Born in Wrocław, Poland in 1966, Anna Baumgart is post-conceptual artist, director and stage designer. She is a multimedia artist who represents a feminist perspective focused on personal, often hidden, problems and obsessions, also delving into the subject of “Other” in culture. Anna works in video, installation, performance, sculpture, and artistic tattoo. Her works are in prestigious collections including Hauser & Wirth, FRAC Poitou-Charentes, the Zachęta National Gallery, Collection of European Parliament and Silesian Art Museum, and the National Museum in Warsaw. Anna’s many films have been screened throughout the world and Fresh Cherries was awarded the audience award for the best video of the Loop Festival in Barcelona.
During her residency in St. Petersburg, Anna reconstructed the work of the Moscow-based conceptual artist group Collective Actions. The project involved 15-20 people — philosophers, sociologists, artists — responding to a phone invitation to take a trip outside the city and later discussing the experiences. This investigation into human agency, paranoia and surveillance was filmed by Anna and her partner Grzegorz Pacek. During her stay she also screened her film Conquerors of the Sun at the New Stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater. Her residency was organized in collaboration with the Polish Institute in St. Petersburg.
