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melanie bonajo (they/them/theirs, Heerlen, 1978) is a multidisciplinary artist who explores themes of alienation and intimacy within our technology-driven society through film, performance and installation art. As a social activist and expert in life issues, they seek a deeper connection with society through natural processes, such as sexuality. bonajo was educated at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy and the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam. They have exhibited at FOAM in Amsterdam, the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht and FOMU in Antwerp (2023), and have furthermore represented the Netherlands at the Venice Biennale in 2022. Their work invites reflection on embodied experience and ecological issues, underpinned by a critical view of social structures.
melanie bonajo: courtesy the artist & AKINCI
melanie bonajo: courtesy the artist & AKINCI
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For ‘The Death of Melanie Bonajo’, their exhibition at the Bonnefantenmuseum in 2018, melanie bonajo discusses their video works and the underlying motivation. bonajo engages the visitor with immersive experiences and films that address the concept of death in all its facets.
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DSM
LUMC
Rabobank
Allen & Overy
ING Collection
ABN AMRO Art Collection
21C Museum
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melanie bonajo was born in 1978 in Heerlen, the Netherlands. From 1998 to 2002, bonajo studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam and in 2009-2010, they completed a residency at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, also in Amsterdam. bonajo has received numerous awards for their art, including the IFFR Tiger Award in 2016. They were also nominated for the Prix de Rome in 2017 and the Nam June Paik Award in 2018. In 2018, they were nominated for the Amsterdam Prize for the Arts. The AFK jury described them as 'one of the most powerful and original artists of the moment in Amsterdam', whose 'films and installations strive for radical change – of the individual, the system, capitalism, and gender relations'.
bonajo has held diverse solo exhibitions, including at the Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana, Slovenia (2007), Mediamatic in Amsterdam (2008), PPOW Gallery in New York (2009 and 2013), and the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht (2018). Furthermore, they have participated in several group exhibitions, such as 'Female Power' at Museum Arnhem (2013), 'Still/Life. Dutch Contemporary Photography' at FOAM, Amsterdam (2014), and 'What We Have Overlooked' at Framer Framed, Amsterdam (2016).
melanie bonajo represented the Netherlands at the 59th Venice Biennale, together with a team of curators composed of Maaike Gouwenberg, Geir Haraldseth, and Soraya Pol.
bonajo has held diverse solo exhibitions, including at the Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana, Slovenia (2007), Mediamatic in Amsterdam (2008), PPOW Gallery in New York (2009 and 2013), and the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht (2018). Furthermore, they have participated in several group exhibitions, such as 'Female Power' at Museum Arnhem (2013), 'Still/Life. Dutch Contemporary Photography' at FOAM, Amsterdam (2014), and 'What We Have Overlooked' at Framer Framed, Amsterdam (2016).
melanie bonajo represented the Netherlands at the 59th Venice Biennale, together with a team of curators composed of Maaike Gouwenberg, Geir Haraldseth, and Soraya Pol.
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