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The Slovenian artist Neja Tomsic is currently in residence at the Cité internationale des arts

Art must always be exploratory, curious, critical, and open. It must also step outside museums and galleries, simply to remain relevant.

A multidisciplinary artist, Neja Tomsic combines various disciplines such as drawing, photography, poetry, performance, and music. Her work focuses on forgotten stories and the revitalization of public spaces through the Nonument project. After receiving the OHO Award for Young Visual Artists in 2021, she is currently in residence in Paris as part of the Institut français x Cité internationale des arts programme, with the support of the Institut français of Slovenia. 

Published on 20/11/2024

2 min

Slovenian artist, poet, and writer Neja Tomsic was born in Ljubljana in 1982. She began her studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in her hometown, enabling her to participate in both solo and group exhibitions. She later published books and performed poetic works. Neja went on to earn a PhD from the Faculty of Social Sciences in Koper, Slovenia, completing her dissertation on documentary cinema and its connection to contemporary art practices, particularly in post-colonial Belgium. Alongside her artistic activities, she works as a curator and co-founded MoTA (Museum of Transitory Art), a research and production platform dedicated to transitory art, based in Ljubljana. 

Her drawings were included in the group exhibition Drawing in Slovenia 1945–2005, which toured Ljubljana, Maribor, and Zagreb. She has also taken part in numerous group exhibitions, including the Young Art Biennale in Moscow and Freedom Koeficient, curated by Andrey Parshikov at the MGM Gallery in Moscow. Performance has since become a significant element of her work. Noteworthy experiences include her theater piece created between 2014 and 2015 under the direction of Jelena Rusjan, Škrip Inc, as well as the Screech Orchestra (2011–2013), which toured extensively, including a stop in New York. 

Neja Tomsic’s work intertwines disciplines such as drawing, photography, poetry, performance, and music. The artist seeks out neglected or hidden stories, rethinking dominant historical narratives. She also pursues singularity while creating situations that foster a better understanding of the present. For Neja, stories serve as starting points and connections. 

Through in-depth research and critical analysis, Neja uses drawing to craft an intimate and poetic world that comments on and describes today’s political and social realities. Her project Tea for Five, Opium Ships is the result of meticulous research into the history of opiates and opioids in the United States. This work centers around five hand-painted tea sets, a tea ceremony, and a performance that recounts the story of 19th-century opium trade ships. 

Neja Tomsic’s work has received significant support over the years. In 2014, she was awarded an ArtsLink Fellowship, which allowed her to collaborate with Baltimore artists Lisa Moren and Jaimes Mayhew on the public-space project Nonument. This initiative involved mapping, archiving, and intervening in monuments, public spaces, and 20th-century buildings that were forgotten, abandoned, or demolished, and whose meanings had shifted.

In 2021, she received the OHO Award for Young Visual Artists at the P74 Gallery in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Her project Opium Clippers has toured eleven countries and been presented over 55 times. The accompanying artist book was recognized as the Best Slovenian Artist Book in 2017/2018 and won Best Book Design in the Book as Object category at the Slovenian Book Fair.

In 2024, Neja Tomsic is in residence at the Cité internationale des arts with the support of the Institut français of Slovenia. 

  • 2008

    2008

    Neja Tomsic completed her drawing studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana.

  • 2014

    2014

    She received an ArtsLink Fellowship, which allowed her to collaborate with artists in Baltimore.

  • 2018

    2018

    She joined the "Nonument" project.

  • 2024

    2024

    Neja Tomsic is in residence at the Cité internationale des arts.

Institut français x Cité internationale des arts Residencies

The Institut français x Cité internationale des arts residency programme is aimed at artists and cultural professionals who have lived abroad for at least 5 years and who wish to develop a research and creative project in Paris, during a three, six or nine-month residency. 

Learn more 

L'institut français, LAB