Ana Kotar Škarjak

CONTACT

St.-Nr.: 14/550/04380

ABOUT

Born in Novo Mesto, Slovenia in 1987

Lives and works in Berlin since 2012

My artistic practice is process-oriented and revolves around memory, identity, and care—shaped by my experiences as both a mother and an artist with a migration background. At its core lies the question of how gender roles—especially female norms passed down across generations—inform our understanding of self and belonging. The expectations placed on women are contradictory: they demand sacrifice while rendering invisible the labor that sustains everyday life. In engaging with these tensions, I situate my work within feminist discourses on visibility, value, and the complexity of female experience.

Through performances, textile installations, and participatory formats, I translate these concerns into embodied, collective encounters. Material transformation, sensorial elements, and repetition allow me to approach care not only as a theme, but as an atmosphere and a relationship. My aim is to create spaces in which the invisible and devalued labor of care can be made visible, questioned, and reimagined.

EDUCATION

2008- 2015 Bachelor of Arts, focus on Contemporary Drawing and Art Pedagogy University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

2002- 2007 SŠOF- High School for Design and Photography, Ljubljana, Slovenia

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2022 Resumed active artistic practice

2015- 2022 Professional focus outside visual arts (Professional tea taster, Berlin) and maternity leave

HONOURS

2025 LJUBAW Art Grant, Ljubljana Art Weekend, curated by ETC. Magazine

2025 Visual Arts Research Grant, Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion, Berlin, Germany

UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS

2026 Y Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia

2026 Galerija Kocka, Novo Mesto, Slovenia

SELECTED GROUP AND SOLO SHOWS

2025 »Who is taking care of the caregiver?«, BUNA Forum for Contemporary Art vol. 3, City Art Gallery, Varna, Bulgaria (group)

2025 »Who is taking care of the caregiver?«, Performance, Telegraph Gallery (TLG CLUB), Olomuc, Czech Republic (solo)

2025 »6th Triennial of Young Artists«, Galerija sodobne umetnosti, Celje, Slovenia (group)

2025 »Again and Again«, Roam projects, Berlin, Germany (solo)

2025 »Cultural Loops«, SOV Gallery, Berlin, Germany (group)

2025 »Caution M/Other«, Kunstraum m3, Berlin, Germany (solo)

2024 »Wish You Were Here: The Second Best Time Is Now«, A.I.R Gallery, New York, U.S.A. (group)

2024 »Recollections like threads, woven through time«, Co-Making Matters, Haus der Statistik, Berlin, Germany (solo)

2022 »Open studio«, Berlin, Germany (solo)

2014 »Papergirl Linz«, c/o Stadtwerkstatt Linz, Austria (group)

2014 »Memory: International Mail Art Exhibition & Swap«, Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, Canada (group)

2014 »Kakšna prisrčna otvoritev«, UAUU Univerzalni Atelje Uličnih Umetnosti, Ljubljana, Slovenia (group)

2013 »Grafika«, Kulturni Center Novo Mesto, Novo Mesto, Slovenia (group)

2011 »3.Rojstni dan Zelenega Zajca- Winnetou- The Untold Love Story«, Pri Zelenem Zajcu, Ljubljana, Slovenia (group)

2011 »Razstava študentov 4.letnika likovne pedagogike,Galerija PeF (group)

2011 »Ana Kotar«, Pri Zelenem Zajcu, Ljubljana, Slovenia (solo)

2011 »Sirup«, Tovarna Samorog, Ljubljana, Slovenia (solo)

2010 »Print «, Bi Ko Fe, Ljubljana, Slovenia (solo)

2010 »Risbe in kipi«, Galerija Srečišče, Ljubljana, Slovenia (group)

2010 »Razstava študentov 3. letnika likovne pedagogike«, Galerija UL Pef, Ljubljana, Slovenia (group)

RESIDENCY

2024 Co-Making Matters, Haus der Statistik, Berlin, Germany