute of Art for the project Boundaries
2016 | Sandrew Stiftelses Education Scholarship
2016 | Student Scholarship Royal Instiute of Art for the project Meril
2016 | AAA-Stiftelsens Education Scholarship
2016 | The Swedish Film Institute Short Film Production Support for Excerise One
2016 | Film i Väst Production Short Film Supportfor Excerise One
2016 | Film Basen Short Film Support for Excerise One
RESIDENCIES
2023 | IASPIS - The International Program for ArtThe Swedish Arts Grants Committee
2021 | Pendès Marìtim Residency Barcelona Spain
2021 | Brucebo Artist Residency Gotland Sweden
2020 | Skaftfell Seydisfjordur Iceland
2018 | PAF - Performing Arts Forum France
2017 | PAF - Performing Arts Forum France
PERFORMANCES
2023 | The World is Saved a collaboration with artist and musician I.B. Sundström, Lumen Projects Eric Ericsson Hallen, Stockholm
2022 | The World is Saved a collaboration with artist and musician I.B. Sundström, Uppsala Konstmuseum, Sweden
2022 | Stayin’ Alive a collaboration with artist and musician I.B. Sundström, Luftslottet Götene Sweden
2022 | Foreign Body (written and directed by Victoria Verseau) actors Oscar Andersson Victoria Verseau Kulturhuset Stadsteatern Stockholm, Culture House Stockholm Sweden
2021 | Foreign Body Uppsala Konstmuseum Sweden
OTHER
2024 | External Critic, The Royal Institute of Art Stockholm, the master exhibition of Lucia Laura
2020 | Guest Teatcher, Kävesta Folkhögskola Konstlinjen, Örebro Sweden