Artistic residence of Aleksandra Lemba as part of the "Thinking Through the Museum" program
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Aleksandra Lemba is the fourth resident in the "Thinking Through the Museum" program (TTTM). She will be developing her project titled "The Image of Non-White Bodies" in our Museum between 17 March and 1 April. TTTM residences are run by the National Heritage & Traumatic Memory academic-artistic cluster. In Poland, the residences are organized by POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, FestivALT and Powszechny Theatre.
The body remembers. Our experiences are stored in our body, and our emotions—even though we often try to confine them to intellectual understanding—are inseparable from it. In her work, the artist combines the developmental aspects of dance and movement therapy with somatic practices that help integrate difficult experiences and cultivate inner resources through the body-mind connection.
The goal of "The Image of Non-White Bodies" residency is to create a research space through movement and body work. Together with Dominika Kimaty—an actress, performer, author of independent performances whom Aleksandra Lemba invited to cooperate—the artist will explore how experiences of racism and biases related to skin color and origin influence body image and how they manifest in their artistic work.
Their exploration will be guided by the ideas of Finnish researcher Päivi Pylvänäinen, author of the body image concept, which is based on three main components—"image properties", "body self", and "body memory". Through a movement lab, the artists aim to create a space for exploring and investigating their bodily archives. By drawing on the body’s responses to difficult experiences and treating the body as a creative and transformative tool, they will seek movement-based strategies that strengthen the connection with one’s body and build resilience. The lab will attempt to answer the question of how movement practices can support non-white individuals who experience both marginalization and hyper-visibility in the society and the artistic sphere.
The effects of the residency will be presented to the public as part of the POLIN Museum’s autumn program.
More information on the artist:
Aleksandra Lemba is a DMP psychotherapist (dance movement psychotherapy), psychologist, psychosocial skills workshop coach and professional dancer who also works as intimacy coordinator in film. She explores themes related to the relationship between self, body, and emotions, expanding body awareness and building a safe connection with one’s own body. Her work focuses on conscious bodily perception, movement expression, and following the nonverbal signals coming from the body. Combining psychological knowledge with dance and movement practices, she educates through movement and supports somatic development. She runs dance workshops as well as movement-based developmental, psychological, and psychoeducational workshops for various groups across Poland. She collaborates with artists and directors across different fields, including film, art, and dance.
More information on the "Thinking Through the Museum" program:
The "Thinking Through the Museum" (TTTM) program brings together international scholars, students, museum professionals, and community representatives from twenty museums, universities, and non-governmental organizations across Canada, the Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, and the USA. The team works both within and beyond museum spaces, co-creating exhibitions and design tools while analyzing alternative ways of activating heritage, enabling various communities to develop their own agendas for action.
The National Heritage & Traumatic Memory (NHTM) team explores how art-based practices can support institutions in engaging communities by activating overlooked spaces and meanings, as well as through performative modes of presentation and participation. Working primarily in Poland, NHTM examines the intersections of colonialism, the Holocaust, and communism, developing new forms of reflection and practice in response to the violently erased historical diversity of this part of Europe. The team develops context-sensitive concepts and tools to challenge the Western-centric perspective of critical museology. Collaborating with other TTTM teams, NHTM organizes artistic residencies for minority artists, including those from Jewish, Romani, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese communities, from the African diaspora as well as LGBTQ+ individuals and refugees.
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