About – Bogna Grazyna Jaroslawska

Born in Gdańsk, based in Berlin, intertwined with Auroville & Bali.

Bogna is an internationally active stage designer known for her interdisciplinary approaches to combining performing arts with empowerment. She has received prestigious awards including the International Social Art Award 2019 and the Sparkassenstiftung Young Talent Award, as well as various grants at the federal, state, and district levels for the further development of her artistic effectiveness (#takecare Recherche Fonds DAKU, Berliner Senat für Kultur und Europa Einstiegsförderung, Fonds DAKU Initialförderung, etc.). In 2020 she was invited to speak at a TEDx conference and described in her keynote „The transformative Powers of Social Sculpture“ how marginalized people succeed in overcoming social exclusion via action, participation & involvement in artistic activity, strengthening the need to come back into visibility and participation. For the past ten years, she has been connected on a project-by-project basis through this with diverse countries such as India, Indonesia, South Africa, and Japan. In 2018, she combined the projects as the international art initiative Social Sculpture and since then she has been working as an artist on a global level. More projects are planned for the future in Indonesia, Lebanon, and Benin.

Since 2003, Bogna lives mainly in Berlin, where she creates stage designs or performative installation art in a theatrical or public context. Among them are since 2010, various realizations at independent production sites, such as the TAK Theater (Stück Fleisch, Europaparty), the BKA Theater (Studio) and the Uferstudios Berlin (Life Coaching), as well as since 2015 then full-time work in productions at state houses such as the Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz (Blind Chicken! No Parents, no Police!), the Deutsche Oper Berlin (Das Neue Rotkäppchen) or the Landesbühnen Sachsen (Ritter der Tafelrunde). The range of activities and qualifications show a wide spectrum, so Bogna briefly took over the position as employed music theater dramaturge at the Volkstheater Rostock (Zar und Zimmermann, Die Backchen, Have a look) or during the pandemic, again assistant stage designer at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden (Le Nozze di Figaro, Cosi fan tutte, Don Giovanni), when all free projects were canceled.

In her art, the influences of Joseph Beuys‘ concept of „Social Sculpture“ can be seen, but her way of working is unique and independent. For this reason, she is regularly invited to offer workshops and project weeks for cultural education institutions at youth art schools, church institutions, schools, and festivals.

PRIZEs
2020 | IFAI Institut for Art and Innovation Berlin | Social Art Award 2019
2011 | Sparkasse Foundation Bremerhaven | Newcomer Artist Prize