Tanja Muravskaja: Artist in residence

Tanja Muravskaja (b. 1978, Pärnu; lives and works in Tallinn) is an artist whose analytical photographic practice has long explored identity, memory, and social boundaries. She studied at the Estonian Academy of Arts and the University of Westminster in London.

Earlier sociological and political works, such as the video Three Sisters, addressed the construction of identity through portraiture and social space following three sisters who over time came to identify respectively with Estonia, Ukraine, and Russia. Later projects, including Garden Exile at Kumu and her site-responsive work at Saarineni maja, expanded this inquiry into architecture, memory, and the conditions through which images are perceived.

Her recent series Gardens marks a turn toward light, water, surface, and unstable matter. Printed by the artist herself, the works approach photography not simply as representation, but as a material and spatial event. In the context of Kiruna—a landscape shaped by extraction, relocation, and unstable ground—Muravskaja’s practice offers a way of approaching photography through slow attention, embodied perception, and a sensitivity to material and social change.

Muravskaja’s works are held in the collections of the Art Museum of Estonia and Tartu Art Museum. In 2025, she received the annual award of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia for her solo exhibition Gardens: Tanja Muravskaja and Light. She has participated in numerous group exhibitions including at MACRO in Rome, the Art Encounters Biennial in Timișoara and EMST in Athens. She was an artist-in-residence at WIELS in Brussels in 2020 and presented a solo exhibition in the WIELS Project Room in 2023. Alongside her artistic practice, she is head of the Digital Printing Lab and a guest lecturer at the Estonian Academy of Arts.

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.

Image: Tanja Muravskaja, Garden Exile. The Tuglas Home Garden Through Tanja Muravskaja’s Camera Lens, 2019. Installation view, Kumu Art Museum, Tallinn.