Biography
Christian Oxenius is an independent curator, writer and researcher. His doctoral thesis on biennials as institutional model at the University of Liverpool led to his appointment as head of research at International Biennial Association, responsible for its public programming through the IBA Conversation and IBA Stage series.
In 2021, Oxenius was the first curator to be invited to the German Academy in Rome, Villa Massimo.
His curatorial projects include Metamorphosis and metaphors, 17th Istanbul Biennial; Jänner: David Czupryn, Villa Massimo, Rome (2022); The Event of a Thread, MOMus-Experimental Center for the Arts, Thessaloniki Port (2022); Ride into the Sun, 3rd Industrial Art Biennial, Labin, Croatia (2020); Crossing Lines, Kunsthalle Osnabrück, Germany (2019); A Hollow Place, Athens (2018–ongoing); Çanakkale Art Walk 2017: Homeland, Kunsthalle Osnabrück (2017); and Agora, 4th Athens Biennial (2013).
His first novel A Contemporary Art Experience: A Journey Inspired by René Daumal’s Mount Analogue (Skira, 2018) draws on an account of the events surrounding the staging of Standart 2017 – Triennial of Contemporary Art in Armenia.
Oxenius is the recipient of several grants including Artis – Intensive Curatorial Seminar, Israel (2022); short term fellowship, Villa Massimo, Italy (2021); and Research Fellowship, Institute of Cultural Capital, Liverpool – (2012–2016).
He earned a BA in Town and Country Planning and an MSc in Urban Planning and Policy Design from Politecnico di Milano, Faculty of Architecture (2006 and 2009, respectively).
Born in 1982 in Cologne, Oxenius lives and works between Istanbul and Athens.
SAF participation:
March Meeting 2023
