Grace Schwindt

Grace Schwindt is a Reader in the Department of Art at Goldsmiths, University of London. She is an accomplished contemporary artist whose work spans film, performance, sculpture, and installation. Her practice explores social relations, historical memory, mental health, and the body's relationship to societal structures, often challenging conventional modes of communication and representation.

Education:

• MA in Fine Art, Slade School of Fine Art, London (2006-2008)
• BA in Photography, University of Westminster, London (2001-2005)

Schwindt's research investigates how historical events shape social relationships and how memory is constructed. She frequently begins with conversations with artists, activists, and family members, transforming these into fictional dialogues presented through interdisciplinary performances. Her work examines physical and mental fragility, proposing alternative social structures where violence and exclusion are rejected. A distinctive feature of her practice is the exploration of communication beyond language, using movement, sound, and the body as mediators for sharing traumatic experiences and memories. She has developed methodologies to translate shared movements into choreographic scores and 'movement alphabets' that can be used to write musical scores or new movement sequences.

Her recent artistic output shows a consistent focus on creating spaces for sharing wounds as a possibility to imagine non-oppressive social relations. She frequently works with movement therapy techniques, translating shared experiences into artistic forms. Her sculptural work often combines materials like ceramic, bronze, and stone to explore fragility and strength, with recurring themes of historical trauma, migration, and the experience of refugees. The tension between materials—such as the fragility of ceramic against the rigidity of bronze—mirrors the tensions she explores in social relations.

Awards and Recognition:

• Shortlisted for the 2013 Jarman Award
• FLAMIN Productions Award (2013 and 2011)
• Film and Video Umbrella Free to Air Award
• Boise Travel Scholarship, German Consulate Travel Award, and British Council Travel Award (all 2010)

Schwindt has received significant grant funding from Arts Council England, Elephant Trust, Arts Admin Bursary, Goethe Institute Glasgow, and the Jerwood Charitable Foundation. She has held residencies at the Centre for Contemporary Arts Glasgow, Wiels-Contemporary Art Centre in Brussels, and the Gershwin Foundation in New York. Her work has been featured in solo exhibitions at major institutions worldwide including the Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver, Site Gallery in Sheffield, Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, and Kunsthal Gent. Her films have been screened at international festivals including the International Short Film Festival in Oberhausen, Musicaexmachina Festival in Spain, and Brighton Film Festival.

Current projects include 'Silent Archive,' which proposes a new methodology to study historical archives by focusing on what has been left unsaid, particularly regarding Holocaust testimonies, and 'A Cold Stone,' which explores sculptural histories of representing suffering through works like 'Jesus on a Cold Stone.' These projects continue her exploration of fragility, vulnerability, and alternative social structures while engaging with historical trauma and contemporary social issues.