CREES hosts prominent performance artist Gluklya for opening of her multimedia exhibit in Weiser Hall
The Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (CREES) at the University of Michigan was honored to host Gluklya (Nataliya Pershina Yakimanskaya), a pioneer of feminist performance art in post-perestroika Russia, for the opening of her exhibit Threading the Needle: Vestiges of Colonialism and Femininity in Weiser Hall’s International Institute Gallery (5th floor) and related artist’s talk and film screening on March 11-12, 2025.
The exhibition runs through May 12, 2025 and is open for public viewing weekdays 8:00am to 5:00pm.
"We greatly appreciate Gluklya’s visit to CREES. Her thought-provoking and visually-stunning art and lecture raised important discussions around issues of colonialism and feminism during the Soviet period and in the present day," remarked CREES Director Elizabeth King.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born in Leningrad, Gluklya lives and works today in Amsterdam. After graduating from the famed Mukhina Academy of Art and Design, Leningrad, she co-founded the Factory of Found Clothes (FFC) (1995-2012) and is a founding member of the Chto Delat group (2002 - present). The manifesto created then is still relevant today as it describes the concepts of her current work envisioning the phrase “the place of the artist is on the side of the weak.”
By focusing on experiences of female textile workers in Kyrgyzstan, Gluklya explores the often-overlooked stories of women affected by Soviet and post-Soviet colonialism. Her exhibit, curated by CREES alumna Dianne Beal (BA REES ‘79), retells their stories using a diverse range of media — installations, drawings, watercolors, sculptures, felt tapestries, film, and performance. Unfolding the implications of economic and societal pressures on women, Gluklya explores issues of poverty, isolation, and exploitation among the garment workers. According to Beal, “The artist’s dedication to uplifting those on the fringes of society, such as migrants, refugees, pensioners, single mothers, and working-class individuals, reflects a deep empathy and commitment to social change.”
Gluklya’s visit to Ann Arbor began with installing the exhibit, together with Beal and CREES Assistant Director of Programs and Operations Liz Malinkin. "It was a true honor to see first-hand the creative process from Gluklya and Dianne's conceptualization of the exhibit, to all the preparation, to participating in the installation,” commented Malinkin. “We are fortunate that our alumna Dianne brought such a significant figure of the post-Soviet Russian art scene to CREES."
On Tuesday, March 11 CREES hosted a screening of Gluklya’s film Gulmira’s Fairy Tales in the U-M Museum of Art’s Stern Auditorium, with co-sponsorship from the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design, the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, and the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures. Around 100 students, faculty, and community members attended the screening, which was followed by a discussion between Gluklya, CREES Director Elizabeth King, and Stamps School Professor Irina Aristarkhova.
Gluklya produced the film in collaboration with actress Gulmira Tursunbaeva, who plays the role of a TV-host re-telling feminist fairy tales. The stories are based on interviews Gluklya conducted with Bishkek-based seamstresses in 2021-22. The film was a product of a Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow program that focused on Soviet and post-Soviet colonialism.
The following day, CREES officially opened Glukya’s exhibit with an artist’s talk (part of the signature CREES Noon Lecture Series) and reception, attended by dozens of community members. In her remarks, Glukya shared her approach of using imagination and play to explore the harsh realities and human side of labor experiences among female garment workers. She expressed that the stories she heard, and conditions she witnessed, while visiting factories and meeting textile workers in Bishkek profoundly changed her view of reality.
“Working directly with the seamstresses, Gluklya seeks to bridge the emotional and social gaps between herself and the women, hoping to foster a joyful sense of mutual support and shared experience,” writes Beal. “Creating her own symbolic expression with the use of traditional felt tapestries and primitive puppets (representing domestic life and bride kidnapping), the artist makes visible the personal stories of these women.”
