Marianna Kruchinski: Artist in Residence

Marianna Kruchinski is an artist, researcher, and organizer whose work explores collective forms of knowledge production, self-organization, and translocal cultural infrastructures. Originally from Krasnodar, she currently works between Amsterdam, Cologne, and Yerevan. She is a member of the Typography collective, formed by former workers of the Typography Centre for Contemporary Art in Krasnodar, which was forced to close in 2022 after being designated a “foreign agent” by the Russian authorities.

Since fleeing to Armenia in 2022, she has developed artistic and research projects focused on migration, community organizing, and the translation of knowledge across different social and geographical contexts. In the same year, she co-founded an emergency residency programme for artists in exile in Yerevan, which hosted more than one hundred artists, cultural workers, and activists between 2022 and 2025.

Alongside her artistic and organizational practice, she teaches the course Practices of Collectivity and (Para-)Institutional Imagination at the Krasnodar Institute of Contemporary Art (KICA).
In 2026, she completed the Lumbung Practice MA programme, a collaboration between the Sandberg Instituut, de Appel, and Gudskul.

Artists in residence 2026

In 2026, artists Bernd Krauß, Mikhail Tolmachev, Rehaf Al Batniji, Simon Ferner, Eleonora Edreva, and Oyjon Khayrullaeva will spend time in Kiruna and Norrbotten conducting research, producing work, and collaborating on upcoming exhibitions and projects at Kin.

Bernd Krauß is developing his solo exhibition at the Art Workshop and will also lead the art camp during the winter break. Mikhail Tolmachev is continuing his work on the multi-year project Borg Mesch: A Photographer in Sápmi during the Colonial Period and is participating in the exhibition The Use of Photography: Borg Mesch, Hans-Olof Utsi, and Mikhail Tolmachev. Rehaf Al Batniji is preparing to participate in a group exhibition and conducting new research during his stay.

Simon Ferner is continuing his long-term work on mining history and the interlinked stories of LKAB in Kiruna, Grängesberg, and LAMCO in Liberia. Eleonora Edreva and Oyjon Khayrullaeva are focusing on local craft and knowledge traditions, with a particular interest in plant dyeing, health, and folk medicine, as part of their contributions to upcoming group exhibitions.

Read more about all the artists in residence at Kin 2026 here.

Images: Courtesy of the artist